RSU 4 voters to consider OHMS addition Aug. 9

WALES – Regional School Unit 4 voters in Litchfield, Sabattus and Wales will vote Tuesday, Aug. 9, on a $31 million 30-year bond to fund an addition to Oak Hill Middle School.
The proposal includes closing Libby-Tozier Elementary in Litchfield and Sabattus Primary School. Oak Hill Middle School, with the addition, would serve grades two through eight. Students in pre-K through grade one would attend Carrie Ricker Elementary in Litchfield.
The cost of the project is $31,687,216 and would be financed by the school district over 30 years.
RSU 4 Superintendent Katy Grondin said the addition will save money as the two aging elementary schools are expensive to operate, maintain and need upgrades. She stressed that the new addition would separate younger students from middle-school students.
“The three towns are currently funding three elementary schools, a middle school and a high school,” Grondin said. “The (school) board believes it is cost-prohibitive to continue to maintain all five schools due to the level of maintenance needed at Libby-Tozier Elementary and Sabattus Primary School.”
The project is the best way “to invest taxpayers’ money for the future,” Grondin said.
Operational costs for the two buildings that would be closed are approximately $1,000,000. In addition, more than $7,000,000 (currently identified) will be needed over the next 10 years to repair, replace and upgrade the schools to meet state Department of Education standards.
Operational costs of the new addition will be less because of the efficiencies of a new building, Grondin aid.
“The question for the three communities for the students of RSU 4 is, do we invest in a new addition and maintain three buildings or do we continue to maintain five buildings, two of which have significant operational and maintenance needs?” Grondin said.
The project would be locally funded because applications for state capital construction funding are not open. “And it is not guaranteed that the project would be funded, due to the level of needs across the state,” Grondin said.
Town property owners would begin paying on the 30-year bond the first year it is funded, which would be next year if the referendum passes. The increase would be 1.85 per $100,000 of valuation for Litchfield property owners, 2.45 for Wales and 2.53 for Sabattus.
The project would go out to bid next summer and is expected to be completed by the beginning of the 2025-26 school year.
“The new addition has been designed to provide a learning environment structure for students in grades 5-8,” Grondin said. “The current middle school building will be upgraded to best serve students in grades 2-4. The design takes into consideration the importance of keeping the two grade level spans separate, safety and security of the building and meeting the needs for educational programming and student services “
She said improvements will include an additional entrance to support traffic flow and green space for playgrounds.
For more information, including a line-item budget, specifics about tax impacts, details about the project and FAQs at RSU4.org.

VOTING INFORMATION, REFERENDUM WORDING
Voting times and places are:
LITCHFIELD: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sportsmen’s Club, 2261 Hallowell Road. For information contact the Town Office, 207-268-4721.
SABATTUS: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Town Office, 190 Middle Road, 207-375-4331.
WALES: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Town Office, 175 Centre Road., 207-375-8881.
Absentee ballots are available for all three towns through Thursday, Aug. 4. To vote absentee, visit the town office during business hours and vote in person; request over the phone that a ballot be mailed to you (the request must be made directly by the voter), or fill out an application for an absentee ballot to bring home to complete.

The wording of the referendum is:
“Article 1: Do you favor authorizing the School Board of Regional School Unit No.4 (the “RSU”) to issue bonds or notes in the name of the RSU for school construction purposes in an amount not to exceed $31,687,216 to construct and equip a new school building connected to the current Oak Hill Middle School in the Town of Sabattus? The two-building campus will serve grades 2-8. As part of this school construction project the RSU will close Sabattus Primary School and Libby Tozier School.”
A yes vote means you want the $31,687,216 30-year bond to pass, which means closing Libby-Tozier and Sabattus Primary schools.
A no vote means that you do not want the bond to pass and you don’t want to close the two schools.