RCC
Raymond Community Center
Jordan-Small Middle School Project
Where the project stands today
A school becomes a community center.
In or around August 2027 the deed to the former Jordan-Small Middle School transfers from RSU 14 to the Town of Raymond. Roughly 52,000 square feet. This page tracks the real work of deciding what happens next — who has done what, what is underway right now, and where residents can weigh in.
Aug 2027
Deed transfers from RSU 14 to the Town
~52,000
Square feet of building, conveyed at no cost (~$4M in-kind)
$2.2M
Federal Community Project Funding request submitted
303
Residents named a community center as the top future use
How we got here
Two committees, one question
Complete · June 2025
The Visioning Committee
Appointed by the Select Board in March 2025, six residents and five town staff members spent the spring touring Raymond’s facilities and comparable centers in Gorham and Westbrook, collecting wish lists from every department, and ranking three dozen possible uses.
Their recommendation was clear: JSMS should become the Raymond Community Center, with Parks & Recreation, the Library, and Town offices moving in. They were charged with imagining possibilities — not with pricing them.
Active now
The Implementation Committee
Created by Select Board order in October 2025 and kicked off in spring 2026, this committee answers the questions the first one could not: what does conversion actually cost, what can the Town sustainably operate, and in what order should the work happen.
It works through three groups — Community Engagement, Needs Assessment & Scope, and Funding & Finance — and its deliverable is a recommendation to the Select Board grounded in what residents say they want.
!
Nothing about the building’s future is decided. The committee commissions professional work and brings options to the public — it does not design floor plans or select contractors. Residents will see real scenarios with real numbers before any decision is asked of them.
The path, step by step
Project timeline
Every step below is a real, documented action — not a wish list. Each one is labelled with where it actually stands.
Legend: 🟢 Complete 🟠 Underway ⚫ Scheduled & dated ⚪ Depends on decisions still to be made
Mar – Jun 2025
Complete
Visioning Committee convened and reported
Select Board appointed six residents plus town staff. The committee toured JSMS, every Raymond town facility, and the Gorham and Westbrook community centers; gathered department wish lists; ranked 36 possible uses; and delivered its summary report in June 2025 recommending a Raymond Community Center.
Oct 2025
Complete
Select Board creates the Implementation Committee
By Board order, a second committee was charged with turning the vision into a costed, sequenced plan and returning a recommendation to the Board.
Early 2026
Submitted
Federal funding request filed
The Town Manager submitted a Community Project Funding request to Senator Collins’ office. See the funding section for what it covers.
Spring 2026
Complete
Committee kickoff and working groups
Officers elected, meeting schedule set, and three working groups formed: Community Engagement, Needs Assessment & Scope, and Funding & Finance. Visioning Committee liaisons joined to carry forward the reasoning behind the original recommendations.
Summer 2026
Underway
Commission the needs assessment
The committee’s first concrete action: draft a scope, obtain quotes or issue an RFP, and bring a funding request to the Select Board. The assessment covers building condition (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roof, envelope), ADA gaps, parking and site work, preliminary operating costs, and separate priced scenarios — full conversion, minimum viable occupancy, and priority zones only.
Summer 2026
Underway
Public listening sessions
Two to three facilitated sessions, run by an independent facilitator so every committee member takes part as an equal. Residents see the scenarios side by side with real numbers — including the option to do less, or to phase the work — and say where their household lands.
Early 2027
Next
Recommendation to the Select Board
With assessment results and community feedback in hand, the committee drafts its recommendation on scope, phasing and sequence. The Select Board considers it in early 2027.
Aug 2027
Scheduled
Deed transfers from RSU 14
The building is conveyed to the Town of Raymond at no cost when the new Windham/Raymond Middle School opens — documented as roughly $4M of in-kind value on the grant applications.
After authorization
Depends on decisions still to be made
Design, financing and construction
Construction drawings, bid documents, contractor selection and renovation all follow authorization and funding. The needs assessment deliberately excludes them so the Town does not pay for design work before the scope is settled.
Late 2027 – early 2028
Planned
Occupancy and programming launch
Planned window for the building to open in its new role. What is inside it on opening day depends on the scope residents and the Select Board settle on.
What residents asked for
The vision on the table
The Visioning Committee’s recommendations came out of the 2025 Comprehensive Plan survey and its own ranking of three dozen ideas. These are proposals — the Implementation Committee is testing what is affordable and operable.
Comprehensive Plan survey
Residents were asked what JSMS should become. Responses by use:
| Use | Responses |
|---|---|
| Community Center | 303 |
| Recreation | 258 |
| Library | 171 |
| Town Hall | 139 |
| Day Care | 104 |
| Other | 42 |
Source: Draft 2025 Raymond Comprehensive Plan survey. Respondents were not shown costs.
Two high priorities under study
Community center operations
Recreation, the gym, and program space for every age — the use residents ranked first.
