Modular classrooms at center of SAD 51 five-year facilities plan

The Cumberland-North Yarmouth School Board unanimously approved a five-year facilities plan last week that includes a reconfiguration of modular classrooms at Mabel I. Wilson and new modulars for the middle school.

The plan, intended as a short-term fix for overcrowding in SAD 51 schools, has two phases, with the first focusing on Mabel I. Wilson school. The 14 modular classrooms now in place there will be rearranged to allow for more outdoor play space.

“We’ve had more students using the play space, and we’ve had less space for them to be using,” Superintendent Jeff Porter said during a presentation on the plan earlier this month.

Mabel I. Wilson exceeded its 550-student capacity in 2015, according to the presentation.

The second phase of the plan, scheduled for 2024, will replace the six modular classrooms at Greeley Middle School and add 10 to 12 more.

“The middle school is on the cusp of some very significant enrollment gains,” Porter said.

Greely Middle School reached capacity in 2021, and enrollment is projected to rise by 213 students by 2028, according to the district.

School board Chairperson Jason Record emphasized that while the short-term facilities plan is not perfect, it is a good temporary solution.

Voters defeated a referendum for a new elementary school to be built in North Yarmouth last November. The board is hoping to have a new plan in place for a new school within five or six years.

“I’m sure that with the help of this community, we can put together a project that will gain broad support and continue the excellence in education that we’ve come to expect,” Record said.