WATERBORO — A new, scaled-back plan to upgrade the athletic fields at Massabesic High School will go to voters at a budget meeting in May and a validation vote in June.

The project, which is expected to cost $3.95 million, is nearly $3 million less than a more robust plan that was rejected by voters in all six RSU 57 communities in November.

Voters will be asked to bond about $3.15 million, according to RSU Activities Director Brandon Scully. The remaining $800,000 would come from capital funds, grants and donations.

The project includes: Resurfacing the track, which proponents say is currently not able to be used for competition due to deterioration; widening the football field to accommodate soccer, field hockey and other sports and adding greater assess to the lighted competition area; installing permanent bleachers; providing overdue maintenance of the tennis courts and adding bathroom and storage facilities.

Scully, in a news release, said the fields and other infrastructure have not had a facelift since they were constructed in the 1970s.

“These upgrades will improve the experience for our athletes and spectators, as well as providing a safe facility for public use,” he said.

School Board chairman Karla Bergeron on Tuesday said the School Board has voted in favor of the project, which originated with the school district’s athletic boosters group and some others.

After last November’s failed vote, Bergeron said the board and administration took a step back to review the process. Then, the athletic boosters stepped forward with a desire to promote a revised plan, she said. The club’s president, Jennifer Russell, made a presentation to the School Board’s finance committee, which endorsed the proposal and it was brought to the full board. Russell could not be reached for comment.

Bergeron said she had been told that many voters who went to the polls in November hadn’t heard about the proposal prior to voting day, and so turned it down.

She said students have pledged to go to service clubs and senior citizen groups in the district to speak with voters prior to the district budget meeting, set for May 19, and the validation vote June 9.

The prior effort that failed at the polls would have cost about $6.8 million, with $4.9 million to be bonded. It was a more ambitious proposal that included new tennis courts, parking, a new maintenance facility and more.

Scully said it is his opinion, as well as that of the finance committee and School Board, that a more favorable result would stem from the removal of several items that had been included in the last vote and focusing on the most immediate needs.

RSU 57 educates students in Alfred, Limerick, Lyman, Newfield, Shapleigh and Waterboro.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].