PARIS — As Maine School Administrative District 17 pursues replacing Agnes Gray Elementary School in West Paris and Oxford Hills Middle School, community buy-in for consolidating elementary schools in the eight towns is proving to be a hard sell.

Over the past two weeks, the district has hosted community meetings for input and feedback on options its eight towns face on school construction. 

West Paris officials have scheduled another meeting for 5 p.m. Monday at the Paris Fire Station at 137 Western Ave. to facilitate a discussion on the possibility of not consolidating schools. 

Agnes Gray Elementary School and Oxford Hills Middle School, which has campuses in Paris and Oxford, were placed on the Maine Department of Education’s priority list for replacement in 2022. Lavallee Brensinger Architects of Portland and Harriman of Auburn were selected to spearhead planning for the new schools.

Agnes Gray school was abruptly closed in February after Lavallee Brensinger officials told Oxford Hills School District directors the two-story 19th-century building is not safe for students or staff.

There is little dispute about a new middle school, the project managed by Harriman. However, the prospect of the district moving toward a consolidated elementary school has not been well received, especially by those in towns that would see their schools closed.

West Paris, Harrison and Waterford would no longer have elementary schools. Norway would be the likely location of a new school, replacing Guy E. Rowe school on Main Street and enrolling as many as 600 students.

In Hebron, Otisfield, Paris and Oxford the schools would remain.

To qualify for Maine DOE paying to build a new elementary school, the district needs to develop a plan that includes consolidation, according to Lavallee Brensinger Architects. To maintain elementary school independence, it should expect to shoulder the entire expense of replacing Agnes Gray now, and other smaller aging schools later, on its own, the firm said.

The first community meeting was held April 29 in Oxford and the second the following night in West Paris.

“I don’t think people were satisfied with the ‘community conversations’ that the district is having regarding the school construction projects,” West Paris Select Board Chairman Eli White said in a social media post following the meeting at the Ring McKeen American Legion Hall.

At the meeting, many residents firmly expressed their view that consolidation is a nonstarter for the community and its children. Several walked out midway through the meeting.

A few who stayed until the end reported that Lavallee Brensinger Managing Principal Lance Whitehead indicated that the Maine DOE could be amenable to proposals not to consolidate schools.

Select Board members, school board directors and residents from all eight towns are invited to attend Monday’s meeting in West Paris.

“No time limits, no parameters, no agendas,” White wrote in a post announcing the meeting. “Anyone can speak, so our elected school board directors will know what we actually want.”

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