ST. FRANCIS, Maine — The fate of the school in St. Francis is in the hands of residents who will vote on whether to take over ownership of the building at a special town meeting May 9.
“That vote is going to be about the school’s future and the town’s future with the school,” First Selectman Darrell Mitchell said during an informational meeting Saturday morning. “We are determining the fate of this property.”
That is, if the town even wants it.
For now, Mitchell said a deal has been struck with SAD 27 to use one wing for classes and give the town a year to find a suitable tenant for the 6,400 square feet in the other wing.
SAD 27 has agreed to give the town $45,000 toward the cost of maintaining the school and providing teachers for the prekindergarten through second-grade classes for the 2015-2016 school year.
Mitchell estimates the town would need to come up with around $500 on its own to keep the school going next year under the lease agreement.
On Wednesday a bill to transfer ownership of the local school to this small community passed in the Maine Senate and was on its way to Gov. Paul LePage to be signed into law.
Under a unique plan, the town would be authorized to lease part of the building back to School Administrative District 27 and use part of the property in a for-profit venture, such as senior housing. Sponsored by Rep. John Martin, a member of the board of directors for SAD 27, emergency legislation LD 1048 is aimed at preventing SAD 27 from shutting down the tiny St. Francis Elementary School because of declining enrollments and rising education costs.
The bill, which received full support in the House and Senate, will allow the school district to hand over ownership of the building to the town of St. Francis without having to go through the state’s lengthy official school-closing process.
A committee of residents last year proposed converting that space into elderly housing, a move that would cost close to $1 million, Mitchell said, leaving the town in debt for decades and require navigating numerous state and federal regulations.
“It would cost around $900,000 to turn part of the building into elderly apartments,” he said. “We might be able to get a half million [dollars] in grants but the town would still be on the hook for the rest of it.”
Long-term debt, combined with state and federal regulations covering elderly housing make that option less attractive, Mitchell said.
“This is not something to take lightly,” he said. “Let’s start thinking and working on something else.”
What that “something else” is is open for discussion and Mitchell said all suggestions for the space are welcome, because if the town wants to keep its school, one way or the other it has to pay for it.
Leasing space in the building would help defray those costs, he said.
“Times have changed [and] it would be great if kids could keep going to school here,” Mitchell told about 75 residents gathered in the elementary school gymnasium Saturday morning. “This is our community center [and] if we didn’t have it we’d be meeting in the firehouse garage or out in the parking lot.”
There are currently 32 students from prekindergarten through second grade attending the school. That number is expected to drop to 20 next year and 10 students the following year, according to School Administrative District Superintendent Tim Doak.
“What happens to this school really depends on the voters of St. Francis,” he said. “If there is a negative vote next week [and] the town does not want the building I believe the SAD 27 board will vote at the May 11 meeting to enter the school closure process for St. Francis Elementary School.”
If that happens, he said, community residents would have the option of paying the entire cost associated with the school to keep it open or the district could sell the building and the 5 acres its on to a private entity.
“If you agree to accept the building with the district leasing space for this next year, that gives you a year to explore options,” Doak said. “I would not want [you] to run toward something you are not confident about.”
