To the Editor: 

On Dec. 4 at 5 p.m. at the central office, the elementary building committee decided to submit to the school board to consolidate elementary schools. They will present this to the school board on Dec. 16 and the board will make the final decision. There will be no community vote on whether we want to consolidate.

For those who are lost or wonder what the proposal is, here is the background. I, John Eli White, am a citizen of West Paris and chair of the West Paris Select Board. I have three boys who attended Agnes Gray. When Agnes Gray got the nod from the Department of Education for replacement, I submitted my interest to be on the Agnes Gray building committee and was accepted.

The committee began meeting over a year ago. It was largely made up of people from West Paris. The middle school was also approved for replacement and that committee would meet jointly with us, as they are connected – even more so than we were led to believe. When we started, the first item was to decide whether the middle school would stay grades 7 and 8, or to add grade 6 and maybe 5.

The architects went over the pros and cons of each, and it was ultimately decided to add grade 6 to the middle school. One of the pros sold to us was it would free up room in the elementary schools for other programs. However, shortly afterward, we were told that the district elementary schools were so underpopulated that the DOE would want us to consolidate elementary schools. From then on, every committee meeting was a sales pitch for consolidation, followed by a discussion against it.

Next, there were the school evaluations that we got a glimpse at on Oct. 23, which showed the poor conditions at many of the elementary schools. No surprise to us, Agnes was in very bad shape. We knew it, it being our school. We have been enduring the neglect and deteriorating building conditions with the promise of a new school for a long time. Fast forward to Feb. 6, the doors were shut for good with zero warning – just a phone call at 6 a.m. That’s when the committee really started to push for a new school. Soon the decision to disband and reform the committee was made.

The new elementary committee and the middle school committee are made up of largely school employees and school board directors, aka followers. The meetings are run by the superintendent. My concern is how a committee member can give a true opinion when, if they make one that goes against the agenda, they will be labeled a troublemaker. There isn’t a way to not hold it against someone when it is an employer-employee relationship. These committees are weighted and therefore controllable. They have made consolidation inevitable.

This is the proposed consolidation plan. Close four (three more) elementary schools, in Norway, Harrison, and Waterford. Build a new four-hundred-and-fifty-student school somewhere in the center of the district. Then students will attend the closest school geographically to them. No more community elementary schools. Kids from Harrison will go to Otisfield, Oxford, and the new school.

Displaced students from Oxford and Otisfield will go to the new one or either. West Paris will continue to attend South Paris and Hebron, and students from those schools will shift to fill seats where needed. No West Paris student will set foot in a new school approved to replace Agnes Gray.

No more having quick easy access to your kid in your town. No more sense of community. No after-school programs in your town, no more safe-lit fields and playgrounds. Three fewer gymnasiums for booster sports and community use.

Guy E. Rowe Elementary rated very poorly in the evaluations and is on the DOE list for future funding. This plan would replace it now but the new school will not fit on the current lot. Rowe’s location, like Agnes, is the perfect location for a community school. Its grounds are available to everyone around them.

It is part of the community. Classes walk to different places in town like libraries, gardens, and businesses. You hear the school bell and children playing as you walk down the sidewalk. This will be gone with the plan that is being pushed through.

On December 3, I attended the elementary school construction forum, where the architect gave his now very polished pitch for consolidation with only a mere mention of the choice of building a school in West Paris.

I will say I was thrilled with the amount of actual Q&A that was allowed. It was poorly attended, with the audience comprised of the ‘bothersome’ West Paris citizens. School employees, school board directors, and a handful of new faces were overwhelmed with charts and the whole pitch to consolidate.

One thing that was hit upon during the discussion was how much the architects would be paid. According to the representative from the architecture firm, it’s a percentage (10%, I believe) of the build cost. So if it costs $80 million to build an elementary school, they make $8 million.

That’s the rough estimate for the consolidated school. I’ve seen a range of $25-40 million for a school in West Paris. This would also apply to the middle school project as a 6-8 middle school would be 50% more roughly to build. So they stand to make a lot more money by pushing for larger schools.

The pitch is that this consolidation will save taxpayers money. It’s always about money. They say it will wipe 18-22 million dollars of neglect and maintenance off our tax bill by closing four schools and building one new one. I feel those are inflated numbers to encourage community buy-in. The problem comes when Harrison, a town that pays for roughly 2/5 of the entire school budget and wants to keep its school open, leaves the district.

I have witnessed Harrison’s select board chair ask about their elementary school’s evaluation; specifically, the lack of a sprinkler system. He asked if the district would put one in and was told they weren’t planning on it. I have heard that they were willing to pay for it themselves, but were denied by the district. They have purchased a bus and are in the process of leaving because they can see the push for consolidation and the closing of Harrison Elementary.

They want out before they are on the hook for bonds related to the new school’s construction. Harrison leaving will more than offset any savings in school maintenance and repairs. No one’s taxes are going down as a result of either building project.

After this decision is made, the committees will move forward with what is decided. Probably, building a consolidated school. They will make a design and find a possible location. They will then send this to a referendum in November. That’s when, finally, the taxpayers get to vote for the proposal. But it really isn’t a yes or no.

It’s a yes or yes, because If it’s voted down they will need to spend more money to adjust the plan to satisfy the voters. We also may lose state funding altogether and not get a school. We would also be stuck with the $million or so bill to get to that point. So there won’t be a good choice by the time we get to that point. We should have voted on this issue six months ago. It’s reckless, disingenuous, and deceitful to do it this way.

This is my stance, along with many others from West Paris, and other towns that have been trying to make other towns aware of the ramifications and possible consequences of not getting involved. This is one more attempt in the final few weeks to turn this ship around. Each town should have its own elementary school.

What can community members do?
• Contact a committee member or school board director. They are listed on the district website.
• Go to the committee meeting tonight to witness the discussion. You won’t be permitted to participate.
• You can go to the school board meeting on the 16th and state your concern during the three minutes you have to comment. You won’t get any response or interaction.
• You can talk to your town select board members to find out whether they are aware of all of this. They have some pull and should get involved.
• Some citizens have started a petition to request a vote to use the state funding as it was intended for, a school in West Paris. I can put you in contact with someone if you want to sign.

Thank you for reading this. You are at least more informed about what’s been going on.

Eli White

West Paris