FARMINGTON — Voters in Regional School Unit 9 rejected a proposal to purchase the former Arthur D. Ingalls School building in Farmington for up to $1.6 million using federal grant funds. The final tally across all towns was 405 in favor and 755 opposed.

The proposal, which would have repurposed the building at 144 High St. as the Franklin County Adult Education and Community Resource Hub, was rejected in nine of 10 towns. The measure failed in Farmington [208-249], Temple [13-35], New Vineyard [7-56], Chesterville [14-71], Weld [13-35], Starks [11-21], Wilton [67-119], Industry [21-50], and New Sharon [41-110]. Only Vienna supported the measure by a narrow 10-9 vote.

Franklin County Adult Education had been awarded a nearly $1.8 million Maine Connectivity Grant, with the purchase intended to expand educational opportunities and provide space for community organizations.

Superintendent Christian Elkington previously stated that leasing half of the 14,000-square-foot building could generate approximately $192,000 annually. However, while discussions were held with about 30 organizations, none had been able to commit to leasing space before the district secured the building, he said in March.

At a March 25 board of directors meeting, Franklin County Adult Education Director Mary Redmond-Luce expressed gratitude for the community’s engagement, regardless of how they voted.

“I wasn’t sure if I should talk about the vote, but I just wanted to say thank you all for your support, whether you came to the Select Board meetings of your town or wrote me little notes or whatnot,” Luce said. “I do appreciate all of the support I get from you and from Christian and the administrative team.”

During the meeting, Luce also provided an overview of adult education programs. She reported that 105 students were enrolled in high school completion academic programming, with another eight participating from the Franklin County Correctional Facility. One recent graduate is set to begin at Central Maine Community College this fall and has already secured a construction job, Luce noted.

Luce highlighted three key grants supporting the program. The Maine College and Career Access Grant, with a fiscal year 2025 goal of serving 30 students pursuing high school diplomas and further education, has already exceeded its target with 33 students. The Adult Education and Family Literacy Act [AEFLA] grant, the only federal grant received supports multilingual learners through Tuesday night classes at beginner and intermediate levels, as well as digital literacy efforts. Additionally, a digital literacy partnership with Greater Franklin Economic Development has allowed RSU 9 adult education instructor Michael Burd to provide 396 individual classes to 132 students across the community, including at local libraries and SeniorsPlus locations.

The board acknowledged Luce’s work. “I just wanted to publicly thank you for the extraordinary effort you put in on the project,” said director Wayne Kinney. “It was very well done, very thorough and thank you.”

Superintendent Elkington noted that the board will vote at its next meeting to officially accept the election results. “The only thing I would say is I appreciate everybody who came out and voted,” he said. “This is a democracy, and for most of the towns, it was the only item on the agenda. So for several hundred people to come out for one item like that, I was happy to see that.”

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