PERU – The state plans to review its process for approving new school locations after learning a $14 million SAD 21 elementary school under construction on Auburn Road is next to the residence of a convicted sex offender.

SAD 21’s superintendent and board members said they were surprised when they learned a man on the state’s sex offender registry lives next door to the place where they’re building a 375-student school.

The construction project is on nearly 36 acres at 117 Auburn Road. Barry C. Dolloff and his wife live adjacent to the school’s driveway at 127 Auburn Road.

In 1999, Dolloff was convicted of unlawful sexual contact with a child and sentenced to five years in prison with all but one year suspended. He was also placed on probation, which prohibits him from having contact with any child under the age of 16.

Dolloff’s probation ends in 2009, according to court records.

Attempts to reach Dolloff, 46, for comment on Friday were not successful.

SAD 21 Superintendent Tom Ward said Dolloff and his wife called and apologized for putting the school district in an awkward situation after learning that the adjacent property had been purchased for a new school.

Once the Dolloffs learned a school was going in next door, they put their home up for sale, Ward said.

A “for sale” sign is on the property, which is listed with ERA Worden Realty in Auburn.

David Connerty-Marin, community relations director for the state Department of Education, said questions related to the proximity of sex offenders to proposed school construction sites are not part of the school approval process, but that could change.

“There’s nothing on the checklist now that calls for a school district to investigate whether a sex offender lives in the vicinity. We’ll have to take a look at this,” Connerty-Martin said Friday.

He said he isn’t aware of any similar situation elsewhere.

The school district learned about Dolloff’s home through a contact from a Peru resident who had seen information about Dolloff on the Maine Sex Offender Registry, Ward said. It found out about Dolloff shortly after excavation for the school began about a year ago, Ward said.

He said he immediately contacted district lawyers, who told him there were no legal provisions for convicted sex offenders if they already live near a school building.

Dolloff has lived at his Auburn Road home for several years, Ward said.

If Dolloff still live there when students begin attending the school when it opens next fall, Ward said he plans to tell parents about it.

“I’ll have to look at what I can do to the legal extent,” Ward said Friday.

Dolloff served one year of a five-year sentence for unlawful sexual contact in 1999, then was placed on probation for four years. According to court files that probation was twice revoked.

In 2002, Dolloff was sentenced to serve 60 days of his suspended sentence for an incident in Lewiston when Dolloff was at the residence of woman and her four-year-old son was in his presence. In 2004, his probation was revoked and he was ordered to serve another year of his suspended sentence after another Lewiston incident involving an assault and an operating under the influence charge.