As the next step in Gorham School Department’s hope to be awarded state funding for school construction projects, a site team visit by the Maine Department of Education (MDOE) will take place on March 3-4. A team that will advise the MDOE’s Major Capital School Construction Team in their selection of projects to receive funding will tour the campuses and facilities of Village Elementary School, Narragansett Elementary School, and Gorham High School.
The highly competitive process through which state funding is allocated begins with a call for applications and requires school districts to submit detailed analyses and plans for consideration. The application period is opened roughly every 6-10 years and is based on funding availability within the school construction program as approved by the legislature.
With increasing costs and rising demands to replace Maine’s aging school buildings, the state has seen a reduction in the number of projects it can fund in each cycle. In the 2004-2005 cycle, 20 projects received approval. In the 2010-2011 cycle, only 16 projects were approved, in 2017-2018, the number of approved projects dropped to 9.
Gorham submitted three applications in August 2024, among over 100 applications statewide that were received by MDOE for consideration. Across Maine, 53% of school buildings currently in use were built prior to 1970. While Narragansett was built in 1981, Village Elementary was constructed in 1962 and Gorham High School was originally constructed in 1958.
Over the years, in order to meet growing needs or address health and safety concerns, all three have been added onto, either with the use of modular classrooms or renovations, but the analyses required as part of the application made clear that there are still costly issues Gorham needs to address.
The review and selection process by the MDOE team and consultants takes about a year, during which sites will be visited and each project application will be ranked and prioritized, using variables that weigh criteria including imminent need, health and safety risks, and the readiness of a community to build.
The State Board of Education grants final approval of any projects and works closely with MDOE’s Major Capital School Construction Team to ensure building projects meet requirements such as site minimums and code compliance, and include efficiencies like school consolidation or specific heating and cooling considerations, with a goal to reduce taxpayer costs in the future.