BRUNSWICK

Instead of renovating two ailing schools with locally funded bonds, the school board decided to weigh nearfuture construction of a new elementary school with local money, and plan for renovation of the second with state help about 2019.

The Brunswick School Board’s discussion Wednesday is a reversal of its earlier intention to fix aging and dilapidated buildings rather than build one large or two similarly-sized new ones.

Original plans drafted in 2011 called for rehab worth $10 million at Robert P.T. Coffin Elementary School on Barrows Street and another $11 million in renovations and repairs at Brunswick Junior High School on Columbia Street.

Both schools are old and in need of major structural, technological and systems upgrades. But after further review, the cost of repairing and expanding the junior high school swelled by several million dollars.

At first, both projects were to be funded by local bonds and were intended to be put to referendum in June. However, research and analysis during the past year revealed more extensive problems with the buildings. Additionally, enrollment data suggests the town’s population has stopped shrinking and once again is growing, leading board members and Portland-based firm PDT Architects to reconsider the original renovation plans and add several expansion contingencies.

In December 2012, it became obvious that neither construction plan would be ready for the June referendum and the board decided to delay the vote until November 2013. Among their considera- tions are whether to scrap renovation of the Coffin Elementary School in favor of building an entirely new facility, either in the current building’s place or on another parcel.

“Capacity is the biggest issue for Kindergarten through fifth grade,” board member Rich Ellis said. “We’re faced with a couple of major physical plant dilemmas, and similar conditions and workable space issues with the (eventual new) bus garage location.”

He cited the Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary School, opened in 2011, which was designed to have 30 classrooms but currently “is leveraging 32 classrooms,” Ellis said.

Part of the Stowe School’s crowding is the result of Jordan Acres School’s unexpected closure in 2010, the result of too many expensive maintenance issues for the town’s budget to bear. When it did, the Stowe School absorbed its student body.

Adding to the schools’ dilemma, the town’s population — which has contracted for several years due to the decommissioning and closure of Brunswick Naval Air Station — again has started growing. With many of the former base’s housing units rehabilitated and either rented or sold, more school-aged children are moving to Brunswick.

“We’re seeing growth within our district, we added three or four kids at every grade level last year,” Ellis said.

“All of these are important projects, but I need to put the classroom capacity issue first. It’s foolish to spend $18 million on a renovation when $5 million extra would get you an extra 20 years of capacity from new construction.”

Near the end of Wednesday’s meeting, board members agreed that the Coffin School’s replacement or renovation should be their top priority.

“(The price tag) is a hard number (to accept),” said board chairman Jim Grant. “We can continue to patch things (at the junior high school), but kids in the classrooms are safe. We’ve got to get rid of these mobile units — that to me is a crisis and a priority that has to be addressed.”

Caron, the facilities manager, agreed.

“I don’t think ‘light touch’ renovations are the solution to anything,” he said. “I think a new school (on Barrows Street) would allow us to plan for the future.”

jtleonard@timesrecord.com