KENNEBUNK — Regional School Unit 21 school board members are showing uncertainty but open-mindedness toward exploring the possibility of forming a regional high school with the Wells-Ogunquit Community School District.

With an estimated price tag of $60-65 million, the high school would require a capacity of 1,400 students for future growth in enrollment, and an expansion of the Kennebunk High School campus to fit more athletic fields if that site is chosen.

“I think that it’s worth exploring if Wells-Ogunquit was interested in seeing a school built on our site, Kennebunk High School,” said Tim Hussey, chairman of RSU 21’s Facilities Committee, at the school board’s July 18 meeting.

RSU 21 has hired Harriman Associates, an engineering company from Portland, to collect data for what would be required to build such a school. According to Andrew Dolloff, RSU 21 superintendent of schools, the data is expected to be presented at a joint meeting of RSU 21 and WOCSD on Aug. 4.

A question on the minds of many board members was if RSU 21 could handle the large undertaking, as the Facilities Committee has just completed its master facilities plan.

The $40-50 million plan includes renovations to KHS, RSU 21’s central office, Middle School of the Kennebunks, Mildred L. Day School, Kennebunkport Consolidated School and Kennebunk Elementary School. It is also likely that Sea Road School will close by 2015 as part of the plan.

“This just adds one more ball to be juggled in the air,” said school board member Frank Drigotas.

At the two districts’ last meeting on July 7, members of the two boards listed the positives and negatives of joining together. Positives listed included greater curriculum offerings, community synergy, more competitiveness in sports and the spreading of educational costs over a larger tax base.

What may negatively impact the districts, according to the boards, would be staff cuts, complex cost-sharing between towns and the pushing out of students from extracurricular activities.

“Personally, I’m not totally for the Wells-Ogunquit/Kennebunk joint,” said Brian Amoroso, student representative on the RSU 21 school board, adding he wouldn’t like the districts’ schools to lose their identities. Student board representative Emily Junker shared similar sentiments when she said she wouldn’t feel comfortable at a school of that size.

“I’d like to see where this is going to go,” said school board member Diane Robbins.

Robbins said she thinks Kennebunk has a lot to offer, and if a way was found to make the combination work, it may benefit the towns financially as well.

Norm Archer, chairman of the school board, said there needs to be better communication between district residents and the school board, which wasn’t as evident during the last year.

The two boards met for the first time May 18 to talk about the consolidation, but according to Damon Russell, chairman of the WOCSD, the meeting was more of an introduction between the committees than a planning session.

Members of the RSU 21 school board decided they need to take a position on the matter before presenting the project in a public forum. If the two boards choose to have further discussions, a meeting with the public would likely take place soon after the Aug. 4 meeting, Archer said.

— Staff Writer Matt Kiernan can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 326, or at mkiernan@journaltribune.com.