In May of this year the Facilities
Committee of the RSU14 School Board made the following recommendation: To build
a new Windham Middle School, keeping the original core, which contains the
gym-upper and lower, cafeteria, food service area, the administrative offices,
STEM, art rooms and music rooms/office of the school. The inclusion of a design
feature for expansion to accommodate future enrollment needs and the expansion
into Fields 4 and 5 will accommodate the construction site. At that time no
cost numbers were discussed, but became availableon June 15th at a RSU14 Facilities
Committee meeting. To this end, further recommendations were brought forth,
revisiting discussions that were placed on hold from July 2014.
While no decisions have been put into
stone, progress has been made in gathering details. On top of the list was the cost
sharing of the project. This entails Windham absorbing the $42,496,975 price
tag for a new school through a municipal bond. In a preliminary and tentative
tax implications scenario, owners of a $250,000 house would incur a $426 a year
increase in taxes with this amount decreasing slightly over a period of 20 years.
Raymond on the other hand would not incur any construction cost and only be
liable for operational costs of the new school.
To even the playing field, the agenda of
this meeting included discussion of the alternative option. This would involve major
renovations of the Windham Middle School core. As a renovation, under statutes,
the cost of this would be borne by both Raymond and Windham. However the cost
for renovations would total $37,739,057. After an intense review between
September 2015 and June 2016 it was felt that the difference of $4,757,918, although
substantial, represents the difference between renovating a poorly constructed
and inadequate school versus building a new one. 
During the session many valid points
were made and agreed upon, leaning members toward the new building. For instance,
it was presented that “the cycle of a new building is 40 plus years as compared
to 20 to 25 of a renovated building.” It was also concluded that “a new building
would address 21st Century educational programs that benefit students and
community in the long run, while avoiding the inherent risk/cost of renovations”,
as one member put it. As another put it, “The Windham Middle School is teaching
21st Century classes in a seventies building environment. Science teachers have
no lab, running water or the proper equipment, if any, to conduct experiments.”
To further examine the issue of new
versus renovation was the contents of a letter from Lyndon Keck, PDT Architects
review of the WMS condition that was conducted in May of this year. As no
stranger with new school construction and renovation Keck’s letter revealed a
laundry list of faults with the school. In summary it was reiterated the school
was built in 1977 making it 40 years old and at the end of its cycle. Reference
was also made that interior walls were made from lumber, not steel with no air
space between inner and outer exterior walls to allow for proper insulation. The
windows are residential grade as are the roof shingles.
The end result was that after further
review, in a board meeting on June 22, the following week, the RSU14 Board of
Directors approved the Facilities Committee recommendation to go forward with
the proposal. On September 7th there will be a board update with a
communication plan to be finalized.
WMS Principal Drew Patin found the
decision encouraging. Patin is no stranger to the logistics that now face
Windham Middle School. He was involved with a similar situation as assistant principal
of Sanford School Department.
“While at Sanford the concerns, logistics
and goals were the same. The only difference was that project was state
funded,” Patin explained.
When asked what his primary goal was
Patin replied, “Our goal right now is to inform students and the community as a
whole about the importance of how a building can influence the level of
education. For instance the science labs in the present school are not equipped
with running water making experiments difficult to perform. Students have to
excuse themselves to retrieve water from the bathrooms or water fountains.”
There are also safety concerns. As Patin put it, “there is no sprinkler system
because the code was grandfathered.
Additionally, there is a matter of the
distance students have to go between the main building and Field Allen. The walk
may seem short but in the winter months or other seasonal storms the trek can
be hazardous. With a new school that concern would be eliminated. On top of
that, “currently the school is not ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)
compliant.”
“It is imperative that the proposal
being presented reaches the ears of everyone. In order to help facilitate this,
a survey is being planned and other means of communication such as a media
campaign, face to face conversations, presenting material at polling places,
community events and forums, and digital methods such as Twitter, Facebook and
mass email. It is challenging to reach out because everyone has their own take
on this proposal,” said Patin. “At least we are at a point now which can be
considered full steam ahead. It is no longer a case of being one step forward
and two steps back.”
On September 21st there will be a
meeting held in the Superintendent’s Conference room from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. The
public is welcome. Patin expressed hope that there will be interested generated
by attendants. Until then, more information and updates will become available,
as it becomes available.
