In the end, a decision on where to locate a new career and technical education (CTE) school was not determined by a coin toss, as was suggested at the end of a contentious meeting. Rather, it was at an emergency meeting of the Machias School Committee on March 25, where the board's previous position was reversed, resulting in a unanimous vote in favor of the former Columbia Supermarket in the Four Corners area on Route 1.
     At stake was a Maine Department of Education (DOE) grant of $2.1 million for the purchase and renovation of a building for a temporary vocational school. Five area school programs -- Machias public schools; SAD 37, Harrington; Cherryfield public schools; Washington Academy (WA); and Moosabec CSD, Jonesport‑Beals -- would benefit pursuant to a consensus on its location by March 31.
     Following a month-long stalemate, AOS 96 Superintendent Scott Porter issued a statement at the conclusion of an executive session, saying, "The Machias School Committee approved the Columbia site to gain consensus on the project, but both the Machias School Committee and the Machias Select Board believe the former Blueberry Ford garage is the best site for the new programs."
     Presently, Machias provides programs at its high school in culinary skills and building trades, and SAD 37 provides nursing and law enforcement at Narraguagus High School. The CTE school would add four new programs to the current vocational curriculum -- welding, diesel technology, automotive technology and early childhood education.

Road to a decision
     In August 2018 representatives from the five schools along with Dr. Fern Desjardins, a retired school superintendent from St. Agatha chosen to oversee the project, met and discussed available funding options through the DOE. In early October a grant application and supporting documentation were submitted. In early January DOE notified school representatives that it had awarded $2.1 million to the CTE Collaborative and that a key condition of the funding was that the collaborative must reach a consensus on the facility's location.
     At a public meeting facilitated by Desjardins on March 11, school representatives reviewed an architect's findings on 14 potential sites. After a cursory summation made by Portland-based architect Lyndon Keck, that number was culled to two: the former Blueberry Ford dealership in Machias and the defunct supermarket in Columbia.
     Both buildings received top marks in a rubric of point valuation and were recommended by Keck as equal to the task of providing the collaborative with a temporary vocational facility, being similar in cost -- purchase and renovations -- at approximately $1 million. At the meeting's conclusion, three schools were in favor of the Columbia location, and Machias and WA opted to wait and deliberate on the matter further.
     But it was a meeting at Narraguagus High School on March 21 when tensions boiled over, threatening the entire project. With over 100 people in attendance, Desjardins did a cursory review of the information, bringing everyone in attendance to a point where a decision had to be made.
     Desjardins stressed that, up until this point, there was consensus by all in what they were trying to do. "It was obvious in the many meetings devoted to the writing of the grant and in the previous site selection meeting that everyone strongly supported the expansion of career and technical education services in this area," said Desjardins. "Stakeholders recognized the need for more CTE programs, and they wanted to provide the educational opportunities for their students."
     Chris Lyford, WA board president, addressed the gathering before the final vote. "As representative for WA, we believe the Blueberry Ford building in Machias is the best choice because a clear majority of the 800 plus students who would have access to this facility are closer to Machias. However, WA will not be the lone holdout in reaching a consensus and will support the Columbia facility if the other school districts go in that direction."
     A final vote was taken, resulting in representatives of three schools choosing Columbia, WA siding with the majority, and Machias opting to not render their final decision until after they met the following Monday. A coin toss to resolve the matter was suggested by a frustrated area resident.
On the evening of March 25, Superintendent Porter notified the other school representatives on Machias' decision to support the Columbia location and that a consensus had been reached.
Trade labor shortages are real
     "You're training students so they can get jobs and stop the migration out of Maine," was a statement shouted from the audience, and repeated by others within the collaborative. This touched on a real problem facing Maine's trades today. As stated in a 2018 interview, Maine State Economist Amanda Rector reported that Maine's labor shortage is reaching a critical level, and it's only expected to get worse.
     In a 2017 survey conducted by global staffing firm Manpower Group, skilled‑trade vacancies are the hardest jobs to fill across the country. Skilled trades, such as electricians, carpenters, welders and plumbers, retain the top position in job vacancies since 2010.
     "Adding to the current vocational curriculum is vital to Washington County," says Ron Ramsay, SAD 37 superintendent. "We all hope that this school will provide the valuable training needed for our students to be able to pursue a viable career in the trades and afford them the opportunity to live and work in Washington County."

Community voice impacts decision
     From the start of the March 21 meeting, residents were there with clear intent on expressing where the CTE facility should be located, and many spoke their mind in support and in disagreement. But a common thread running through many comments was about students' futures.      "Do it for the students," was almost a chant before it was all over. As was, "Don't squander an opportunity like this again," a reference to a similar situation that occurred a decade ago, when plans for a new CTE center in Jonesboro were scrapped because of the debate regarding statewide school consolidation and programming.
     Alexis Fletcher, a student at Narraguagus High School, read a prepared statement echoing what many were saying -- that the lack of consensus would have dire consequences for area students.     "This is one of the poorest counties in Maine," said Fletcher. "Don't lose this opportunity because of your own biases. All of this arguing must stop."

Future implications
     "My work as a facilitator is now over," says Desjardins. "The school partners will negotiate a contract for the project with DOE. Once the terms of the contract are agreed to, the partners will then move ahead with the implementation phase of the project."
     From the first meeting, Desjardins stressed that the primary objective was always to find a temporary solution and add vocational programming Downeast. With this now resolved, Desjardins believes the successful implementation of the current grant will go a long way when the time comes for DOE to budget funds to build a permanent regional CTE center in the Downeast area.
     "This is the only area that I know of in the state where the vocational programming is spread throughout schools and facilities," says Desjardins. "Typically, vocational programming is regionalized and conducted in a stand-alone facility."
     The timing for that, Desjardins believes, would be eight to 10 years at a cost of approximately $55 to $65 million. "There are cycles to updating and scheduling of building plans," Desjardins says. "When the cycle for this area comes around, the success we have achieved here with this grant, and subsequently what comes from it, will pay dividends down the road, showing that these Downeast school municipalities can work together when it comes to what is best for their students."