PARIS — Voters in a straw poll Thursday overwhelmingly supported plans by Maine School Administrative District 17 to build a new middle school at the site of the current one on Pine Street in South Paris. The estimated cost is $90 million.

About 100 adults and 50 children attended the presentation and straw poll on at the middle school.

Following a slideshow depicting renderings of the proposed building, which would include adding sixth graders, 98 adults raised their hands to approve the plans and two opposed. A few did not vote.

A second poll for just the children in attendance was unanimously, and loudly, affirmative.

The school was originally Paris High School and transitioned to a middle school after SAD 17 was formed in the early 1960s to include seven other towns.

Twelve years ago the district created a second campus on Madison Avenue in Oxford to accommodate the number of middle school students, some of whom had been using portable classrooms at the Pine Street site.

Currently about 150 students attend the South Campus, and the majority attend the North Campus on Pine Street.

“Getting all of our middle school students, including sixth grade, in one building is a huge priority,” Superintendent Heather Manchester said. “It will be a game changer for kids, equitably balancing education for all of them.”

There are an estimated 250 students each in grades 6, 7 and 8, making a total of about 750 in all.

Friday morning Manchester presented the concept design and straw poll results to the Maine Department of Education’s School Construction Committee, which voted to recommend the project be accepted by the Maine Board of Education.

Manchester will present the project to the Maine Board of Education on Sept. 17, with the school construction committee’s recommendation. If the state board approves it, SAD 17 will develop a ballot to send to Harrison, Hebron, Norway, Otisfield, Oxford, Paris, Waterford and West Paris officials for a vote on Election Day, Nov. 4.

The ballot will include three questions:
• Whether to accept $88.1 million (97.054% of the total cost) in state subsidy for the project.
• Whether to spend funds from local share to build an enlarged, high school-size gymnasium and bleacher seating for the full student body.
• Whether to spend funds from local share to build stadium seating for an outdoor classroom in the school courtyard.

Questions two and three will have individual cost breakouts included on the ballot.

Voters will have the option of choosing to fund the larger gymnasium and experiential learning stadium-style seating separately. The state’s school construction subsidy formula does not cover high school-size gymnasiums for middle schools but community feedback during previous public forums on a new school indicated a gymnasium that allows for all-age competitive athletics to be a priority.

If the Nov. 4 referendum passes, SAD 17 must apply to the Maine Department of Education to finance the construction before anything is final.

According to the Oxford Hills Middle School Building Committee, 97% of the cost to build the school is eligible to be financed by state subsidy. After the building committee’s plans and referendum results are reviewed, the Maine Department of Education’s School Construction Committee will determine if it will cover all, part, or none of the subsidy.

If the state approves its proposed share of $88.1 million, the remaining 3% , or about $2.7 million, would be the responsibility of the school district.

If the state approves less than 97%, the district’s building committee would work with architects at Harriman to adjust plans as necessary.

One resident of Pine Street voted against the project after stating the street and neighborhood are not conducive to the proposed school size and traffic. However, Manchester said that an engineered traffic study has concluded there will be no serious obstacles. If problems arise during construction, the state subsidy includes contingency funding to address them.

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