BRUNSWICK
Town councilors voted 8-1 on Monday night to hold a Feb. 21 public hearing on a $28 million bond proposal to build a new elementary school, removing a $5.7 million repair request for the junior high school.
School Board Chairwoman Joy Prescott told the council and residents who packed the Town Hall that the elementary school is the priority out of the two projects.
State building aid will be sought for help paying for a more extensive project for Brunswick Junior High School.
The change necessitates another public hearing as the $33.7 million ordinance was amended.
Councilor Dan Harris cast the lone vote in opposition to the bond request change.
“It seems to me it’s a very rapid change of positions for what they want to go to referendum for,” Harris said.
Harris wanted to delay a referendum on the elementary school a year to see if state building aid would pay for a new elementary school, or reduce replacement costs for the Coffin elementary school.
Speaking to The Times Record this morning, Harris clarified remarks made Monday regarding the state of the school: “The building itself is in terrible shape. It’s a terrible building. The faculty makes it a great place to go to school.”
On Monday, Harris said, the state of the building has been “terrible” for so long that “that if we were to wait for one more year, it wouldn’t make a big difference.”
lconnell@timesrecord.com
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