KENNEBUNK — Three years of meetings to come up with a plan, complaints that a turf field and second gym were "frills," an aging high school in need of tens of millions in repairs and renovations — all ultimately leading to a failed school bond vote after strong voter turnout.
Sound familiar?
It might, but it's not the recent RSU 21 vote. In fact, it was the 2007 failure of the South Portland High School building vote.
The South Portland project brought before voters in 2007 was for the high school only, which suffered from many of the same problems plaguing Kennebunk High School: old buildings, poorly constructed additions, antiquated systems and infrastructure and spaces not conducive to today's educational climate.
When the project was first presented to voters in 2007, it failed, with 6,495 residents casting ballots — 1,564 in support and 4,726 against. Seventy-five percent of voters voting against the original project, which carried a price tag of $56 million.
According to a Nov. 16, 2007 article in The Sentry, the plans included "the construction of a three-story addition for science classrooms and a new library, a three-floor classroom and administration wing, a two-story addition for a new cafeteria and kitchen, a two-story classroom addition on the Highland Avenue side of the building and a single-story gymnasium."
The plans also proposed relocating the existing tennis courts and the construction of a "multipurpose artificial turf field."
In
South Portland, the public was divided over the 2007 vote, with letters
to the editor in the local paper, the Current, reflecting many of the
same issues — and community tension — that were seen in RSU 21:
No comments:
Post a Comment