HOULTON, Maine — A community conversation about consolidating two southern Aroostook high schools and a career and technical education center serving five area districts has been slated for April 7 at the Temple Theater in Houlton.
Following school board approval, representatives from Houlton Middle High School, Hodgdon Middle High School and Region Two Career and Technology Center applied for a state grant that would provide capital funding for the construction of a new regional school.
Faced with declining enrollments, aging structures, staffing shortages and the increasing cost of education, these Houlton area schools join others around the state also exploring consolidation. Just recently, officials from Presque Isle, Caribou and Fort Fairfield high schools announced that they also submitted the first part of the Maine DOE grant in October.
“This grant could bring millions of dollars to our region to create a state-of-the-art facility that provides robust opportunities for many years to come,” Houlton Superintendent Joe Fagnant, Hodgdon Superintendent Tyler Putnam and Region Two Director Ammie London said in a joint letter to the community this week.
Houlton-area school partners include Houlton, Hodgdon and Region Two CTE, which serves Houlton, Hodgdon, East Grand, Southern Aroostook Community, Katahdin in Stacyville schools and homeschoolers.
The grant opportunity is part of the phase one cycle of the Maine Department of Education Integrated, Consolidated 9-16 Educational Facility Grant Program.
In this first phase schools described who the partners are, the mission and goals for the Integrated, consolidated 9-16 project, and how this would improve teaching and learning, said RSU 29 Superintendent Joe Fagnant on Tuesday afternoon.
“As facilities continue to age, costs continue to rise, enrollment is shrinking, and we struggle to meet staffing, it is time for schools to partner together,” Fagnant said. “This project allows for state funds to be put towards creating a state of the art facility that offers combined career, technical, post secondary, and life skills training. It is more than just the building, it is a place for our future students to create pathways towards being career ready.”
One of the reasons costs continue to rise is due to state requirements and a funding model that no longer keeps up with budget demands, Fagnant said.
“We have to start thinking long term to sustain our buildings and programs for students,” he said. “One campus to bring together our resources for 7th grade and beyond is going to be important for our two school systems.”
Part two of the application, due in October, is a deeper dive with more details, including how the governance structure will be decided, which entity will be fiscally responsible, how programs are integrated and what strategies will be utilized to offer industry specific training, along with post secondary options, Fagnant said.
While the first part of the state application was not scored, Part 2 has very specific scoring points for each question that will rank Maine schools seeking this funding, according to the state education department.
As required by the state, the Houlton-area applicants have letters of support from University of Maine at Presque Isle and Northern Maine Community College, according to Fagnant.
The consolidation committee has determined that Houlton High School and Region Two Career and Technical Education Center would be combined into a one-campus design.
As part of the planning, the committee is considering connecting the current structures and upgrading and renovating existing structures. Additionally, Fagnant said they are looking at expanding to create a space that offers multiple programs for Houlton and Hodgdon grades 7-12 students, while offering public spaces for meetings, plus post secondary classes, and CTE programming
The community is invited to the consolidation conversation at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 7, at the Temple Theater to hear more about the project, and view the film “Multiple Choice,” which focuses on innovative schools.