Relocating the Town Office
Bringing town services under one roof at the center of town, alongside the community center.
Other recommended anchor uses
- Parks & Recreation — permanent home, plus the gym
- Raymond Village Library
- Municipal IPTV broadcast studio
- Senior and youth program space
- Cafeteria / teaching kitchen
High-priority community ideas
Ranked “high” by the Visioning Committee from its list of 36:
Senior space · Youth & teen space · Before & after-school care · Food pantry · Clothes closet · Warming & emergency center · Tech center / digital literacy · Broadcast studio · Exercise classes & walking track · Community meals · Teaching kitchen · Medical closet · Tax assistance · Intergenerational programming · Garden & greenhouse · Remote workspace · Solar array on the roof
The committee also recommended reuses for buildings that may be freed up — the current library as a home for the Food Pantry and Clothes Closet, and the existing Town Hall for community uses that do not fit at JSMS.
Real dollars, honestly labelled
Funding status
The building itself is free. Making it functional is not. Here is what the Town has applied for so far, what it covers, and what remains unfunded.
Submitted
Community Project Funding
Sen. Collins’ office — FY2027 CDS
$2,223,274
Building-wide technology and AV infrastructure; gymnasium improvements — hardwood floor, motorized hoops, divider curtain, scoreboard, PA system, check-in renovation.
Committed
Building transfer (in-kind)
RSU 14
~$4,000,000
The building itself, conveyed to the Town at no cost and documented as in-kind match. It covers none of the conversion, renovation or operating costs.
The gap
No funding applied for so far covers HVAC, structural, plumbing or electrical upgrades, accessibility work, library buildout, town office fit-up, or the community program spaces. Sizing that gap is exactly what the needs assessment is for — and how Raymond chooses to close it is the decision residents will be asked to weigh in on.
Come to a meeting
Meetings, agendas & minutes
Committee meetings are open to the public. Agendas are posted in advance and minutes are published after each meeting through the Town’s agenda portal, embedded below.
How to take part
- Attend any meeting — public comment is on every agenda.
- Watch for the summer listening sessions, run by an independent facilitator.
- Email the committee any time at [email protected].
Minutes and agendas are the official record. If the embed below does not load for you, use the button above.
Straight answers
Frequently asked questions
What exactly is happening to Jordan-Small Middle School?
When the new Windham/Raymond Middle School opens, RSU 14 no longer needs the building. The deed transfers to the Town of Raymond in or around August 2027, at no cost. From that point the Town owns roughly 52,000 square feet of building and grounds.
Has it been decided that this becomes a community center?
No. The Visioning Committee recommended a community center, and the Select Board created the Implementation Committee to test that recommendation against real costs and operating realities. The final call rests with the Select Board — and, if a bond is involved, with voters.
Will this raise my taxes?
Unknown, and nobody should tell you otherwise yet. The funding requested so far covers technology, AV and gym infrastructure but not HVAC, structural work, accessibility, or buildout. The needs assessment will price the gap; only then can anyone say what, if anything, would need to come from taxpayers or a bond.
Why is a needs assessment the first step?
Because residents cannot be asked to weigh options — or vote on a bond — without a credible cost estimate, and a credible estimate requires a professional look at the building’s condition. The assessment produces separate priced scenarios rather than one all-or-nothing number.
What happens to the Library, Town Hall and Parks & Recreation buildings?
That is one of the open questions. The Visioning Committee suggested the current library could house the Food Pantry and Clothes Closet, and the existing Town Hall could take community uses that do not fit at JSMS. Parks & Recreation currently leases church space year to year, so a permanent home is the least contested piece of the vision.
Can the Town afford to operate a building this size?
That is precisely what the Select Board is asking, and why the assessment includes preliminary operating cost projections for utilities, staffing and maintenance. Phasing exists as an option specifically because full conversion may not be financeable in one step.
How do I see agendas and minutes?
Through the Town’s agenda portal, embedded in the Meetings section of this page. Meetings are open to the public and public comment is on every agenda.
How do I get my idea in front of the committee?
Use the Share an Idea section on this page, email the committee directly, or speak during public comment at any meeting. Ideas submitted are logged as public input alongside the listening-session feedback.
Question not answered here? Send it to [email protected] and the committee will add it.
Your turn
Share an idea
Tell the committee what this building should do for your household. Every submission is read and logged as public input.
Topic ideas the committee is tracking
- General idea for the building
- Recreation & fitness
- Library & learning
- Seniors & accessibility
- Youth, teens & childcare
- Food, kitchen & community meals
- Town offices & services
- Cost, phasing & funding
- Something else
Opens your email app with the message ready to send. Prefer paper? Drop a note at the Town Office.
JSMS Implementation Committee
Appointed by the Raymond Select Board · Town of Raymond, Maine