The Cape Elizabeth School Board voted unanimously on Tuesday to authorize the superintendent to sign a new contract with Harriman Architects, which helped design the $89.9 million school project that was narrowly defeated by voters at last week’s election.

Some board members and residents said at Tuesday’s school board meeting that the project’s defeat by only 200 votes was evidence that the town is on the right path toward upgrading its school facilities. A different school project proposed in 2022 was overwhelmingly rejected by voters.

“If we take time to do a completely new project or revisit renovation or anything like that, you’re going to have to reeducate everyone,” said Nicole Boucher, a former town councilor and member of Advancing Cape Elizabeth Schools, who campaigned for the project.

Students leave Cape Elizabeth Middle School in this 2020 file photo. Last week voters rejected a proposal that would have funded building a new middle school, among other facility upgrades. File photo / Portland Press Herald

However, some want a fresh pair of eyes. The measure that was defeated on Nov. 5 included building a new middle school, conducting renovations and additions at the elementary school, making renovations at the high school and preserving or repurposing the town’s original school, built in 1934. The measure in total was $94.7 million, with nearly $90 million earmarked for schools and the remainder for repurposing the 1934 building.

“Normally, we’d go out and get certainly more than just one quote from one firm,” said Councilor Tim Thompson, who was a member of the School Building Advisory Committee. “I’d like to see if there’s some other creative thinking out there that could come back and look at everything we’ve been through the past couple of referendums and come up with something.”

Some residents believe the proposed new middle school was too big with new enrollment projections suggesting that the middle school population is expected to remain static over the next 10 years. Previous projections had the population increasing.

Elizabeth Biermann, a member of Advancing Cape Elizabeth Schools, said Harriman is the one that should refine the 2024 proposal for 2025.

“This is such a good project, it came so close,” she said. “I think hiring Harriman and, hey, throw those (enrollment) numbers at them and say, ‘What do you think? Does this change the scope of the project?'”

The most critical thing, Biermann said, is not to delay.

“What’s important is not delaying any further for the children and the teachers in these schools,” she said.

Board member Philip Saucier said he wants to stick with Harriman for the next proposal.

“I think it would be irresponsible for us to go out to (requests for proposal) and start all over again,” he said.

Board member Cynthia Voltz agreed.

“I think it’s important to stay on that track and refine what we can,” she said.

Board Chair Elizabeth Scifres said while the new enrollment projections are important to consider, they shouldn’t outweigh the district’s many needs.

“Whether we have 10 more or 10 fewer students, they still need to go to school, we still need to educate them as best we can,” Scifres said. “They need to be in appropriate classrooms that are safe and allow them to learn the way they need to learn, and these buildings don’t do it and renovating these buildings, that middle school, don’t do it.”