GORHAM – Gorham school officials will soon name members of a building committee to plan a renovation and expansion to relieve cramped conditions at Gorham High School, plus upgrade security.

The school, at 41 Morrill Ave., opened in 1959 and was renovated in 1995 for an estimated 675 students. But high school enrollment is now at 850 students. “It’s simply too small,” Superintendent Ted Sharp told Gorham School Committee members last week.

In a renovation-expansion project, the state will not participate in funding and Gorham taxpayers would foot the entire bill.

“This is a project that citizens of Gorham will be responsible for,” Sharp said.

Sharp said this week the cost of the project won’t be known until a building committee decides on plans. However, projects such as these run in the millions.

A letter to Sharp from Lyndon Keck of PDT Architects indicates the high school project could go to Gorham voters in a referendum in November 2013.

High School Principal Christopher Record said he hopes voters would pass the project, but acknowledged that it would go to referendum during a struggling economy.

“It’s a tough choice in these economic times,” Record said. “We recognize that.”

Last week, the School Committee approved forming a building committee that would likely include councilors and members of the public along with school officials.

In a tour of the school this week, Record identified cramped areas that include the cafeteria and locker rooms, as well as a classroom shortage. A goal of a renovation-expansion project would also step up security in the school, which now has major entrances on opposite ends of the building.

“We have two main entrances now, which is a challenge,” Record said.

A building committee could look at relocating the main office from the Morrill Avenue end of the building to the end where school buses pick up and discharge students in the largest parking area. Main office personnel, if Record’s office is relocated, could better monitor entry to the building.

Under a renovation plan, a security office would be located near the bus drop-off and pick-up area.

In a renovation, the size of the existing, small nurse’s room could be expanded.

“Our nurse’s office is cramped,” Record said.

If Record’s office moves to the opposite end of the building, it would allow expansion for a health center with the one school nurse, along with a social worker and a drug-and-alcohol counselor.

The cafeteria now has seating for only about 200 students at a time with three shifts for lunch. Record said the cafeteria is packed with an overflow of students spilling out into the hallway to eat their lunch.

The school has four classrooms in outside portable, buildings.

“We’d like to get them inside the building,” Record said. “We’re maxed out in classrooms and space,” Record said, who also said locker room space is limited.

Outside deficiencies include limited parking and overused athletic fields. Parking is tight, especially for public events in the auditorium and sports.

Record said 200 assigned parking spaces have been allocated to seniors, with another 100 spots for staff. “We have 12 spots left,” Record said.

Earlier this year, the Gorham Town Council approved buying a ranch house at 55 Morrill Ave. in a step toward easing overcrowding at the landlocked high school. But it’s unclear yet how the School Department might utilize the one-third-acre site.

If the renovation project is approved, construction would be in three phases with the first phase beginning in June 2014, according to a timeline outlined in Keck’s letter. Construction in that phase would include expansion of the cafeteria.

Phase 2, beginning in June 2015, would include a major addition to include a new entry, classrooms, lockers and fitness rooms. Phase 3, starting in May 2015, would build new administrative offices along with exterior site improvements, including a new tennis court, additional parking, field hockey improvements and a new turf field.

Completion date for the project would be July 15, 2015.

For years, school officials have said the athletic fields at the high school have been overused. But Gorham voters in 2011 defeated a $3 million stadium project that included an artificial turf field for varsity sports that would have been built near the Public Safety Building.

In 1995, a $11 million renovation and expansion was completed with local taxpayers paying $1.8 million. The project included seven new science labs, 16 additional classrooms, auditorium, and track field.

Gorham High School Principal Christopher Record shows the limited seating in the cafeteria for the school’s 850 students. The space shortage forces some students to eat lunch in a hallway.