How could West Paris lose its school overnight? SAD 17 has, until recently, always declared its support of community schools. When did that change? The closing of the school disrupted the education of our children and caused considerable parental stress.

On a Tuesday morning last February parents were told their children would no longer be attending Agnes Gray Elementary School because it was a dangerous environment. How could the administration ignore a school’s maintenance to the point it needed to be closed immediately?

Town officials were not informed that Agnes Gray was being closed, nor were they informed of the more recent boarding over of some of the windows at the school. I wonder if that wasn’t intended as a symbol that the end was at hand.

The district plans no school for West Paris, but a new consolidated school in Norway? At what point was this plan generated?

If the elementary school is not going to be restored to a usable condition and there is no intent to build a new school there to replace it, perhaps our students could be sent to the Woodstock Elementary School. It is a shorter distance from West Paris and I expect they would be welcome there.

At the present time, two towns in SAD 17 are challenging the superintendent’s decision to abruptly close our school. Another town is exploring the possibility of leaving the district. Obviously, there is need for better leadership.

Rodney Abbott, West Paris