In September 2027, the new Windham Raymond Middle School is set to open, welcoming about 1,000 students from Windham and Raymond fifth to eighth grades. Not only is the new school exciting for students and staff of RSU 14, but it also creates an opportunity for both towns to repurpose the two schools that will be closing to provide benefits for local residents.
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| Repurposing committees for the towns of Windham and Raymond will make recommendations abut the best uses for Jordan-Small Middle School, left, and Windham Middle School once the new Windham Raymond Middle School opens in September 2027. Ownership of both properties will be transferred to the towns at that time. PHOTOS BY ED PIERCE |
In Raymond, a Jordan-Small Middle School Visioning Committee was formed and came up with a slew of ideas.
“The JSMS Visioning Committee is recommending to the Select Board and the future Building Development Committee to use the school building to house the Parks and Recreation Department, the Library, Town Hall Offices and Community Services,” Committee Chair Peter Lockwood said in an email earlier this year. “Our focus is to create a Community Center that supports all ages and residents of Raymond.”
After the work that committee was tasked with was completed, the committee assembled a report, presented it to the Select Board and was disbanded. The town is in the process of creating another committee, and on Sept. 16, it asked Raymond Town Manager Joseph Crocker to come up with a plan to form a new committee to move the process forward.
Select Board member Kayla Gonzalez asked Crocker to come up with a plan on what the committee should look like, such as the number of members and who should be included along with a timeline.
The formation of a new committee was to be taken up on Sept. 16 during a Select Board workshop and again later that day during the board’s regular meeting, but they ran out of time. Instead, it will be taken as an agenda item during a future meeting.
“It’s going to be important to speak I think publicly on how we want to move forward with it,” Raymond Select Board Denis Morse said when postponing the discussion.
He did say that “a lot of the Jordan-Small Middle School could be used immediately without spending a lot of money because the town already has to start to absorb all the utilities and expenses.”
The town of Windham is also working toward a plan on how to reuse the Windham Middle School once the new school opens and the old one is no longer needed by the RSU 14 School District.
The Middle School Repurpose Advisory Committee serves as an advisory body to the Town Council and to analyze the potential re-uses for the school and a potential benefit as a community center.
The 20-member committee was charged with, during its deliberations, to use a community engagement study conducted in August 2019 “which identified the need to create a multigenerational home for all residents, that enhances the quality of life for Windham, provides flexible spaces for a range of activities, and is a self-sustaining business practice that fosters fun,” according to the committee webpage on the town’s website.
Also during the process, committee members are to “incorporate the migration of the services and space required for the Windham Public Library, Windham Parks and Recreation Department, Windham Social Services/Food Pantry facility and the Windham Medical Loan Closet facility into the new spaces as well as flexible spaces for the community to engage in various activities,” the webpage says.
The committee was also established to review the condition of the building and improvements that would be needed to accommodate new uses and come up with a budget and then report back to the Windham Town Council.
Windham Town Manager Robert Burns said the Town Council “is interested in the use of that facility” and is considering many different purposes such as a community center or for a town hall.
Moving the Windham Parks and Recreation Department to the building is another possibility, Burns said.
“It has a fair amount of some athletic opportunities over there. There’s a basketball court inside,” he said, saying that the large rooms at the school would be useful for that department.
He said the committee is about halfway through the process of coming up with a conceptual design along with an estimated cost.
He said an architect is looking at the square footage and to see how many different departments and functions the building could serve as home for.
“We’re excited to see where this leads,” Burns said.
Both towns will need support by their respective town council and select board as well as approval by residents before moving forward with any plan that committees develop.
“There’s a lot of steps yet to go through,” Burns said. He added, “it’s a very exciting opportunity for Windham residents.” <
After the work that committee was tasked with was completed, the committee assembled a report, presented it to the Select Board and was disbanded. The town is in the process of creating another committee, and on Sept. 16, it asked Raymond Town Manager Joseph Crocker to come up with a plan to form a new committee to move the process forward.
Select Board member Kayla Gonzalez asked Crocker to come up with a plan on what the committee should look like, such as the number of members and who should be included along with a timeline.
The formation of a new committee was to be taken up on Sept. 16 during a Select Board workshop and again later that day during the board’s regular meeting, but they ran out of time. Instead, it will be taken as an agenda item during a future meeting.
“It’s going to be important to speak I think publicly on how we want to move forward with it,” Raymond Select Board Denis Morse said when postponing the discussion.
He did say that “a lot of the Jordan-Small Middle School could be used immediately without spending a lot of money because the town already has to start to absorb all the utilities and expenses.”
The town of Windham is also working toward a plan on how to reuse the Windham Middle School once the new school opens and the old one is no longer needed by the RSU 14 School District.
The Middle School Repurpose Advisory Committee serves as an advisory body to the Town Council and to analyze the potential re-uses for the school and a potential benefit as a community center.
The 20-member committee was charged with, during its deliberations, to use a community engagement study conducted in August 2019 “which identified the need to create a multigenerational home for all residents, that enhances the quality of life for Windham, provides flexible spaces for a range of activities, and is a self-sustaining business practice that fosters fun,” according to the committee webpage on the town’s website.
Also during the process, committee members are to “incorporate the migration of the services and space required for the Windham Public Library, Windham Parks and Recreation Department, Windham Social Services/Food Pantry facility and the Windham Medical Loan Closet facility into the new spaces as well as flexible spaces for the community to engage in various activities,” the webpage says.
The committee was also established to review the condition of the building and improvements that would be needed to accommodate new uses and come up with a budget and then report back to the Windham Town Council.
Windham Town Manager Robert Burns said the Town Council “is interested in the use of that facility” and is considering many different purposes such as a community center or for a town hall.
Moving the Windham Parks and Recreation Department to the building is another possibility, Burns said.
“It has a fair amount of some athletic opportunities over there. There’s a basketball court inside,” he said, saying that the large rooms at the school would be useful for that department.
He said the committee is about halfway through the process of coming up with a conceptual design along with an estimated cost.
He said an architect is looking at the square footage and to see how many different departments and functions the building could serve as home for.
“We’re excited to see where this leads,” Burns said.
Both towns will need support by their respective town council and select board as well as approval by residents before moving forward with any plan that committees develop.
“There’s a lot of steps yet to go through,” Burns said. He added, “it’s a very exciting opportunity for Windham residents.” <
