The ballot asked voters if they would accept $230,343 for upgrades and improvements for equipment and programs at the tech center. The money is coming from the state of Maine, and will not affect local taxes in the two communities.
In Frenchville, 432 voters approved the funding while 58 voted against it and seven left the space blank. In St. Agatha, 286 voted in favor of the funding, 32 voted against it, and three left the space blank.
The money comes from the Maine Bond Bank, and because of this a budget referendum question is required under Maine law. It comes from federal COVID relief funds that the state allocated toward CTE centers.
The St. John Valley Technology Center is one of 11 CTE centers in the state to get approval for money from the bond, which is $20 million altogether.
Voters in Caribou also supported a referendum question allowing for $1.6 million in funding from the bond for the Caribou Technology Center. Caribou also showed overwhelming support for the funding with 2,756 in favor and 812 opposed.
Kevin Lavoie, Director of the St. John Valley Technology Center, said last month that he initially wrote the grant for $409,000 and the school was partially approved for $230,343. He said this is still a significant amount of funding, and that it will be used to upgrade welders, which will help students receive certification from the American Welding Society. The society’s testing requires newer welders.
The school will also use the money to purchase a used 18-wheeler truck and about $36,000 in diesel diagnostic tools.
Lavoie said in October that he plans to apply for additional funding when it becomes available next year, and will request two new 18-wheelers for the school’s new Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) program.
