BRUNSWICK

Local school districts have announced they will be eyeing state funding for some sorely needed improvements, after the Maine Department of Education has announced a new school construction application cycle.

According to the DOE, “a new application cycle enables Maine public schools to apply for state support in order to undertake a major renovation or addition project, or to build a new facility.”

The DOE will review the applications and create a needs-based priority list.

The entire application and review process is expected to take about two years.

Brunswick School Superintendent Paul Perzanoski said Brunswick will submit applications for Coffin Elementary School and Brunswick Junior High School.

Brunswick has been wrestling with how to address its aging facilities for more than five years. The school department is also looking at whether it should apply for any of the new revolving renovation funds, Perzanoski said.

“Certainly we want to do anything we can to minimize the burden on the taxpayers,” he said. “At the same time, we have these aging buildings we need to do something about.”

According to most recent estimates, it will cost just more than $33.6 million to repair the junior high and to build a new elementary school at the site of the now-defunct Jordan Acres School. The school department will present the project to the town council on Dec. 5.

School officials will talk about the application process during a facilities meeting Tuesday.

In Lisbon

Lisbon School Department expects to submit an application for a high school project, having made improvements already with a new gym and track.

In 2005, Lisbon High School was placed on probation by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, a regional accrediting association. The warning status was largely because of facility issues, mainly concerning the gym. The probation was recently lifted following another NEASC visit in 2015.

Lisbon has applied to the state for major capital school construction funds numerous times, but hasn’t moved beyond No. 27 on the list in the last two rating cycles.

Lisbon Superintendent Richard Green said the application process is extensive and can be very costly for school systems. The site analysis alone can cost $20,000.

He doesn’t believe the final cost will be more than $5,000 for this application cycle, but Green said he’d like schools who have applied in the past to have applications automatically resubmitted by DOE.

Regional School Unit 1 and School Administrative District 75 are planning for new high school projects. Both applied during the last application cycle in 2010-11 and just missed the initial funding cut-off. However, the DOE in 2014 gave the go-ahead for the next six projects on that priority list.

SAD 75 Superintendent Brad Smith confirmed Monday the district does plan to participate in this latest application cycle.