PARIS – The SAD 17 Board of Directors agreed Monday to ask voters for $80,000 on Nov. 4 to help buy land on High Street for a new Paris Elementary School.

A public hearing on the question has been set for 7 p.m. Oct. 28 in the Forum at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School. The Nov. 4 special budget referendum will be held at the polling places of the eight district towns during the statewide referendum.

The action comes after the state Board of Education unanimously approved the selection of the 16-acre High Street site last Wednesday. A statement of fact from the state Department of Education said the site offers safe access from three sides, has three-phase power, is flat and sandy with public water and sewer, and is located in a “designated growth area just 1.8 miles from the town square.”

The district negotiated a $210,000 purchase price for the land, comprised of six vacant lots at Hathaway Road and High Street. The state has agreed to pick up 62 percent of the cost, or $130,000, leaving the district to raise the remaining $80,000.

The statement of fact said the site has a market value of $305,000, and the district had two appraisals done setting the value at $130,000.

SAD 17 Superintendent Mark Eastman said a lot of money and effort went into the search for a new Paris elementary school. “It’s good that after eight months of looking for a site, we’re now moving forward.”

Paris students in grades four, five and six have been attending Madison Avenue School in Oxford because of overcrowding at the Mildred Fox Elementary School near Market Square. The Fox school houses kindergarten through third grade, and has no gym or cafeteria and a small room in the basement for a library.

Early this year, the state placed the need for a new Paris elementary school among the top five for major capital construction funding for new schools.

Another referendum will be needed next spring to approve the design for the school, which must also be approved by the state Board of Education. If voters pass both referendums, construction of the new school is expected to begin in the spring of 2005.

If voters agree to kick in $80,000 to buy the land, the district will close on the purchase and sales agreement by the deadline of Nov. 7, using money from the undesignated fund balance. The money would then be borrowed and restored to the fund balance.

Board members were shown a brochure highlighting the need for the new school, which will bring back together all Paris students in grades K-6. It will feature a large library/media center, gymnasium, cafeteria, space for music and art, and will be handicapped accessible, unlike the Fox School.

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