Over the last few years, RSU 67 has worked on the goal of improving safety and security in all of our schools. We have updated the Emergency Response plans, provided ALICE training, and updated our practices to address safety concerns. From the facilities perspective, we have done some updates as well. All buildings were re-keyed with only a small group of people having access with a key to the building. We installed scan badge readers and issued badges to individuals so they had access to only the spaces and buildings they needed to access. We have installed additional cameras in the schools and hired a school resource officer to support safety in the district.
In our work with safety and security, we recognize that Mattanawcook Academy is the only building that does not have a vestibule space as part of their entrance to provide a buffer between students and staff and any visitor who may want to enter the building. This is a concern, as any visitor to MA has direct access to the main building upon entry. Currently, there is no way to have interactions with a visitor prior to them entering the building through a window pass through as in all of the other facilities.
In the 2025-26 school year, there was a capital project that allotted $250,000 for the cost of creating a vestibule at MA. Through the bidding process, the bids came back ranging from $350,000 to $540,000. The project was put on hold, the money was not spent, and the district looked at other funding options. The RSU 67 Facilities Director submitted an application for a School Revolving Renovation loan. This is a competitive loan process that allows schools to apply for funding for projects up to $2,000,000 from the State of Maine that have to meet very strict criteria. Our application was specific to security and ADA compliance. On January 30, 2026, the district received notification that their application for a School Revolving Renovation fund for the MA vestibule had been approved to move forward. Of all the applications received, we scored 9th on the list for projects. We are approved for $471,200. Of this amount, 63.29% ($298,222) will be completely forgiven. The remaining 36.71% ($172,978) would be paid back over five years at 0% interest. This would be approximately $35,000 over the next five years. This amount is less than we had originally planned when we requested the initial capital reserve project funds. The structure of the grant requires us to do the 5-year payment plan at 0%.
The voters of Chester, Lincoln, and Mattawamkeag will have the opportunity on April 7th to determine if the district will move forward with the loan application process. If approved by the voters, the new vestibule will not only address safety concerns at MA, but also provide ADA improvements to the entrance to the building. If you would like to access the public hearing presentation that happened on March 16th, please check out our district youtube page, Regional School Unit 67. We apologize for the no sound at the beginning. The actual presentation does have clear sound. Use this link to access the slides.