At the June 11, 2024 School Board meeting Lisa Sawin, Architect and Principal at Harriman, presented an alternate design concept for the School Building Project based on direction given by the board at their May 21 workshop.  At that workshop, the School Board determined that the School Building Advisory Committee’s recommendation to move forward with an option that did not include building a new middle school (Option B) did not meet the stated educational goals and safety concerns of the board.

Sawin explained that the direction received asked for Harriman to develop a compromise solution between prior options “B” and “E” which meets the educational needs and financial parameters.  According to Harriman’s understanding of the request, the drafted “Solution” should: Unite the community; develop a consensus and compromise which is unique and different from both B and E; have a tax impact near 10%; provide a new middle school with full cooling and include other necessary upgrades to the elementary and high schools; collaborate with the Facilities Director to achieve improvements using state funding; be a town-wide initiative; and not compromise on the educational needs of students.

Earlier in the same School Board meeting, the Facilities Director Dave Bagdasarian updated the board on CIP projects completed (or will be completed) in the 2023-2024 school year.  Several of the items were identified in the Harriman Needs Assessment report.  This includes a new gym floor at Pond Cove Elementary and a new student Fitness Center at the Cape Elizabeth High School by the end of June 2024. Bagdasarian's full review is available here.

The process by which Harriman followed to arrive upon the drafted solution, includes the following:  

Based on this input, Sawin explained that Harriman has developed a solution which has an estimated cost of $89.95+/- million with 0% educational disruption.  The solution addresses: the educational needs at both the middle and elementary schools; vehicular and pedestrian circulation; and maintains the current number of athletic fields and quantity of green space.  

In addition, the proposed solution addresses the elementary school’s repairs that are most efficiently done as part of a large project: 

The proposed solution includes addressing the following repairs at the elementary school and high school:

Finally, Sawin provided the following slides which address the compromises and solutions included is the newly proposed "Solution."

The proposed solution will be discussed at the upcoming Town Council and School Board Joint Workshop on Monday, June 17 beginning at  6:30 p.m.  The next date is a Community Public Forum scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on Monday, June 24.  Both events will be streamed on CETV LIVE and recorded for future on-demand access.

The School Building Advisory Committee's role will come to end on June 30 following the Town Council's approval of the Town Manager's document on Process and Protocols for the School Building Project as amended by the council on June 10.