RSU 52 superintendent recommends $500,000 reserve to buy 18.8-acre parcel for athletic fields and transportation facility

Superintendent Carrie Med said the RSU 52 school board is recommending that the district create a $500,000 reserve fund to purchase an 18.8-acre parcel at the corner of Cobb Road and North Parish Road for athletic fields and a transportation facility.

Med said the board’s first goal for the parcel is to create up to two multi-use athletic fields to meet growing demand from youth and school sports, including a newly expanded lacrosse program that will field six teams across the middle and high schools this year. “The board is recommending the purchase of land for this spring as part of the budget process,” Med said.

Med described heavy usage across existing fields — track and field, practice fields, field hockey, softball, baseball and middle-school facilities — and said one field recently needed significant repairs after carrying both fall and spring seasons. The district is monitoring whether current fields can sustain the increased volume of play.

The board’s second stated goal for the site is to build a separate transportation facility. Med said vehicle and parking congestion at the high school — where drivers, parents and event attendees compete for space — sometimes prevents bus drivers from parking in their assigned spots. The district operates a mix of vans and buses and Med described the number as "up to and in at times more than 18 vans and 24 buses and mini buses." She also said the current transportation office is a converted classroom with inadequate storage.

Med said the district’s on-site diesel tanks are near end of life (she noted 2027 as a reference year) and that the board would like to relocate fuel storage away from areas with heavy pedestrian traffic and add gasoline tanks to allow bulk purchasing and lower fuel costs.

On funding, Med said the board proposes creating a $500,000 reserve from fund balance specifically for land acquisition. That reserve will be included in the proposed budget package the board approved to send to voters at the district budget meeting on Thursday, May 7. If approved there, the land-purchase question will appear as a separate ballot item during the budget validation referendum on May 21; polls will be open 1:00 to 7:00 in each town.

Med said the parcel is currently owned by Caldwell Farms and that the district plans to work with the town of Turner and the state on safety improvements at the nearby intersection. She emphasized the $500,000 reserve would be taken from fund balance and is not part of the district’s regular operating budget.

Med invited questions and provided contact information: carrie.med@msad52.org and the central office phone at 225-1000.

The district will hold a public hearing on the proposed land purchase on Thursday, April 30 at Turner Primary School cafeteria at 6:30 p.m.; the board will continue with regular business after the hearing and the budget referendum is scheduled for May 21.