PARIS – The school district that gave the world Project Graduation could see its own program go down the tubes.

A lack of funding, say organizers of Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School’s Project Graduation, puts the program on the brink of extinction.

Laurie Wiacek, a project volunteer, said to stage the annual after-graduation party, $14,000 to $16,000 must be raised. They have $1,600.

Project Graduation began here. School districts near and far have since emulated the program, probably saving countless young lives.

The event provides a substance-free all night party for graduates on on the night of their graduation. Its genesis followed the deaths of nine Oxford Hills young people and serious injuries to a handful of others over two months leading up to the 1979 graduation season. At that time it had been six years since the Oxford Hills area had a fatal accident.

Three of the four fatal accidents were the result of high-speed car accidents on a two-mile stretch of road in Norway. The fourth occurred in Locke Mills. In that instance five teenagers who were either TelStar High School students or former students were killed when an 18-year-old drunk driver went off the road and into a body of water. The driver survived.

Wiacek doesn’t want to see that happen again.

“Do we need to have someone get killed to have someone step up?” she asked.

Wiacek and Kathy Keene, vice president of the Project Graduation committee, said not only are financial donations scarce, so is parent voluntarism.

“Since Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School started this 28 years ago, that would be a great loss to the graduating seniors to not have safe place to hang with their friends one last night,” said Keene.

The state wrote the manual used by schools across the country to promote their own Project Graduation events. Last year, 150 of the 268 graduating Oxford Hills students came to the party.

“If we could just get five volunteers from every town, that’s 40 people. That’s not too much to ask,” said Keene.

Superintendent Mark Eastman, who has been told Project Graduation is used in countries around the world, said the event is not school budget item. Rather, it has successfully relied on help from parents and the community for years.

High School Principal Ted Moccia said he and his staff have worked to ensure the event is a success. Besides teachers volunteering to chaperone the event, Moccia is there each year, sometimes throughout the night.

“I didn’t have this when I graduated high school. It’s such a great event and so good for the kids to be together in a substance-free environment,” said Moccia.

He intends to speak to the senior class on Wednesday about Project Graduation.

Moccia said he sympathizes with the volunteers’ frustration over the lack of financial support and others to help, but he hopes it is nothing more than a sign of economics or that parents and the community are not thinking about it this early in the season.

“It’s hard. It’s a quandary we go through every year,” he said. “They have been outstanding in their support over the years. We need to get people to remember this is very worthwhile and kids are excited and happy to be there.”

“How do we get parents back on track? It’s a grassroots effort,” Moccia said.

“It has a great event with history. We have had just outstanding support in the past. … Please, every small piece helps and is greatly appreciated,” added Moccia.