Meeting and vote to be held Nov. 17, 6 p.m. at CPAC
CARIBOU, Maine — Conceptual phases of RSU 39’s new preK-8 school project are nearing completion, and the Building Committee is holding a straw poll on Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. in the Caribou Performing Arts Center.
Local residents who wish to learn more about the project are urged to attend the information portion of the event, which begins prior to the vote at 6 p.m.
According to Eastern Aroostook RSU 39 Superintendent Tim Doak, the committee, consisting of PDT Architects of Portland along with local school board and community members, will present a finished budget along with specific square footage of the new facility.
As it stands, Doak says the budget will be somewhere between $45 million and $50 million, or approximately $48 million.
Once finished, the new preK-8 facility will be 112,000 square feet, or roughly 150 square feet per student.
“The proposed capacity is 750 students,” said Doak. “Our population is currently higher than that, but projections show that it will be lower by the time the building is finished.”
Community members under RSU 39 (Limestone, Stockholm and Caribou) are encouraged to attend the meeting and decide if the new school is right for the district.
“It’s important to come out and take part,” said Doak. “It shows the state the momentum here in the RSU and the town of Caribou for the new school. A larger number of participants gives a better message to the state.”
In addition to showing a budget projections, the building committee will present taxpayer savings resulting from maintaining one building instead of four. Energy costs alone are expected to result in significant savings.
“The older buildings are very inefficient,” Doak said. “Most of the money is going out of the chimney. It’s well over $2 a square foot to heat those buildings and, with the new building, it will be less than a dollar per square foot.”
Fund-raising efforts for the second gymnasium and music room, a $2 million dollar addition which would otherwise come out of local taxes, were recently boosted when Aroostook Savings and Loan presented $100,000 to the cause.
“Aroostook Savings and Loan really showed that businesses out there do support the new school and understand the economic impact there will be when the new school is finished,” said Doak. “They were very generous and we’re hoping this spearheads more contributions.”
