CARIBOU, Maine — As part of an agreement with the Maine Department of Education to construct a brand new $50 million school for preK through grade eight, several existing educational facilities in Caribou are to be demolished courtesy of the state.
The Learning Center, Teague Park Elementary, and Caribou Middle School are to be demolished while Hilltop, which the RSU 39 school board recently voted to close next year, will be conveyed to the city, and then to a private LLC to be used as a senior living center.
RSU 39 Superintendent Tim Doak says the demolition of both Teague Park and the middle school will occur in mid- to late 2020 while the Learning Center on Bennett Drive, where his office is located, is set to be demolished later this year.
“The Learning Center has to be torn down for the new school project,” Doak said, adding that administrative staff have until November to vacate the building and move over to a new office near the Caribou Community Pool.
The city closed the outdoor pool on Glenn Street in summer 2014.
“My office is being built near the outdoor swimming pool at the old changing station,” said Doak, adding that construction of the state-funded office will “hopefully start in June.”
Students who attend the Learning Center will relocate to the Caribou Regional Technology Center, located on the high school campus, Sweden Street.
“Alternative Ed and Adult Ed students at the Learning Center will move to the high school’s CTE Center,” Doak said, adding that a portion of the tech center will be remodeled into classrooms to accommodate the incoming students.
The superintendent said he is anxious for people to see the new changes and construction associated with this project.
