Dozens of Scarborough community members are working to find solution to overcrowded, aging schools (2024)

Whether it was the cost, location or overall approach, nearly 6,000 voters turned down a $160 million K-3 school project in Scarborough last November.

The 5,913 to 3,363 rejection, which surprised some project proponents, gave way to a post-mortem survey and the creation of a new School Building Advisory Committee to come up with a solution to the town’s overcrowded and aging schools.

It’s a fresh start that is being steered by residents – about 50 of whom are working in four groups to come up with four possible solutions. Their ideas will be outlined at a public forum on May 30.

“There was an invite that went out back in early winter inviting anybody that was interested in participating to come and put their name in,” Peter Hayes, chair of the committee, told the Leader. “People had to come and they had to commit they were going to show up for meetings and, frankly, I am just amazed at the passion and energy.”

From young adults to parents to senior residents, group members bring a wide range of perspectives and knowledge to their task. At a meeting on Monday, groups shared their concepts so far with the Leader.

One group is exploring building a school for Grades 2-3. The primary schools would serve K-1 students, Wentworth Grades 4-6 and the middle school Grades 7-8, with the intent that neither the primary schools nor middle schools would rely on portable classrooms.

Another group is proposing a fourth primary school with space for a pre-K program. Portables at the existing primary schools and middle schools would be replaced by modular buildings that could be constructed off-site before being installed over a summer, avoiding student disruptions.

Major additions at the middle school, along with reorganizing the schools, are the focus of a third group. The middle school would serve Grades 5-8, Wentworth 2-4, and the primary schools K-1. Group members Monday were debating the use of modular buildings.

The remaining group is pursuing a new K-3 school and reconfiguration of the others. Those members are attempting to simplify what was proposed last year to make it both less expensive and easier for the public to understand. As part of that, Wentworth would serve Grades 4-6 and at the middle school, portables would be removed and security upgrades would be made.

The groups are also digging into minor details; comparing their project proposals to similar projects elsewhere in New England, looking into state regulations for programming and classroom sizes, and estimating costs. Debates within the groups were respectful Monday but, at times, tense, a sign of how serious the issue is being taken by participants.

“There’s a lot of energy and momentum on finding a school solution that works for our town,” said Louise Secordel, co-chair of SBAC’s Communications Committee. “We want to share key findings, discuss potential design concepts and options and get more input from our community so that we keep moving towards an agreeable solution.”

The May 30 forum is a chance to get the groups’ progress so far “in front of a broader Scarborough community,” Hayes said, “so we can make sure we’re not getting ahead of the community.”

“The intent is to not surprise the community with a final product,” he said, “but to say, ‘This is where we are, what do you think?'”

A location for the forum had not been determined before the Leader’s deadline Wednesday.

The groups also will make presentations of their concepts at a School Building Advisory Committee meeting on June 3. The committee will then take one or perhaps multiple concepts to present to the Town Council and Board of Education later that month.

For more information about the committee, concepts being worked on and the forum, go to the committee’s web page, scarboroughschools.org/building-project, or their Facebook page, facebook.com/ScarboroughSchoolsBuildingProject.

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