FREEPORT – A revised bond to fund renovations at Freeport High School and a separate ballot question to replace the turf on the athletic fields are expected to go before voters Nov. 5, pending a vote from the Regional School Unit 5 board of directors at its next scheduled meeting Sept. 25.

The Freeport High School Renovation Advisory Committee, charged with forming an action plan for the project, made its recommendations during a Sept. 11 board of directors meeting in Freeport.

The action comes on the heels of a $16.95 million bond that was rejected by voters on June 5. The expansion plan called for a 31,000-square-foot addition that would have been constructed to replace the industrial arts building on the northwest side of the school. A new athletic complex, which would have been built behind the high school, would have had an eight-lane track, as well as competition and practice spaces for discus, high jump, javelin, long jump, pole vault and shot put. The track and athletic fields also would be open to use by the district’s residents in Freeport, Pownal and Durham.

After the narrow defeat, the district contracted with Triton Polling and Research of Henderson, Nev., in July to conduct a telephone survey of registered voters in order to determine why the referendum failed. Questions were also asked to determine whether amendments to the proposed renovations could be made to both meet the needs of the Freeport High School students and the expectations of the residents within the three towns that comprise RSU 5.

According to information supplied by RSU 5, the survey generally indicated that the bond was defeated because many voters were concerned about the cost impact. Further, some voters felt that the academic and athletic facility improvements should be separate ballot questions. Voters also expressed a desire to scale back the athletic improvements rather than scale back the academic improvements.

Based on the results of the survey, the Freeport High School Renovation Advisory Committee is recommending a base project for academic renovations and field repairs at a cost of $14,638,009. A separate ballot question, billed as a bond upgrade, would approve $1,718,891 for the construction of synthetic field surfaces.

The reduction in scope includes moving the industrial arts department to the existing cafeteria location, which is approximately 3,000 square feet. The seating area for a new cafeteria food court will be 4,500 square feet, or 50 percent larger. This cafeteria has been sized to handle roughly 55 percent of the expected enrollment in 10 years. The first bond would repair the main athletic fields, with no future plans to construct a track or convert to a synthetic turf field. In addition, two-thirds of the field hockey field would receive drainage repairs and new grass.

The decision to split the academic and athletic renovations was greeted by skepticism by some residents who attended the Sept. 11 meeting, including Joe Migliaccio of Freeport.

“I think we should keep both on the same bond as a litmus test,” Migliaccio told the board. “Put the whole thing out to a vote and educate the public. I think you’ll get the first one on the ballot, but not the second.”

Durham resident Kevin Nadeau struck a similar tone as Migliaccio. When asked by a member of the board if he thought the athletic field upgrade would pass as a separate ballot question, he said, “No way.”

If approved by the board of directors on Sept. 25, officials from the RSU will present the details of the two ballot questions to the municipal boards of Durham, Pownal and Freeport ahead of the expected Nov. 25 referendum.

The June referendum vote also underscored the lingering tension with the smaller towns of the district, Durham and Pownal. In 2012, Durham toyed with the idea of pulling out of the RSU 5 altogether, but residents voted to keep the unit intact. After the renovation measure failed to pass in July, the Freeport Town Council, responding to a groundswell of frustration from residents, began exploring the feasibility of withdrawing from the district and is still in the process of examining the cost and full consequences of such an action.

The results on the previous expansion proposal from Freeport, Durham, and Pownal put the total votes on the school project at 2,202 against and 2,028 in favor. In Freeport, 1,623 were in favor, 902 opposed. Pownal trounced the bond, 472 to 118, and it was the same story in Durham, where 828 were against and 287 in favor.

Pownal and Durham voters also rejected the $25.8 million 2013-2014 school budget.

“I like that the committee has recommended cutting $2.3 million out of the high school renovation bond and creating a separate bond question for the turf and track. I also like that the revised renovation bond would include fixing the existing fields so that they’re safe and functioning properly,” said Lindsay Sterling, president of Friends of Freeport High School, an organization working to support the proposed renovation of the school. “Based on the results of the August poll, I’m confident that this high school renovation bond would pass in November, and I’m hopeful that the turf and track bond would pass, too.”