The RSU 14 Board of Directors unanimously voted on Wednesday, March 5 to enter into a contract with the Scarborough-based Landry French Construction as general contractor for the new Windham Raymond Middle School to be built at 61 Windham Center Road.
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| Landry French Construction will serve as the General Contractor for the new Windham Raymond Middle School at its location on Windham Center Road in Windham. The site is currently being prepared and materials are being delivered. Construction is expected to start soon and the school to open by August 2027. PHOYO BY ED PIERCE |
Landry French has produced many well-known construction projects, such as buildings at the Casco Bay Ferry Lines, the Colby College campus, the Yarmouth Public Safety complex, and the new cancer center on Rock Row in Westbrook. They have excelled in creating first-rate educational facilities, as well, demonstrating their commitment to excellence in every project they undertake.
“Landry French Construction has an impressive portfolio of school and civic projects and is recognized for completing high-quality work on time and under budget,” said RSU 14 Superintendent of Schools Chris Howell. “The company is working to complete the new Skowhegan Elementary School and is currently working on a K-8 school in RSU 10 in Mexico, Maine.”
Also impressive is the fact that the construction is coming in under budget, which is important to lowering the expected budget increase.
“The first-year payments for the project will increase the 2026 school budget by 8 percent, with a little over 6 percent covered by an additional subsidy from the state of Maine,” Howell said. “While this represents a larger-than-usual budget increase due to school-related debt, the additional subsidy will help cover a majority of the new costs.”
The project remains on track and is currently running $11 million under the original projected budget. The building will include all the features previously discussed with the community. This means that nothing will be cut, including the much-anticipated 600-seat auditorium and indoor walking track.
As mentioned in a July 26, 2024, article written by Ed Pierce, once the school construction is completed, Windham Middle School and Jordan-Small Middle School in Raymond will be combined into what will be known as Windham Raymond Middle School.
The original Windham Middle School was built in 1977 and was originally intended for a maximum capacity of 483 students. That number has grown in the last few years to exceed 650 students, with sixth graders being housed for some classes at the adjacent Field Allen School, originally constructed in 1949.
Jordan-Small Middle School in Raymond was originally constructed as an elementary school in 1960 and currently has about 180 students.
The RSU 14 plan calls for students in Grades Five to Grade Eight in both Windham and Raymond to attend the new school.
Windham fifth graders currently attending Manchester School would attend the new school, as would Jordan-Small Middle School students from Raymond.
The maximum capacity for the new school is expected to be about 1,200 students and the building is expected to be viable for at least 50 years.
Howell points out that team teaching will be implemented, creating an atmosphere of a close-knit community.
“The teaming structure will give students the feel of being in a smaller school within the larger school,” he said. “Each team will have spaces that are dedicated to each of the core subject areas,” he said. “In addition, the building will be structured to allow for the integration of some of the applied arts within the team. The development of this team structure will serve to bring the best possible facilities to each team. In contrast, the original Windham Junior High School, now Windham Middle School, was built as a departmentalized Junior High School.”
With the contract now approved, Windham and Raymond residents can look forward to seeing progress on the new school, which promises to be a state-of-the-art facility for students and the community alike. <
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