Crowded classrooms and a lack of safety measures are among the infrastructure challenges plaguing the Hancock County Technical Center in Ellsworth, Maine. (Photo courtesy of Bill Tracy).
A wall that’s separating from the rest of the structure, an elevator that doesn’t reliably work, and no sprinkler system in an academic setting where several hands-on classes use an open flame.
These are some problems that the 60-year-old building housing the Hancock County Technical Center needs urgently fixed. With demand for career and technical programs growing, the aging facilities, crowded classrooms and lack of safety measures is taking a toll on enrollment and funding, according to Bill Tracy, director of the center that serves seven Ellsworth-area schools.
“We derive our funding from student participation. I want them to come see state-of-the-art equipment so they can be ready to work in the industry,” he said. “And if I have an aging building that is truly falling apart, one look at our building, and they’re going to say, ‘Wait, something isn’t lining up.’”
More than 500 school buildings in Maine were built before 1980, according to Steven Bailey, head of the Maine School Management Association. School buildings across the country are aging, and the costs of rebuilding or repairs can cost states millions of dollars per building. But with dozens of Maine schools in urgent need of fixes for safety or upgrades for accessibility, districts have a choice: they can apply to the state for money, or they can ask their local taxpayers to fund construction.
Both approaches have seen varying degrees of success, but the overall challenge persists: there isn’t enough money to fund every school that needs a safe, compliant and updated learning environment.
“So, we’ve got many, many buildings that either are too small or that have classrooms that aren’t set up for learning in today’s environment,” Bailey said. “It’s going to take decades before we catch up, because the amount of funds isn’t enough to be able to meet the need.”
Earlier this year, the state opened up applications to fund major renovations for the first time in six years. Meanwhile, some southern Maine towns put school construction needs on the local ballot. And last month, Gov. Janet Mills established a commission to study the current approach to school construction and funding, and make policy recommendations to the Maine Legislature.
The commission will assess Maine’s school construction needs and study approaches other states have taken, and include its findings in a report due in April 2025, according to the executive order Mills signed in early October.
But while the commission conducts research, districts can apply to various programs for their construction needs. For repairs to a roof, improving indoor air quality, or repairs to different parts of the school building, they can apply for the state’s revolving renovation funds, which rank districts by priority of their requested upgrades.
The reality is, to qualify for state dollars, the situation has to be so dire that the building is becoming inhabitable.
– Penny Collins, MSAD 15 school board chair
There is also an option to apply for state-subsidized construction projects every few years through the Maine Department of Education’s major capital school construction programs. After reviewing applications and site visits, ratings are assigned to each application based on a rubric. The department presents a ranked list of projects to the state board of education, which determines which projects to fund based on available resources.
In 2017-18, 74 districts applied, and the department funded nine construction projects.
With applications open again this year, Tracy applied to build a new Hancock County Technical Center. According to the program’s rules, new construction is only considered “in instances in which renovation projects are not economically or educationally feasible.”
However, some Maine districts have opted to finance capital projects at the local level without the assistance of state subsidy, according to the DOE.
“This option remains open to all school units in Maine,” the rules say.
Limited success with local school construction bonds
This November election, a few southern Maine towns asked local taxpayers to consider bonds funding improvements to school buildings in need of repairs or expansions. In some cases, these districts had considered going to the state for money, or had applied to different programs, but were deemed ineligible and had to turn to voters, two district leaders said.
“The reality is, to qualify for state dollars, the situation has to be so dire that the building is becoming inhabitable,” said Penny Collins, school board chair for MSAD 15, the district that serves Gray and New Gloucester. “The state is generally looking for these projects where it is really well past the tipping point. Most school bonds don’t meet that level of need.”
While voters in several towns including Cape Elizabeth, South Portland, Gray and New Gloucester still largely rejected the most expensive projects on the ballot last week — often involving upgrades to school athletic facilities — they approved smaller improvements to bolster school safety, accessibility or necessary repairs.
Voters in New Gloucester and Gray agreed to partially fund improvements to indoor air quality in school buildings with a large percentage of the cost covered by the DOE’s School Revolving Renovation Fund. The approval will allow the district to replace the air ventilation system in four of the five schools.
Collins said the air quality bond would cost each household about $50 in annual increases to fund.
But voters in the two neighboring towns did not agree to foot the bill for a $57 million school renovation that would include adding an auditorium and gym, building new classrooms and locker rooms, and adding parking to school buildings.
About 41% of voters supported the bond, and 56% opposed it, which Collins said was still a decent amount of support for improvements that the board deemed necessary.
“I’m definitely disappointed. These kids deserve it,” she said. “But that said, I’m super motivated by how much support we did have. I feel like the voters are saying that this is not a closed conversation.”
In South Portland, voters overwhelmingly approved bonds to fund improvements to elementary school entrances to make them safer, and adding security cameras. They also approved repairs to three elementary school roofs, fixing water damage at one school and other minor fixes at the high school.
“We had applied for the revolving renovation funds about a year ago, and were not approved for that,” South Portland Superintendent Timothy Matheney said.
“So we sought another means to achieve our goals.”
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