RSU 14 to hold straw poll vote on proposed location for construction of new middle school

A non-binding straw poll vote on the 61 Windham Center Road location that is proposed for the new RSU 14 Middle School will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 29 in the Windham High School Auditorium. The meeting will include a brief presentation of the site and an opportunity for the public to ask questions about the work that has been completed to date.

A non-binding straw poll will be held on Thursday, June 29
at Windham High School to select a site at 61 Windham
Center Road for construction of the new Windham Middle
School. The straw poll is one of many steps in a process
established by the Maine Department of Education in
determining where to build the new school, which is
expected to be completed by fall 2027.
PHOTO BY ED PIERCE    

“This poll is one of the many steps in the process that is outlined in the Maine Department of Education construction program and must be completed before the site is submitted for approval by the Maine State School Board,” said RSU 14 Superintendent of Schools Christopher Howell. “The Maine State School Board will be reviewing the property at their July meeting.”

Howell said that the Middle School Construction Committee has been working diligently over the past year on the proposed new middle school site for RSU 14.

“The project is being worked on through a partnership with the Major Capital Projects Program of the Maine Department of Education,” Howell said. “Under this program, the State of Maine contributes much of the cost for the project through state funding.”

The committee has selected 61 Windham Center Road as the location for the new school because of the many positive attributes that make it suitable for the location. These include the number of acres that can be developed, the central location of the property, access to critical infrastructure, and the ease of development of the property.

“The new RSU 14 Middle School is being built with a strong focus on creating an innovative and dynamic learning environment that supports project-based learning,” Howell said. “The school will feature state-of-the-art classrooms, fully equipped science labs, a team-based design that supports personalization for students, and modern athletic facilities. These facilities will provide our students with the tools they need to excel academically, explore their passions, and engage in physical activities.”

Over the past year, a team of civil and environmental engineers has been working to determine whether the site can successfully support the functions of a new school campus.

“All of the data collected to date has shown that the property can successfully support the development of both a building and an athletic complex to sustain student activities at that school,” Howell said.

The work that has been underway on the development of a new site is only a single aspect of the planning work that has taken place. The team has also been working with the school architects and the Maine Department of Education to finalize the programming and layout of the building.

The committee is also exploring additional academic and extracurricular spaces that would be in addition to the square footage that has been approved by the Department of Education. The additional spaces include an auditorium, an indoor running track, an expanded gymnasium, additional playground space, a greenhouse, and additional walking paths around the campus.

“As currently planned, the school is being designed to support 1200 students and it will accommodate Raymond and Windham students in grades five to eight,” Howell said. “The decision to shift to a five to eight middle school will provide an opportunity for the district to offer public pre-K for all families who wish to participate in this program.”

The middle school project is scheduled to go to a referendum in November 2023. The timing of the ballot measure coincides with the timing of funding that has been built into the state budget to support the project. If the measure passes, the project will move into a final design phase and the start of construction.

It is currently estimated that the building will be completed and open by fall 2027. <