ST. FRANCIS, Maine — School is out permanently at the St. Francis Elementary School after voters Friday voted 50 to 4 against appropriating the additional $300,000 in local funds needed to keep the building open for its 24 prekindergarten to grade five students, according to town clerk Deborah Jandreau.
Instead, the building becomes the property of the town. Students will attend classes at Fort Kent Elementary School, a distance of 15 to 30 miles for some of the youngsters.
Both towns are part of School Administrative District 27, which includes St. John Plt., Wallagrass, New Canada and Eagle Lake.
The vote follows more than a year of work by members of the St. Francis community to save the school after SAD 27 board members began considering its closure as a way to cut district costs.
In April, special legislation was passed to allow the town to take the building over and lease part of it back to SAD 27 and use part of the property in a for-profit venture, such as senior housing.
In May the board approved a $45,000 one-year lease payment for three classrooms in the building but later reversed that decision and voted to bus all St. Francis students to Fort Kent after district voters turned down a proposed SAD 27 $12 million 2015-2016 budget.
“I am really, really disappointed,” Cindy Jandreau, a St. Francis resident who led the fight to save the school, said Saturday. “But I realize there was no way the town could afford to keep it open, and at this point there is really no other option.”
Jandreau said she also is disappointed the plan to lease the building back to the district and use space to generate funds was not given a chance.
“In a way, I feel some [on the board] were laughing at us the whole time and never had any intentions of letting that happen,” she said. “It was kind of a slap in the face.”
Efforts to reach SAD 27 officials following Friday’s vote were not immediately successful.
A message left Saturday for Keith Jandreau, SAD 27 board member representing the town, was not immediately returned.
Cindy Jandreau, who also is the president of Friends of St. Francis, said the town will take over the building and use it for community events and gatherings.
“Right now the kids are going to Fort Kent,” she said. “But that does not mean we are not going to explore something else. It is too early to say, but this is not a dead issue.”
Meanwhile, SAD 27 remains without a budget for the fiscal year that began July 1.
Voters twice rejected a proposed budget this summer, and officials have not announced a revised budget or met to address the financial situation.
