In November, Gorham residents will be asked to approve $12 million in spending for a set of three improvement projects at the town’s schools.
This vote is set to occur just months after a $53 million school budget — and its accompanying 9.05 percent property tax rate increase — was passed by only two votes.
[RELATED: Recount Results: $53 Million School Budget with 9.05% Property Tax Hike Approved by Two Votes]
Gorham Superintendent Heather Perry explained during an Aug. 6 Town Council meeting that the district is hoping to pursue these projects now instead of continuing to “kick the can down the road” not only because there is a growing need for them to be completed, but also because the associated price tag is only going to rise over time.
“Our capital needs don’t go away, they just kind of keep getting bigger and if left unaddressed they just continue to grow and as time marches forward, costs also continue to grow,” said Superintendent Perry. “So, if you don’t do it now, it just grows and snowballs and gets bigger down the road.”
The most expensive and substantial of the three projects is a $9 million set of renovations at the high school, including a cafeteria expansion, new bathrooms, six new classrooms, one adult education room, and a utility room.
According to Superintendent Perry, the high school’s enrollment is expected to reach 900 in two to three years, but the building as it currently stands is only equipped to handle about 750 students.
A $2.5 million project would rebuild the high school’s deteriorating tennis courts off-site at Robie Park, a location that is adjacent to the high school.
Councilors indicated during their Aug. 6 meeting that these two proposals are fundamentally linked, as subsequent phases of the high school renovation project will eventually require the space currently occupied by the courts to be repurposed.
The third project would give the elementary school $460,575 to replace the building’s aging HVAC infrastructure, including with respect to heating, ventilation, and air conditioning.
Town councilors voted after extensive debate to not, at this time, advance a handful of other proposals that totaled about $4 million.
Among the eliminated projects were several parking and repaving initiatives estimated to cost a combined $4.3 million, as well as the $400,000 addition of a maintenance building at the elementary school.
The original list of eight projects had been placed in priority order ahead of this past Tuesday’s meeting. The two most important projects were identified as the high school expansion and elementary school HVAC replacement.
Despite being of slightly lower priority, the Council decided to include the tennis court replacement in the package of proposals to be sent to voters later this year as it will be integral to future phases of the high school’s renovation.
The Council voted 6-1 to put this group of three projects on the ballot this November, with Chair Suzanne Phillips as the lone vote in opposition.
“After the results of the school budget vote, I couldn’t risk putting another tax increase on residents, that’s why I voted ‘no,’” Chair Phillips told the American Journal after the vote. “I did not agree on the amount.”
It was explained during the meeting that an estimated property tax impact of these bonds will not be available to residents due to the long-term nature of these expenses and their associated repayment structure.
Voters, however, are expected be able to review a fiscal note breaking down the costs of these bonds, including any projected interest payments.
A public hearing on these proposals will be held before voters go to the polls in November, but a specific date for this has not yet been set by the Council.
Click Here to Watch the Town Council’s Full Discussion of These Proposals
