Are the towns of Regional School Unit 21 made of money? The facilities committee of the RSU 21 school board seems to think so.

Last Wednesday, what began as discussions for the repurposing of the former Garden Street Market building somehow grew into a plan to build an entirely new, freestanding arts center on the campus of Kennebunk High School.

Selectmen had originally gathered to consider the option of repurposing the former grocery store, which is in a key downtown location, as a performing arts center. Talks with the RSU were necessitated because a renovated auditorium at KHS is part of the district’s $51.4 million improvement plan, which is expected to go to voters in November.

The thought was that a renovated market building could take the place of a new auditorium at the high school and be more accessible for public use as well as school use. But the facilities committee likes to think big, so they presented their “dream” plan to the selectmen last week.

As proposed at this early stage, the facility would be owned by nonprofit organizations and house their offices, along with a theater and band and lesson rooms.

Numbers, of course, have yet to be figured out, but a freestanding arts center won’t come cheap. And remember, this is in addition to the school district proposing $43.5 million in improvements to KHS, and $7.9 million for Kennebunkport Consolidated School and Arundel’s Mildred L. Day School. Of course, the KHS figure would decrease with the auditorium improvements cut, but we’re sure this new building will more than make up for that amount.

What’s also unclear right now is who will pay for it. Facilities committee members have said they would conduct fundraising so that private entities could contribute, but it stands to reason that a project of this magnitude will require some major contributions from taxpayers. With the economy still struggling, it won’t be easy for the committee to find major donors willing to contribute to such a project.

With its location on the KHS campus, the building would obviously benefit all RSU 21 students who attend the school, so we’d think Kennebunk would be hesitant to fund it alone. That said, however, with the ongoing RSU withdrawal talk in Kennebunkport and the process already under way in Arundel, we can’t imagine either of those towns supporting this plan. In fact, many residents of the RSU who expressed concerns about the renovation plans weren’t pleased with the idea of a renovated auditorium to begin with.

It would be wonderful, of course, for the students and community to have access to such a facility, where education, performances and nonprofit work would share space, but the reality of the money is such that it will most likely not receive public support.

We’re confident this proposal is going to raise the hackles of all the RSU 21 residents who have expressed concern about the major expenditures that are already on the table.

In the meantime, the former market building will sit idle, as the facilities committee has deemed it too far away for KHS performing arts use, except on special occasions. It’s widely agreed that the town does not need two performing arts spaces, so that leaves the town with either the original renovation plan for the existing KHS auditorium or this more expensive option of a new building on campus.

The school committee should proceed with caution on this new proposal, because when it’s time to hit the ballot boxes in November, residents may not like their options.

Ӣ Ӣ Ӣ

Today’s editorial was written by Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski on behalf of the Journal Tribune Editorial Board. Questions? Comments? Contact Kristen by calling 282-1535, Ext. 322, or via email at kristenm@journaltribune.com.