MECHANIC FALLS – School leaders in Poland, Minot and Mechanic Falls have decided to move their administrative offices out of their current home, the long-gone Marcal paper mill. They may move into a former restaurant.

On Tuesday, the School Union 29 Board of Directors gave approval, in concept, to buying the former Rail Station Restaurant on Maple Street in Mechanic Falls.

“We felt that it is the best option we have now,” said Lisa Bridgham, the union’s chairwoman. The deal is far from done, though.

The union is in negotiations with the restaurant owner over the price. The board is also unsure how much it might cost to transform the eatery into offices.

The location is central to all three towns, and the building is bigger than the current offices, Bridgham said.

Lack of space was one of the reasons that school leaders chose to give up on the current building, said Assistant Superintendent William Doughty. It has served as the school union’s headquarters for about 12 years.

Chairs, tables, a microwave and other furniture all sit in the narrow halls of the building, which has sustained water damage and may not even be sound.

Mold was discovered in the basement and resulting analyses have unearthed bacteria and structural buckling, a possible sign that timbers have begun to weaken.

Frank D’Agostino, support services director for the school union, led a building committee, which analyzed the amount of space needed for the 14 people who work there. They currently have about 3,800 square feet. But they need between 6,000 and 7,000 feet, said Doughty.

The former restaurant has about 7,200 square feet.

However, its purchase could be tough to accept for Mechanic Falls voters, who have been particularly squeezed by rising taxes, said David Griffiths, a board member from Mechanic Falls.

In the 2003-04 budget, the town approved the school union’s now-discarded plan to buy the current office for $250,000.

The purchase of the restaurant or other options, which included buying modular offices, all would cost more than that quarter-million-dollar budget.

Any of the plans would require acceptance by town meeting voters in all three towns, said Doughty.

All three towns would see a cost increase.

Bridgham said she hopes to call the board back together in the next few weeks with more information. Doughty said a plan must be formed before next year’s budget can be determined. Budget talks typically begin in December.

“We have to move as quickly as we can over the next several months,” he said.

The lease with the current landlord, Great Northern Recycling, expires at the end of June.

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