Out of 95 school districts in Maine seeking state money to help build new schools, only two have been selected to receive funds.
WGME-TV reports that the Maine Education Department has released its "Approved School Construction List,” with only two names on it: the Dike-Newell School in Bath, and Dr. Levesque Elementary School on the Canadian border in Frenchville.
Both schools were recently destroyed by fires and are now in temporary locations.
Dike-Newell was badly damaged by an arsonist in 2022, and Dr. Levesque Elementary was damaged by an electrical fire in 2021, the Maine Monitor reports.
"Those communities and districts have been through a lot," said Scott Brown, director of school construction programs for the Maine education department. "We had been working on those two, and we knew we had the available funding to get those going immediately."
Dike-Newell's temporary home is in Bath's former technical school.
Administrators hope to replace not only Dike-Newell, but Fisher Mitchell School as well, home to the older elementary students.
Brown says only two schools were funded because that's all the money they have right now.
"We do all we can do with what's available," Brown said. "And as soon as we can make a recommendation for a project to move forward, we do."
Third on the list is Loranger Memorial School in Old Orchard Beach. It serves grades three through eight and is one of Maine’s “worst functioning” school buildings, according to Regional School District 23 Superintendent John Suttie.
One wing of the school is nearing 90 years old, and the other wing is nearly 60 years old. The school has structural problems, does not efficiently heat up or cool down, and is not compliant with accessibility standards, Suttie said
Loranger is now next on the list to receive funds for a new elementary and middle school, and that money could come as early as next year, Brown says.
"I've spoken with that superintendent today, and they should be optimistic," Brown said.
