SAD 4 and 46 regional high school application nears completion

GUILFORD — An application between SAD 4 and the Dexter-based SAD 46 for a regional high school is nearly ready to be submitted by the upcoming deadline.

The two districts are working together to seek state funding for a comprehensive high school that will combine traditional academics, career and technical education and access to college courses. District officials are unsure how much funding would be available from the Maine Department of Education.

The application comes nearly a decade after SAD 46 stewarded an application between itself and SAD 4 for a $100 million first-of-its-kind secondary institution integrated with a career and technical school, the University of Maine System and the Maine Community College System that would support industry training programs. Interest grew to also include Milo-based SAD 41 in a non-binding agreement, as well as Corinth-based RSU 64.

Officials submitted the first portion of the two-part process for a new facility last fall. The second part is due at the end of the month.

The proposal includes closing the existing Piscataquis Community High School, Dexter Regional High School and Tri-County Technical Center and consolidating into a regional campus to serve 28 communities. Other neighboring school districts, such as those in Dover-Foxcroft, Greenville and Milo, would still be able to send students for career and technical programs under an arrangement similar to what is currently in place at the technical center.

The SAD 4 and 46 school boards would still oversee pre-K to grade 8 education in the respective districts.

“As you know, we’re currently working on part two of the application,” SAD 4 Superintendent Kelly MacFadyen said during a school board meeting at Piscataquis Community Elementary School on Oct. 13.

SAD 46 will serve as the fiscal agent of the project, and Superintendent Brian Leavitt has been finalizing the document. To be sure everything is completely in order, the school board voted to approve the application so this can be reflected in meeting minutes, which will be included with the application.

Projects based in the Madawaska and Houlton areas initially ranked higher than that proposal, but those schools did not progress as residents could not agree on where to put the building.

The Milo and Corinth districts stopped pursuing the regional comprehensive high school with SAD 4 and 46 in late 2024. The SAD 41 School Board voted against putting approximately $133,300 of district funds toward startup costs and a site analysis for the pursuit of the school to discontinue its participation. The Maine Department of Education hesitated to provide that funding after previously doing so for one of the Aroostook County projects that did not come to fruition.

Still believing in the concept of a regional comprehensive high school, the department tweaked the application process to drop the requirement from three to two high schools, along with a career and technical education center. Committees from SAD 4 and 46 quickly decided to reapply under the modified plan.

The neighboring districts have shared services over the years, including Piscataquis Community High School baseball players being part of the Dexter team. Last winter, Pirate girls were part of the basketball squad in Dexter.

The state received more than 90 new school applications last year, and determining how many of these are funded could determine what is available for a regional comprehensive high school. The state education department has not disclosed how many comprehensive high school applications it received. Two groups in Aroostook County have applied. 

If the project is approved, the projected timeline would span six or seven years. That includes foundational development, then detailed designs and local referendums, followed by construction and staff preparation for the school opening.

“It will have to go to referendum,” MacFadyen said. “We will have to do a little more work to identify a site for the building.”

The site of a future school depends on several factors, including availability of town water and sewer and traffic studies done by the Maine Department of Transportation. A possible site for the Ridge View Community School on Route 7 near the Corinna town line nearly two decades ago was rejected due to safety concerns with the nearby 45/55 mph speed zones.

Site selection derailed previous projects, but with just two districts involved the SAD 4 and 46 process should be smoother. District officials have acknowledged a new school location would not be in downtown Guilford of Dexter.

The districts will hold presentations on the proposal throughout the 10 communities in the two districts. 

The school colors, nickname and mascot will be determined later in the process.

SAD 4 and 46 have proposed a governance structure with four directors from each district. The high school directors would have a co-chair structure for the first few years, and then the chair would alternate between someone from SAD 4 and SAD 46.

The comprehensive high school would offer residents local access to post-secondary training and provide high school students with internship opportunities, reducing the need to travel to Bangor or Augusta. 

Area businesses, the university and community college systems have written letters of support and Cianbro, Northern Light Mayo Hospital and Darling’s Auto Group are all interested in working with the school.