LEWISTON — Lewiston teachers offered their views about what kind of school the city should build in 2018 to replace Martel Elementary.

The Lewiston School Redistricting Committee is scheduled to vote on the issue at its meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 26, at the downtown Dingley Building. It will make a recommendation to the Lewiston School Committee, which will make a recommendation to taxpayers. Taxpayers will vote on a school proposal at a referendum this year or next year.

Lewiston Middle School teacher Dave Martel, co-president of the Lewiston Teachers Association, said there are pros and cons about building a big elementary school.

A large elementary school would be beneficial to Lewiston taxpayers because most of the costs of the new school would be borne by the state, Martel said.

Smaller neighborhood schools “are much more beneficial to younger students,” he said. “Keeping children in their neighborhood schools would also cut transportation costs” as some students walk to school.

“That would be negated if we build a large, new super elementary school on the outskirts of Lewiston,” he said.

Building a big school on the outskirts of the city would make it more difficult for parents without vehicles to attend parent/teacher conferences, Martel said.

“Many Longley parents can walk to conferences,” he said. “That will be impossible if the school is built in the outskirts of Lewiston.”

Longley teacher Diane Wigant said at the Jan. 7 hearing that a bigger school is needed so Longley students get the same kind of quality programs as other Lewiston students.

At Longley, her fourth-graders have class in a hallway where buckets collect water falling from the ceiling when it rains. When it’s cold outside, students wear coats indoors to stay warm.

“When moving forward, please don’t leave Longley students behind,” Wigant said.

Reacting to those who have said the benefits of a small school can be achieved in a large school with small classes, four teachers who work in one of Lewiston’s large schools disagreed, saying a new school should not be larger than Geiger or Montello.

Geiger has 708 students, Montello has 725, according to September enrollment figures.

The four weren’t convinced that small classes of 20 students would happen as promised, pointing to existing classes of 25 to 29 students.

When a school has 700 or more students, it’s not possible to meet individual needs or know all the students or even students on the same wing, the teachers said.

The three choices facing the redistricting committee Monday are:

* Option B, an 860-student school that would combine Martel and Longley.

* Option C, an 950-student school that would combine Martel and Longley and relieve overcrowding at other schools.

* Option F, a 600-student school to replace Martel, leaving Longley alone.

One advantage of building a bigger school is the state will pay for 95 percent of the new school, whether it houses 600 students or 950 students. The state will only pay for one school construction project. A second school, or needed renovations to Longley, would be the responsibility of Lewiston taxpayers.

Other concerns are blending Martel and Longley, which would result in a student population of 31 to 32 percent English Language Learners, and 83 to 84 percent of students who qualify for free or reduced-priced school lunches. Longley students test poorer, Martel students test higher.

Now, 8.1 percent of Martel students are English Language Learners, and 72.5 percent qualify for free or reduced-priced lunch, while Longley has 57.8 percent English Language Learners, and 100 percent get free or reduced-price lunch.

Citywide, 25.1 percent of Lewiston students are English Language Learners, and 72.6 percent are from families with incomes that qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.