To alleviate overcrowding at an elementary school in Naples, School Administrative District 61 is proposing to renovate and expand the Crooked River School in Casco.

In separate referendums Tuesday, Dec. 8, residents in all the school district’s four towns – Sebago, Naples, Casco and Bridgton – will decide whether to renovate the school, located on Route 11, by approving a $9.6 million bond.

The plan calls for transferring about 250 students in grades 3, 4 and 5 from Songo Locks Elementary School, located on Songo School Road in Naples, to the Crooked River school, which would be expanded by about a third of its size, and officially re-open as an elementary school, according to SAD 61 Superintendent Al Smith.

Formerly an elementary school, the Crooked River building began housing high-school alternative and adult education programs about five years ago. Smith said the proposed redesign would meet the district’s needs for the next 40 to 50 years.

Overcrowding is driving the district’s planning. More than 450 students are being taught at Songo Locks Elementary School, which was built to house about 380 students.

“It’s time to do something,” Smith said.

A public hearing on the project was held at Lake Region High School in Naples on Tuesday in preparation for the Dec. 8 referendum.

According to the SAD 61 website, the bond is expected to cost the district an estimated $650,000 a year, plus interest, during the next 20 years. The annual cost to a taxpayer with a home valued at $100,000 in each of the communities are $32 in Bridgton, $23 in Naples, $24 in Casco and $12 in Sebago.

Smith said he believes the district would receive good value for the $9.6 million project, considering Stevens Brook Elementary School in Bridgton, which is similar in size to Songo Locks, was renovated 17 years ago for $7.3 million.

Amid much opposition, mainly from a group known as Friends of Sebago Elementary School, district officials unveiled their most recent plans in October, which includes the addition of a five-classroom wing toward the rear of the existing building, a new 150-seat auditorium and an expanded parking lot with a separate drop-off loop for school buses. All of the existing spaces, including the classrooms, offices, cafeteria and library, would be remodeled and modernized, and made energy-efficient, if the project is approved.

The overhaul also calls for increasing the total square footage of the facility from 35,000 to 50,000. The expansion would also require a few new hires, Smith said.

“The school will hold approximately 350 students,” he said. “We will only initially have 260 students entering the building, so it has the capacity to grow.”

According to Songo Locks principal Cheryl Cline, when Crooked River school’s elementary program closed in 2010 as part of the district’s effort to consolidate and save money, portable classrooms were added to the Songo Locks School campus to accommodate the incoming teachers and students, and to address the overflow.

The renovations are sorely needed, she said, so the district can meet the students’ educational needs for the 21st century.

“There are many more students than the building was built for,” said Cline. “Our big challenge is finding spaces for all of those folks to do their job and do it adequately within the building.”

Cline, who attended Tuesday’s hearing, said she encourages voters to support the project also due to the fact the school has inadequate parking.

“It’s a danger,” she said. “We have one entrance and one exit. It is difficult for us to have events on campus that would bring in all of the students and families because there isn’t adequate space for parking.”

“We’re bursting at the seams,” she added.

Despite a previous recommendation by an architect to close Sebago Elementary School, which serves 75 students in Sebago, and move those students to the Crooked River school, Smith said the intent of the project is to eliminate overcrowding at Songo Locks, not to shut down Sebago Elementary, where K-5 enrollment has steadily declined since 1996. Nevertheless, Smith said, some people who live in the district – many of whom are members of the Friends of Sebago Elementary School group – are concerned about the cost of the project, and worry that it could eventually lead to Sebago Elementary School closing.

“That’s absolutely not true at all,” Smith said.

Denise Olsen, who lives in Sebago and became the town’s recreation director in July, heads the Friends of Sebago Elementary School. According to Olsen, though Smith continues to deny it, he has stated publicly that Sebago Elementary could close if voters approve the Crooked River school renovation proposal.

Olsen, who organized a rally in Bridgton two weeks ago to urge residents to turn down the project, said she’s against renovating Crooked River school for several reasons, including the hefty price tag that comes with it.

“One, it’s very costly,” she said, “and two, it’s big enough that it can engulf our entire school population.”

Olsen said there are numerous “bells and whistles” associated with the project – such as renovating the athletic fields at a cost of $60,000 – that residents aren’t comfortable supporting.

“As a taxpayer of Sebago, I don’t feel like I should have to foot the bill on that,” Olsen said. “We would like to vote the project down next week so (the district) can go back to the drawing board, and come in with a more modest and affordable plan for everybody.”

A closer look

Polls will be open in Bridgton, Casco, Naples and Sebago on Tuesday, Dec. 8, from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. The locations are:

Bridgton – Town Hall, 26 North High St.

Casco – Casco Community Center, 940 Meadow Road

Naples – Town Office, 15 Village Green Lane

Sebago – Town Hall, 406 Bridgton Road (Route 107)

A rendering shows proposed additions to the Crooked River Elementary School in Casco. Residents in SAD 61 will vote on a $9.6 million project to renovate the school on Tuesday, Dec. 8.