Narragansett Elementary School was built in 1981. Robert Lowell / American Journal

Gorham is asking the state for two new schools, and Maine Department of Education officials were in town this week to take a firsthand look.

Superintendent Heather Perry said in a telephone interview Tuesday with the American Journal that Gorham has applied for a new high school, plus a new school that would consolidate Narragansett and Village elementary schools into one.

Village Elementary School opened in 1962. Robert Lowell / American Journal

If the state grants a project, it could be seven or eight years before moving in, said Perry, who was reached Tuesday while traveling to New Orleans for a National Conference on Education meeting.

Perry said Maine Department of Education officials visited Gorham High School on March 3 and returned March 4 to see the two elementary schools.

Gorham will likely hear results of its application by mid-July. Perry said 96 school applications are seeking state help.

Scott Brown, Maine DOE director of school construction programs, said Tuesday in an email to the newspaper that schools will be listed in priority order.

“Schools would be funded from that list starting with the highest rated school,” Brown said. “The number of schools funded from that list will depend on the size of schools, projects costs and available funding, all of which are unknown at this time.”

Any state-funded project awarded to Gorham would still require a local referendum approval.

Perry said in a Feb. 18 email to the American Journal that Gorham would likely be responsible for kicking in a 20% share for a school project that could be “as high as $30 million.”

Gorham High School opened in 1959. Robert Lowell / American Journal

It’s unknown where new schools would be built and a lengthy search would ensue, according to Perry, and require Town Council approval.

The high school, at 451 Morrill Ave., opened in 1959 and was last renovated in 1994 to house 750 students. The high school enrollment is at 809, “currently at 108% capacity,” Perry said Feb. 18.

Narragansett Elementary, 284 Main St., was built in 1981 and in recent years 22 modular classrooms have been added. The enrollment is now at 448 and at “90% capacity.”

Village Elementary, 12 Robie St., opened in 1962 and was renovated 37 years ago. It now houses 389 students and is at “94% capacity.”

Last fall, Gorham voters approved borrowing $9.5 million, total cost with interest $12.7 million, for improvements at the high school and Narragansett School. Under that scenario, the high school would receive an expanded cafeteria and six modular classrooms while Narragansett would acquire an HVAC upgrade.

The school department, Perry said, is in the process of doing the background and permitting work for a bond. If the town doesn’t receive state help, “We would move forward with the bond project,” Perry said.

Voters last November, while approving a referendum to fund those school improvements, shot down a proposal that would have borrowed up to $2.5 million to shuffle tennis courts away from the cramped high school campus to the middle school on Weeks Road.

The long-term fate of the tennis courts is “yet to be figured out,” according to Perry, but they wouldn’t get “wiped out” in a first phase of placing modular classrooms at the high school.

School Committee Chair Sarah Perkins told the Town Council Tuesday a temporary solution to repair the tennis courts is being worked out to allow use of the courts for another three or four years.

“Public Works will be completing the needed demolition work and resetting a base for the courts, after which a professional tennis court company will resurface the courts, add lines, paint as needed and reset the nets,” Perkins said.