PARIS — Maine School Administrative District 17’s Elementary Construction Committee voted unanimously last week to support an elementary school consolidation project, ending Oxford Hills’ long tradition of sending pre-K through sixth grade students to community-based schools.

The local decision comes more than two years after Agnes Gray Elementary School in West Paris and Oxford Hills Middle School were both placed on Maine Department of Education’s priority list for school replacement. MDOE has indicated it is not likely to fund a school for fewer than 100 students; replacing Agnes Gray at an estimated cost of $25 million would have to be locally funded.

It impacts students in all of SAD 17’s eight sending towns, but especially those living in Harrison, Norway, Waterford and West Paris, where the elementary schools will be closed in favor of a centrally located school that will serve about 450 students. A large elementary school could cost $80 million or more but be largely covered by MDOE, should district voters and the state school board approve the plan.

Agnes Gray already closed last February after an architectural inspection revealed that years of deferred maintenance to the school resulted in the building becoming unsafe for students and staff. Its roof has been degraded, emergency and regular entry/exits have become unsecured from the building and there has been significant water damage from leaks — not to mention the lack of life safety systems in place.

The gateway between Agnes Gray Elementary School and its highly-regarded outdoor classroom. Nicole Carter/Advertiser Democrat file

Both SAD 17’s Operations Committee and board of directors have recently voted against spending $4.4 million to make Agnes Gray usable again. More recently, the school board initiated the process to formally close the school.

According to building inspections — all SAD 17 elementary schools were done by architectural firm Lavallee Brensinger — the district faces more than $22 million in combined maintenance.

When it closed, Agnes Gray had slightly more than 100 students. There are 108 students grades three through six enrolled at Harrison Elementary School and 74 pre-K through second grade students attend Waterford Memorial School. Guy E. Rowe Elementary School’s enrollment for pre-K through sixth grade is 424 and includes students in day treatment and intervention programs that other schools do not provide.

Superintendent Heather Manchester acknowledged the decision is a blow for parents who expected to see their children to receive community-based education in smaller schools.

“The vote came after a respectful discussion,” she said. “It was hard to not make a decision for consolidation. Ideally, if we could fund all of our schools we would.

“Consolidation will save our taxpayers money. It will also provide equity for our students who, in the future, will receive the services they need on a daily basis. Guidance counselors, social workers and nurses will be available regularly,” not one or two days a week.

Manchester said consolidation will help counter staffing shortages — a national crisis — lessening SAD 17’s salary expenses. Facilities and utilities costs will also decrease with fewer inefficient buildings to operate.

A subcommittee is drafting recommendations for next steps for directors, which will be presented to the board at its Dec. 16 meeting.

Two committee members who attended Agnes Gray spoke about their votes last week.

“Our elementary schools need to be at a certain capacity as part of Maine DOE criteria,” said Dana Dillingham, vice chairperson of Oxford’s Select Board and chairperson of the construction committee. “With the number of schools we have and the size of the district, I believe building one larger school for multiple towns will be the best investment. It will bring children to modern schools, with more services for more students.

“It will be a change. Change is hard. I’m sure there were lots of heated discussions 50 plus years ago when they formed Oxford Hills middle and high schools…

“But for years students from South Paris attended Norway or West Paris. Students from West Paris went to South Paris. (Currently), more than 160 kids go to schools that are not in the town they live in.”

As a West Paris resident and former student, Andrew Merrill has generational ties to Agnes Gray. His mother, Terry, taught at Agnes Gray for several years.

Merrill is also a teacher at Oxford Hills Technical School. Inspired by the outdoor education programs former Principal Beth Clarke and SAD 17’s Outdoor Education Coach Sarah Timm developed at Agnes Gray, he initiated an outdoor recreation track last year at OHTS that puts students on career paths as Maine Guides.

“It tears me up that the students, and the taxpayers, of West Paris will never get the new elementary school that every other town in the district experienced over the years,” said Merrill. “I wish that we had a different pot of money to work from which we could make our building construction and upkeep decisions differently.

“I did come around some to the fact that the district can cut some of its financial strife by consolidation. It can help lower taxes. It’s not going to be a silver bullet financially or for educational excellence. Our constraints are still there.

“I place a lot of value on the education that this tiny town-centered school gave to our children … It hurts that the district promise for community schools will end.”