School closures across the state are up this year, according to new data from the Maine Department of Education. District leaders say declining enrollment, the difficulty of maintaining school infrastructure, and the increasing local cost of education are all contributing factors. There are worries closing a school can mean a loss in town identity.
Walking into Sabattus Primary School in early June, the traditional sights and sounds of a school are all there. Children's voices fill the playground, classrooms, and halls. But the moving boxes lining the corridor are a reminder that an accumulation of building problems is prompting change.
"Bathrooms are older. We have plumbing issues. We've had heating issues," said Katy Grondin, superintendent of RSU 4. She said the school is closing because the building is simply run down.
"If you looked in the classrooms, they're nice, but the windows, the fire stuff, you know, everything's older," Grondin said.
Sabattus Primary School opened in 1953. The first kindergarteners to attend are now in their 70s. Grondin estimates the total cost to repair the school after all those years is around $5 million. She said the closure will save the district roughly $300,000 in staffing and operational costs and will simplify complicated bus routes.
Nicole Russell, RSU 4 parent and school board chair, said she is not sentimental about the closure and thinks parental pick up will be easier. Which isn't usually the case when schools are closed.
"As a parent, I mean, I really don't have a preference on which building that they're in. As long as they are in a proper environment and are getting an education," Russell said.
Town leaders feared local schools would close after Governor John Baldacci's 2007 consolidation transformed Maine's rural school systems into larger districts.
And many communities, like Bradley, just north of Bangor, have lost their local schools. Matthew Cyr, superintendent of RSU 34, said this is the cost of the regional school unit system.
"That's kind of the difference when you form an RSU, you're truly thinking of all communities as one, and you're not trying to operate separate communities," Cyr said.
Cyr said his district is closing Viola Rand Elementary school in Bradley because enrollment declined too much to keep the school open.
"Between our two small elementary schools, we have nine empty classrooms. And you know, those those buildings still require the same level of heat and care and upkeep," Cyr said.
Cyr said along with declining enrollment, his district is struggling with reduced funding subsidies from the state. Which force districts to either raise taxes or close schools. Cyr said the decision to close is even more difficult in smaller communities where the school is the primary civic space.
"There's that fear of losing that identity, especially for maybe older citizens that no longer have children in the school system, but they just all they have is these great memories of that school and and sometimes that's a hard thing to understand," Cyr said.
Back in Sabattus, more than 20 staff will work from new schools in the fall as their first and second grade students fill vacant classrooms in Litchfield. Grondin said the transition is difficult for those personally attached to the school.
"I would say everybody understands. Obviously people who've taught here their whole career, or they went to school here, and it's daunting, but I think everybody knew, at some point it was going to happen," Grondin said.
After staff cleared the school in June, RSU 4 returned the building back to the town. Sabattus held a community meeting in May to brainstorm ideas on what to use the space for. Resident Alex Vansant said he wants it to remain community oriented.
"I'm fairly new to town, we moved in 3 or 4 years ago but I'd love to see it as a community center. I think that would be really good. We definitely moved to Sabattus because of it's size," Vansant said.
Cyr in Bradley and Grondin in Sabattus expect if funding doesn't become available for school repair and enrollment continues to decline, more schools will close.
Districts across the state are running consolidation committees and could announce closures before the end of the year.
