On Tuesday September 15 the citizens of the Mt. Blue Regional School District (SAD 9) will be casting their votes on the construction of a renovation and addition to the Mt. Blue Learning Campus for Foster Regional Applied Technology Center and Mt. Blue High School. This is an extremely important vote for the citizens and for our present and future high school students. The time has come to upgrade our high school/tech center.
The plans for this project were done with the students and community in mind. It is described as being able to educate student’s grades 9 through 14. DON’T worry the state did not mandate extra years!!! The additional grades recognize the extremely successful adult education program and the ever growing community college effort.
The concept for the school design came from the students, public, teachers, business leaders and school administrators. The new campus will be a cross generational learning campus designed to encourage community use of the facility. This learning campus will have an industrial incubator lab to encourage the creation of new local small businesses. It will allow for the full integration of career technical courses with traditional high school course. It will bring new technologies like composites and biotech to the students first hand.
Energy-wise the new building will incorporate many new sustainable technologies such as geothermal, wind, solar, photovoltaic, and wood chips. Not only will these technologies be used to heat and light the school but will serve as educational opportunities for the students to learn about such futuristic systems.
The project will use about 60% of the existing building. This includes the existing access from the Seamon Road. Significant cost reduction was realized by renovating and adding to the current facility and remaining on the same site.
The cost you ask? The total project cost will be a little over 64 million dollars. The State of Maine will cover nearly 94 % through bonds. About 5% or 3.5 million dollars will be the local cost. Assuming a standard 20-year construction bond with an average 5% interest rate a home valued at $100,000 will pay about $25 per year or $2.08 per month to cover the local share. This is a small investment for the future of our community.
If the project is rejected by the voters, the money spent to date will not be reimbursed, and we will lose our opportunity to access these funds. This money will then be offered to other school systems on the State School Construction list. It will be a very long time before we get a chance again.
Our time has come. Our high school needs to be upgraded. We need to replace the heating system. We need to get rid of the portable class rooms. We need to discontinue the use of an outdated sewerage treatment plant. We need to create a learning environment for our future citizens. We need to create a viable community center for the area. We, through our income taxes, have supported other town’s school projects, now it is our turn. Tuesday September 15, 2009 will be your opportunity to cast your vote.
Tom Saviello
Wilton
You nailed it right on the head, Tom. This IS our chance, and we’ll be funding school projects with our state taxes anyways, so we might as well benefit from it.
Thank you Tom!
The numerous direct benefits of renovating the building and the indirect benefits to the rest of our community have been highlighted time and time again, and I’m glad you added the portable annexes to that list. My understanding is that the school has been renting these ‘temporary’ units to use as classrooms for many, many more years than they were originally intended to be used for, and that the cost of continuing to rent and maintain them far exceeds the cost of what we would have spent on a permanent facility at this point. They are small, inefficient, and take up utilities and ground space that could be put to better use.
The reasons to support MBHS renovation keep piling up. Be accountable, people! Get out there on September 15 and ensure that Farmington’s children have access to the best possible future available to them!
Tom:
well said Lance Harvell
Tax payers….check into how much your tax bill is going up if this is passed. Still waiting for some liberal to pay my share!!!
A Vet –
Check the facts. There will be a two dollar difference a month if this project passes for Mt. Blue. If it doesn’t pass, nothing changes the fact that we’ll be paying the $60 million price tag. We just won’t be getting a brand new school to benefit the children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great great grandchildren that are a part of our community and a part of our blood.
I can see by your name that you take pride in serving your country. Take some pride in serving your community. Or let me pay your $25 bill for a state of the art facility that will make life better for the people you fought to serve.
Let’s try this, it is more like $2.08 per thousand per month. Figure the number of families in Farmington/Wilton area and times it by $25. and you will see there is not enough money. Keep your money Bill. At least ya offered. Which is more then others.
Just to clarify, it is $2.08 per hundred thousand. My property value is just slightly over $100,000, so I’ll be paying about $25 total a year. And I’ll pay for you, A Vet, since I offered, but I’m guessing that the families in Farmington/Wilton will vote in favor of the project and will be willing to pay the $25 a year for a new school for their children. It’s a better investment than buying the kids new sneakers.