Friday, January 27, 2012



KENNEBUNK — The town and RSU 21 presented different visions at a meeting held last week to determine whether the two could collaborate on a performing arts center.

Representatives of the Kennebunk Board of Selectmen and RSU 21 Board of Directors joined for the Performing Arts Center Subcommittee meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 18, in the midst of $43 million in proposed improvements to Kennebunk High School which could include an estimated 500-seat auditorium.
While the town has expressed interest in creating a performing arts center at the former Garden Street Market, school representatives discussed during the meeting the concept of a stand-alone performing arts center on the grounds of Kennebunk High School.

"You could characterize our interest at this point as reluctant," RSU 21 Director Tim Hussey told members of the subcommittee regarding the joint performing arts center. "This is not a deal for us in terms of having the proper auditorium that we think the high school needs."

Instead, a performing arts center on KHS property is being studied. The center could partner with community arts organizations and could be supported with financial contributions from those organizations as well as private funding, Hussey said. The facility could offer private courses and programming related to the school district during the day and events in the evening, he said.

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