CUMBERLAND — A design firm will likely announce its recommendation for a new primary school in North Yarmouth or Cumberland in the next four to six weeks.

Oak Point Point Associates earlier this week culled input from roughly 50 residents on the design of a future school that may go to referendum in November.

The proposed pre-kindergarten to second-grade school could house 650 students. It would adhere to a state guideline of 140 square feet per student, which would total 91,000 square feet. At $400 per square foot for site work, the architect fee, construction and moveable equipment, the total bond package could come to $36.4 million – a number Superintendent Jeff Porter stressed is an “extremely preliminary” estimate.

Increasing enrollment triggered the push for a new school. Two independent surveys concluded 10 years ago that enrollment this year would be 1,775-1,831, but the level reached 2,129 this year, including 28 pre-K students. A study last October forecasts enrollment to surpass 2,700 by 2028-29.

Enrollment at the K-3 Mabel I. Wilson elementary school in Cumberland, which has a capacity for 600 students, has risen from 541 in 2015 to in 2019, prompting.

Two sites in the center of North Yarmouth are being considered: one near Wescustogo Hall & Community Center and one at Sharp’s Field, next to Town Hall.

A town-owned tract in Cumberland, bordered by Tuttle Road and the Town Forest, is also being evaluated.

If a new school is built, the Wilson school would house grades 3-5, Greely Middle School grades 6-8, with Greely High School housing the remainder of the district’s students.

SAD 51’s Building Committee prefers building the school in North Yarmouth, partly to restore a SAD 51 presence after the 2014 closure of North Yarmouth Memorial School and because space on SAD 51’s Cumberland campus for a new building is limited.

Residents’ opinions on the school’s location were mixed.

Locating the school in North Yarmouth fits the town’s Comprehensive Plan and Village Center growth area, according to some North Yarmouth residents. Others are concerned about congestion and added trip times for students, said Allison DiMatteo of Oak Point Associates.

Some parents didn’t want the school on a different site than the SAD 51 campus in Cumberland, where Greely High and Middle schools and the Wilson elementary school are located.

Cumberland parents were also worried about longer bus routes and the resulting environmental impact.

In response, Porter said the proposed North Yarmouth locations are only about 10 minutes from the campus.

SAD 51 residents want a school that doesn’t cause traffic congestion and parking issues, and one that makes it easy for parents to drop off students, DiMatteo said.

Cumberland resident Mike Brown, a former School Board member, was among those calling for an enhanced outdoor learning experience, something he said was missing on the current campus.

The playground “should be something that really inspires kids to get outside and have fun and act like kids,” Brown said. “That would be important, I think, to the success of the culture of the school.”

Residents called for the potential school to be expandable, and incorporate natural light and acoustics, as well as materials that would ensure good indoor air quality, according to Tyler Barter, senior architect with Oak Point Associates. Spaces in the building should also be available for people who don’t have school-aged children, after hours and during the day as well, for seniors uncomfortable going out at night, they said, also expressing a desire for wall space to display student artwork, performance space, and ample indoor play area for use during the long winter months.

Another design input session will take place within the next two months, Barter said.

SAD 51’s Building Committee is slated to deliver a final concept design in June.

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