WOOLWICH

The budget for a new Morse High School and Bath Regional Career and Technical Center comes to more than $74.6 million, most of which will be paid for by the state. The four communities that comprise RSU 1 — Arrowsic, Bath, Phippsburg and Woolwich — will front $7.9 million of that cost.

The local-only funded portion of the project reflects a mixture of added spaces the building committee deemed necessary, more durable materials and design features that could save the school money in the long term, but have higher upfront costs.

“If you want those types of materials, glass, more durable materials, (the state is) looking for you to share some of those costs,” chief architect Ron Lamarre of Lavallee Brensinger Architects Lamarre told the RSU 1 board of directors on Monday.

The district plans to reduce the locally funded contribution by $700,000 by fundraising, which means the budget would only approve bonds to the tune of $7.2 million for the project.

“The goal from the school board and the committees that we worked with is that we build this building to be the least in terms of operational costs,” Lamarre said. “We’re spending as little as we can on electricity, natural gas, propane — whatever the fuel is.”

Local communities will fund extra seating and a balcony for the theater, a larger IT area to service the whole district, a larger dining commons and a concessions/ ticket room, among other items.

Not all of the local-only additions are final, noted Lamarre. Geothermal cooling and heating is included in the budget with the expectation that it will lower energy costs over time, but the district can forgo this if it proves undesirable or too expensive when it is put out for bids. Half of the funding for the $1.8 million budgeted for a geothermal system would be provided through local-only funds.

The board voted to approve the proposal and send it to the state board of education Monday. Lamarre expressed confidence that the state, with whom the district has worked closely on the project, will approve the concept design and budget.

“They’re going to approve this, and it not only approves the money, but it approves the concept design,” Lamarre said.

The district will hold a straw poll before making a presentation to the state board.

“Sept. 12 we will have a local straw poll vote at Bath Middle School, and that is to hopefully allow local people to show support for the budget of the new high school, for any interior design as well as the timeline going forward,” said Superintendent Patrick Manuel. “The very next day … we’ll travel to Millinocket to make a presentation to the state board of education and hopefully get their approval.”

Assuming they receive both local and state approval for the budget, Manuel said that there will be presentations in all four RSU 1 communities in the lead up to a November vote on funding for the budget.

The full proposal can be viewed at RSU1.org.

nstrout@timesrecord.com