The Building Exploratory Committee voted July 26 to recommend a referendum question on funding the $89 million project to renovate the Boothbay-Boothbay Harbor Community School District campus. The 3-1 vote is the BEC’s final recommendation to both the CSD School Board and Board of Trustees on the project.  

The public vote to fund the project by bond is scheduled for Nov. 7. 

As reported in the Register, the potential project includes $15 million in major renovations to the middle-elementary school, including a $4 million addition, constructing a $47 million, 105,000 square foot high school and demolishing the existing BRHS building. 

Plans also include constructing a $5.5 million, 9,000 square foot auditorium at the high school, which BEC voted to include in the referendum. The sole no vote was from Abby Jones, who wanted the auditorium to be a separate item in the bond vote.  

According to Alternative Organizational Structure (AOS) 98 Superintendent Robert Kahler, the BEC’s decision around the auditorium came down to providing an array of educational opportunities and community services. He said the group recognized the gravity of the cost but, at the end of the day, the decision was based on programming and the benefits of having space for community presentations and performances.

“What do we want our curriculum to be and what do we want our community and our kids to have for an experience?” he said. “That educational vision is what has driven everything.”

The BEC’s recommendation was to fund the full amount of the project through bonds, minus donations. According to Kahler, the project costs $91 million, but only $89 million needs to be bonded because $2 million in previously donated funds would go toward already completed work, such as building designs. If approved, the CSD Board of Trustees will decide to either use Maine Municipal Bond Bank or offer the public sale of bonds. 

However, Kahler said fundraising cannot begin until the school boards decide on the next steps. If the boards proceed, he does expect a multiyear campaign to give the school more time and space out financial pressure on donors.  

As for the taxpayers, Kahler said he is collecting information about the project’s impact on Boothbay and Boothbay Harbor tax rates.  

Kahler said recommending the full amount in bond provides some advantages for the project. He said bonding less than the full amount may delay the project, causing more trouble.  

“When you delay (there are) more repairs and prices go up,” he said. “Then you end up fundraising for the escalation, not necessarily for the project." 

The BEC’s recommendation for the referendum will not include a non-binding question that was discussed on regionalization. According to Kahler, the BEC decided there is already a committee looking into regionalization and the school boards or towns could also ask. “There’s other ways to capture that information and not cloud the question,” he said.  

The CSD School Board and Board of Trustees are scheduled to have a joint meeting Aug. 8 to discuss the BEC’s recommendation, the language for the referendum, and next steps. While the vote was the final recommendation from the BEC on the project, the committee is not disbanded. It will continue to meet and research questions.