Biddeford voters approve education grant

 A fraction of registered voters in Biddeford turned out to the polls on Tuesday to approve a January referendum.

On Tuesday, Jan. 21, Biddeford voters were asked to weigh in on the approval of a $491,500 Career and Technical Education Equipment Bond grant from the Maine Department of Education.

The referendum was passed 289-50, with a total of 339 votes cast. The city has 15,161 registered voters, according to City Clerk Robin Patterson.

The grant will be used for programs at the Biddeford Regional Center of Technology  and will fund the purchase of an electric forklift for trades programs, an ambulance for the EMT program, a van for the plumbing program, and a digital anatomy simulation table for medical technology, EMT and athletic training programs.

This is a fully-funded grant, with no local match required, and the approval of the bond will not impact local property taxes. The referendum vote was a requirement of the Maine Bond Bank, and the school department needed the vote in order to have access to the grant, said Superintendent of Schools Jeremy Ray.

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

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