SANFORD - A year ago, businesses came together for four days to help Sanford come up with a comprehensive technical high school proposal that would serve their needs and secure state support as well.

The proposal, named the Great Works project, did earn high marks from the Maine Department of Education.

"This was your vision," said Lyndon Keck of Portland Design Team, the firm that developed the project, about how much input form businesses influenced the proposal.

But politicking from a competing mid-coast proposal eventually led the department to stop the process. With new rules in place and a March 15 deadline approaching, Sanford school officials reached out to business again last week, a new "visioning" process they hope produces even more business support they need in order to turn Great Works from a concept into a reality.

The district hosted the visioning session on Nov. 18.

The Sanford School Committee decided earlier this year to take a second shot at winning approval through what is called the "innovative" school construction program to turn the Sanford Regional Vocational Center into a home for technical education for students in grades 9-16 throughout the region.

"We know we were not providing you with the students you need," school committee Chairwoman Marguerite Herlihy said.

The center accepts students from Sanford, Massabesic, Marshwood, Wells and Noble High Schools and Traip Academy in Kittery.

There is no funding available for the winner at this point, but that is not preventing officials from asking businesses for another helping hand after reviewing the new rules.

In order to strengthen Sanford's application, Keck said, the district must address four new areas within the application related directly to businesses and their relationship with the vocational center.

The new areas include students being able to earn recognized licenses and credentials that can translate into local jobs, creating an advisory group for the vocation center including businesses that helps promote job opportunities, provide evidence of training for employees from businesses at the center and create an integrated education program with businesses playing a key role.

Center Director Deb Guimond said the question is how to create a more integrated approach and change technical education for students. School officials provided an example of this approach, with students Adam Eldridge, Lance Letourneau, Jeff March and Denise Freitas, English teacher Steven Schulz and math teacher Sheryl Schulz discussing a pilot class in its first year.

The students showed off their work, ranging from a study on logos and their effectiveness in branding certain products and companies to technical writing. Students created directions for using Tinker Toys to build a certain design and brought Tinker Toys to the Carl J. Lamb School to see how well elementary students could follow the directions.

Maura Herlihy, president of Downtown Sanford Legacy and Sanford Town Council vice chairwoman, said she wanted to see more businesses at the table. Guimand said more businesses were invited to the visioning session but were unable to attend.

A new business that recently moved to Waterboro, Howe and Howe Technology, has a challenge of its own for students. Michael Howe said he and his brother Geoff, who started the company that makes fast, unmanned tanks and other vehicles, are serving as grand marshals in South Berwick's Christmas parade on Nov. 28. Howe challenged students to come up with designs for floats that are "not the status quo."

The Howes recently took part in a business outreach effort by the vocational center, meeting with students and discussing the available opportunities through technical education. Applied Thermal Dynamics of Sanford and Arundel Machine also took part in the program, set through U.S. Sen. Susan Collins' office.