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Scarborough voters approve school referendum; board outlines design and construction timeline
Summary
Voters approved both school‑solution referendum questions on Nov. 5. At the Nov. 6 Scarborough Board of Education meeting, the superintendent described a three‑phase schedule—design development, construction documents and construction—with primary schools targeted for completion by 2029 and ongoing community engagement planned.
Voters approved both questions on the school‑solution referendum, and the Scarborough Board of Education moved on Wednesday to begin implementation planning.
Superintendent Diane told the board the district will spend roughly the next five to six months in design development, including meetings with staff, public safety partners and IT directors to produce cost estimates and refine scope. That work will be followed by preparation of construction documents and a construction phase staggered by site, with an initial plan that would have primary school projects and the middle‑school addition completed by 2029.
Diane said the district and its architects (including Lisa Sowen) will prepare a building‑project monitoring committee to walk the board and the public through budget and schedule decisions. She said the district has built buffers and soft costs into the current estimates but cautioned that the board is bound to stay within the amount approved by voters; if costs rise substantially, staff may need to value‑engineer aspects of projects to remain within the approved funding.
Board members asked about contingency for tariffs and inflation. New member Cressi asked whether the estimate has room to absorb economic changes; Diane replied that buffers were included and the district is confident it can achieve goals within the voter‑approved amount but will reassess and make tradeoffs if needed.
Chair said roughly 50% of registered voters turned out and that the second referendum question passed at about a 60% rate. The communications committee established for the referendum will be disbanded, and the board plans to create a new monitoring committee with district staff, council representatives and community members to oversee implementation, budgets and ongoing communications.
Next steps: Superintendent Diane, the architect and board members will meet immediately to define the building committee’s composition and meeting cadence; the board indicated it will scale regular referendum updates once the projects move into incremental phases.
