NEW SWEDEN — An application for a new elementary school submitted by the New Sweden school officials has been recommended for funding by the Maine Department of Education’s Division of School Facilities.
The application was listed as one of 10 Maine school construction projects to be presented for funding approval to the Board of Education in July.
The list, released Monday, included an application for a new elementary school in Madawaska, and a new middle school in Fort Fairfield. Fifty projects were listed, with New Sweden placing fifth in priority, according to Ted Ruarkcq, director of the Division of School Facilities. “Funding for the projects will be determined by the amount of money available, and the number of projects that can be funded with that money,” said Ruark. “We are working on the basis that we will have money available to fund the (top) 10 projects.”
An application from Madawaska to replace its Evangeline and Acadia Schools placed 11th on the list. The project is expected to be approved in 1993, assuming money is available, said Ruark.
A project request for a new middle school in Fort Fairfield placed 34th on the list, said state officials.
The applications for new school or addition projects were submitted last Sept. 15.
Criteria for selection included requirements that proposed school projects be more than 8,000 square feet, and that proposed projects met educational needs.
Applications to the state described the need for the construction project, an assessment of current buildings, a description of the current education program, and a projection for an educational program in the proposed new building or addition.
Schools may reapply through an annual application to the state. A new state process will require school to apply in April, said Ruark.
Following Board of Education approval, the top schools will have five months to get local support for the school projects, Ruark said.
“Based on approval by local voters, the community — with approval from the Board of Education — may sell bonds to raise the needed money,” said Ruark. “The state will reimburse a portion of the debt service, varying for each community.”
A public information meeting is scheduled at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 8, at the New Sweden Community Center to determine the public’s interest in a new elementary school in New Sweden.
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