OLD ORCHARD BEACH — The TIDES alternative education program will soon be at its new location on the grounds of Old Orchard Beach High School.

The TIDES special-education based alternative high school program, formerly known as the Saco Transitions Program, has been operating from 80 Common St. in Saco.

After Saco and Dayton left the Regional School Unit 23, the Saco School Department handed the program over to the RSU, which now only serves Old Orchard Beach. Most of the students who attend the TIDES program are from Old Orchard Beach, as many Saco students seeking an alternative educational program attend a similar program at Thornton Academy.

The RSU is moving the program to a newly installed modular building at the far side of the larger parking lot at Old Orchard Beach High School. The 62-by-68-foot modular building has space for three classrooms as well as a kitchen and meeting area.

RSU 23 Special Education Director Timothy O’Connor said at Tuesday night’s RSU 23 Board meeting at Town Hall that work on the building is about “99 percent done.” He said there were some delays due to rain.

O’Connor said some items have been moved into the building already, with both staff and students pitching in.

“It’s a beautiful building,” he said, and students are eager to start classes in the new location. “Once the power and water are turned on, we’ll be good to go.”

School Board member Peter Flaherty said he was impressed with the new, “attractive” TIDES building.

The RSU will plant more trees on the edge of the property to increase the density of the buffer, per the request of neighbors.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or [email protected].