LIVERMORE FALLS — The RSU 73 Facilities Committee selected the Augusta-based architectural firm of Bunker & Savage to design the $1.8 million renovation of Spruce Mountain high and middle schools, and Community Building, all in Jay.

Plans are to go solicit construction bids in April and begin construction in mid-May, Superintendent Robert Wall said. The project is expected to be completed in mid-August, allowing all Spruce Mountain High School students from Jay, Livermore and Livermore Falls to be housed in Jay. Currently, some attend the Spruce Mountain High School in Livermore Falls.

Voters approved the renovation project in January. Just over half the funds will be financed through a no-interest loan from the Quality Schools Construction Program. The rest will likely be borrowed from the Maine Municipal Bond Bank.

Portions of the high school in Jay, the adjacent middle school and the Jay Community Building will be renovated or reconfigured to provide additional classrooms, bathrooms and offices. Other items in the plan include a larger cafeteria, a connector between the high and middle schools, and technology and handicapped-accessibility updates. 

The academic wing of the high school in Livermore Falls will be closed at the end of the current school year, while the gym, stage, cafeteria and other nonacademic sections will remain open for other uses. One of those uses will be relocation of the RSU 73 Adult and Community Education program from the Jay Community Building.