Biddeford residents asked to approve grant for BRCOT

It may be January, but Biddeford residents will have a chance next week to weigh in at the polls on the approval of a grant to benefit the Center for Technology.

The Biddeford Regional Center of Technology (BRCOT) was awarded a $491,500 Career and Technical Education Equipment Bond grant from the Maine Department of Education. The Maine Bond Bank’s financing structure requires voter approval before the school department can have access to the money, said Superintendent of Schools Jeremy Ray.

Voting will take place from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 21 at Biddeford High School’s Tiger Gym.

This is a fully-funded grant, with no local match required, and the approval of the bond will not impact local property taxes.

A January vote is scheduled because the school department was notified of the grant award after the deadline to print the November ballots, said Ray.

The grant will be used to purchase an electric forklift for trades programs, an ambulance for the EMT program and a van for the plumbing program. The money will also be used to buy Anatomage tables, which provide an accurate simulation of a human body in a digitalized format and will be used by medical technology, EMT and athletic training programs.

Publisher Liz Gotthelf can be reached at newsdesk@sacobaynews.com.