ARUNDEL – Efforts are underway to keep open The Landing School of Boatbuilding and Design, a fixture of Maine’s marine trades for nearly 50 years.

Newly announced plans call for The Landing School, known nationally for training in boatbuilding, marine systems and yacht design, to become a site where high schoolers can explore marine trades and other vocational fields.

According to a news release from The Landing School, its trustees have entered into an agreement with the Biddeford Regional Center of Technology and the Biddeford School Department for the proposed sale of The Landing School’s Arundel campus to provide career and technical education for York County high school students.

Trustees have postponed the previously announced property auction.

Under the proposed arrangement, the Biddeford Regional Center of Technology would acquire The Landing School property and establish a separate regional career and technical education program on the campus, primarily serving high school students. The campus will continue to support education and hands-on training for careers in the marine trades while expanding opportunities in other vocational fields and serving a broader range of high school students.

The Landing School helped students learn skills that became the foundation of meaningful careers,” Susan Swanton, chair of The Landing School Board of Trustees, said in a news release from the school.

“While the institution as our alumni, employees and community have known it is closing, we are grateful that the property and equipment may remain dedicated to education,” she said. “We believe that would be a meaningful way to honor the school’s history and the contributions of everyone who helped build it.”

The school, known nationally for its specialized training in boatbuilding, marine systems, and yacht design, recently closed after educating roughly 1,800 graduates. Its campus and equipment were headed for auction when Biddeford Superintendent of Schools Jeremy Ray saw a chance to keep the facility intact and expand career and technical education in southern Maine, according to a separate news release by Biddeford School Department.

The purchase was funded by the Maine Department of Education and pledges from private donors. Organizers say a $500,000 fundraising gap stood in the way late in the process, and that local businesses, individuals and other supporters closed it within a day, that news release stated.

The effort was led by the Biddeford Regional Center of Technology/Biddeford School Department, in partnership with the Maine Department of Education, Southern Maine Administrative Collaborative, community supporters, and Biddeford Education Foundation, that release stated.

Local business owners who helped drive fundraising say the work is not finished. Tim Spang, owner of Spang Builders, and Jim Godbout, owner of Godbout Plumbing & Heating and Provencher Fuels, said in a joint statement that saving the school was only a first step.

“As business owners, we know how difficult it is to find skilled workers,” they said in the release, urging continued community support, adding, “We also know the difference these programs can make in a young person’s life. Our business community and generous donors stepped up when it mattered most, and we hope we’ll continue that support to give students the training and opportunities they deserve.”

Fundraising will continue to help develop programming and curriculum and to build a capital reserve meant to sustain the school for future generations. Businesses, organizations, and individuals interested in contributing to this next phase may contact Shelley Kane at 207-391-6885 or give online at https://givebutter.com/savethelandingschool.