HAMPDEN – Voters in the three towns comprising SAD 22 approved a referendum on Tuesday to borrow $51.6 million that will fund the most expensive school project in state history.

According to unofficial results late Tuesday, 969 voters in Hampden favored the referendum while 280 opposed. In Winterport the question was approved by a 265-179 margin. In Newburgh 128 supported the project compared to 103 who did not.

In all, 71 percent of voters approved the referendum.

“You’re always a little nervous, but I think people did a great job with the vision and planning for this project,” SAD 22 Superintendent Rick Lyons said late Tuesday after the results were tallied. “This shows that the voters affirm a commitment to public education.”

The $51.6 million project includes $45.4 million in funding – 88 percent of the total – that will be paid for by the state Department of Education. The remaining 12 percent, about $6.2 million, will be paid for by taxpayers in Hampden, Winterport and Newburgh.

The exact tax impact has yet to be determined, but early estimates indicate that the local share will be about $70 per $100,000 of property valuation for residents of the three SAD 22 towns. That number will go down each year of the 30-year bond.

It’s likely that the vote was closer than expected because of the wording of the referendum. Residents could only approve the project on an all-or-nothing basis, meaning they could not approve the project without approving the additional local share of $6.2 million.

“I think the informed voter saw this as an opportunity where the state was subsidizing 88 percent of this,” Lyons said. “And we felt strongly that this was a package deal.”

By a 1,584-381 vote, residents in the three towns also authorized the SAD to accept gifts to put toward the project.

The school already has been pre-approved for a site off Route 1A that is owned by SAD 22. It will be built adjacent to Hampden’s existing elementary and middle schools to create a campus for students from kindergarten through high school.

Like with many state-approved projects, the DOE supports only certain elements. Anything above and beyond must be paid for at the local level. In SAD 22, a building committee worked for several months on the plans and identified the following items the members felt the new school should have above and beyond what the state would pay for:

. A 900-seat performing arts center that could support the entire student body and faculty, estimated to cost $2.6 million.

. Expanded science classrooms and laboratories that meet national standards, estimated at $1 million.

. A gymnasium and wellness center with the same capacity as the existing Skehan Center, projected to cost $1.7 million.

. An efficient, alternative energy system that could include a geothermal component that would cost about $785,000 more than the state would allow.

If all goes well, construction could start as early as next summer and could be completed by the fall of 2011.

erussell@bangordailynews.net

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