BRUNSWICK
Brunswick residents will decide at the polls Tuesday whether to build a new, $28 million school to replace Coffin Elementary School and adopt a $37.4 million budget.
Voting will be from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Brunswick Junior High School.
The budget has caused significant tension between the town council and school board.
From the initial budget proposal presented earlier this year, the school board first pared the budget down by about $850,000. That was done by not renewing several teaching positions and forgoing maintenance, among other cuts.
Additional areas left unfunded for the coming year include a curriculum coordinator position, a special education secretary, a response to intervention teacher at the junior high school, freshman sports, professional development and a school resource officer position.
The hope is additional money will be coming back to the district from the state when the 128th legislative session convenes, and some of those positions will be restored. There is no certainty as to how much money, if any, will be available to Brunswick, but it is projected to be $600,000.
However, if Gov. Paul LePage’s proposed budget passes as is, $1 million will be stripped from the school.
Voters are also asked whether to OK paying, without state aid, to build a new school to replace the 62-year-old Coffin Elementary School. The school board and town council voted to send the question to the polls.
According to a previously published Times Record article, taxes will increase if the bond is approved. Depending on the method used to pay the debt service, the tax rate increase is estimated at between 4.38 and 5.08 percent. That means the owner of a home worth $115,700 would see their tax bill increase an estimated $149 to $172.
It would take 25 years to repay the bond and payments would decrease over time.
Four outbuildings on the campus, built in 1969, house the library and additional classroom space. Initially, those structures were supposed to be used temporarily for five years. Structurally, the main building, which houses 400 students, has its own challenges. The building’s pipes are original to the building, constructed in 1957. They leak and are corroded. Asbestos is also present in the building. The exterior door jams and wood frequently rot and are repaired because of structural design shortcomings that lead to water running down the side of the school.
If approved, the new school would be constructed at the site of the now-defunct Jordan Acres School.
Coffin Elementary houses grades kindergarten and first, as well as some preschool classes. The design for the new school, drafted by PDT Architects of Portland, would serve grades kindergarten to second, as well as provide space for two pre-K programs to teach an estimated 120 students. The school would be built to serve up to grade 5, and accommodate for a growth of 200 students.
The school would be heated and cooled using geothermal technology, and the roof will be designed to accommodate solar panels in the future.
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