Portland, Maine, voters approve funds for elementary

State will reimburse the city for the $19.7 million constructon project

June 11, 2008

2 min read

Portland, Maine, voters have given the city authority to borrow $19.7 million – money that will be reimbursed by the state – to build a new elementary school on Ocean Avenue. The money will be used to build a new 440-student school. It will open in 2011 where the former Baxter Elementary School stands; the 100-year-old Clifford Elementary School on Falmouth Street will close.
To read The Portland Press-Herald article, click here.

FROM APRIL: Three city council members in Portland, Maine, say they will change their votes and support a plan to build a $19.6 million state-funded elementary school. The three acted after increasing pressure from community members. Mayor Edward Suslovic and Councilors David Marshall and Kevin Donoghue will ask the council to reconsider the matter and vote again on April 18. The new school would replace the aging Clifford Elementary School. The plan to borrow $19.6 million to build the new school garnered six of nine city council votes earlier this week, but needed seven votes for approval. The state will reimburse the city for the cost of the project.
Click here to read The Portland Press-Herald article.

EARLIER: Officials in Portland, Maine, are putting pressure on three city council members whose votes effectively killed a proposal to build a new elementary school with $19.6 million in state aid. The city council voted 6-3 to borrow the money, but it needed seven votes to pass. The state would have reimbursed the money. City officials have been planning for the project for three years and had planned to hold a referendum on the school project on June 10. The new school would be built where the former Baxter Elementary School stands. It would replace the Clifford Elementary School, which would close. Council members who opposed the project faulted the process that was used to determine whether Clifford should close and argued that the school district lacks a comprehensive facilities plan.
Click here to read the Maine Today article.