POLAND — School officials told the small gathering at Wednesday’s public forum that while Bruce Whittier Middle School may be only 17 years old, it is already overcrowded and in need of a substantial addition.

“It just wasn’t designed for the number of students we have there,” Regional School Unit 16 Superintendent Tina Meserve said.

Temporary modulars have been installed out back of the main building and more are going up this summer in the courtyard between it and the high school.

“The modulars present a safety concern,” Meserve said. “It’s very hard to monitor comings and goings.”

The problem stems from the history of the school. It was built to handle Poland students, and served 146 students in 2009, the year prior to school consolidation.

The formation of RSU 16 brought in seventh- and eighth-graders from Mechanic Falls and Minot, and the student population boomed to 246 this past June.

Meserve noted that for the past seven years, Whittier Middle School has been dealing with about 100 more students than it was designed to hold.

For two years, school officials have studied the situation, and one thing they’re confident about is that the problem isn’t going disappear all by itself.

“Enrollment projections say the three towns can expect population numbers to remain stable for the next 20 years,” Meserve said.

In March, the School Committee hired PDT Architects to begin concept planning for a new addition.

On Wednesday, architect Alan Kuniholm presented a few preliminary numbers.

As proposed, plans call for a 13,000-square-foot addition with six standard classrooms, two science/flex classrooms, a book room, additional special education space, a conference room, four offices and storage space.

The project timeline calls for final voter approval at a June 2017 referendum, with construction to begin in March 2018. Classes would begin using the addition in September 2019.

RSU 16 Director of Operations John Hawley said cost estimates are in the $4 million range, assuming a bond interest rate of between 1 and 2 percent. He said that could initially result in an annual cost to the district of about $300,000.

Meserve noted that due to the fact that by 2022 the district will have paid off bonds with annual payments of $162,000, the effect on local taxpayers should be moderated accordingly.

Meserve noted the state will not be funding the project and local taxpayers will bear the entire cost for the project.

Poland Selectman Steve Robinson asked whether consideration was given to ensure that the addition be constructed for a second level. He suggested that Building Committee members consider increasing the size of the addition or at least present cost estimates to do so.

Walter Gallagher was one of several who noted that the district’s three elementary schools were approaching their retirement ages, and that they also were operating at or near capacity.

Meserve squelched suggestions that Whittier Middle School should be expanded even further to accommodate the district’s sixth-graders, noting that the existing building footprint for the middle and high school is about as large as the overall lot will allow.

Robinson also questioned the accuracy of enrollment projections and their conclusion that the area’s school population will remain stable.

“I believe we will continue to grow,” Robinson said.