At a special meeting on November 20, the School Committee (SC) voted 5-1 to present the Option 6 plan for expanding and renovating Gorham High School at a joint workshop with the Town Council. Option 6 places the new classroom wing on the Morrill Avenue side of the building, providing common areas for 1100 students and initial classroom space for 950 students.
Although all agreed that this $71 million proposal meets educational and security needs, Bill Benson said he believed addressing deferred capital improvements to district buildings was a higher priority. Phillip Gagnon was absent for the vote.
Prior to the vote, Facilities Director Norm Justice gave a presentation outlining his best estimate of the district’s current and future capital improvement needs. As has been shared with both the School Committee and the Town Council in the past, it was clearly noted that although state guidelines recommend capital renewal funding be budgeted at 2% of the value of a district’s buildings (which in Gorham would be nearly $3 million annually), past School Department budgets have not been able to allocate these amounts and, in fact, have been allocating far less. This has resulted in a deficit of $20 million in deferred capital expenditures over the past ten years. The district, therefore, has been forced to be more reactive rather than proactive in replacing building systems that are beyond their expected life spans. Justice identified projects that should be addressed now that would cost about $20 million.
The School Committee discussed partnering with the Town Council to develop a long-term approach to building needs and maintenance across all town buildings, municipal and school. It voted 6-0 to approve an ad hoc facilities committee to develop a more detailed accounting of capital needs and to continue talking with the Town Council about resolving these issues in a comprehensive manner.