The local school district is seeking public input about whether its long-term plans should include a major renovation of Harpswell’s only public school or closing the school and busing Harpswell students to another town.
The option of closure is hypothetical, part of a broader discussion about the district’s long-range facilities master plan. Maine School Administrative District 75 — serving Harpswell, Topsham, Bowdoin and Bowdoinham — is holding a series of public forums to gather feedback.
Two meetings already took place at Mt. Ararat High School, in Topsham, on Sept. 22 and Oct. 20. A third and final public forum to gather residents’ feedback is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 17, at the high school.
Harpswell Community School is the town’s only public school. West Harpswell School closed in 2011. A charter school called Harpswell Coastal Academy operated in the former West Harpswell School for 10 years before closing in 2023.
At the Oct. 20 forum, Lisa Sawin, of the Auburn-based architectural firm Harriman, presented several long-range options. She said the options take into account the district’s declining enrollment, as well as the advanced age of some of its buildings. Attendees were asked to rank the options in order of preference.
“These are the things that we have started to put together to say, ‘OK, based on the data that we have collected as architects and engineers going through these buildings, and talking to (district leadership), here are the themes that we’re seeing for a possible path into the future,'” Sawin told attendees.
School board Chair Ryan Larsen, of Harpswell, said in an email that the district hired Harriman to develop a master facilities plan that will assess all school buildings, project future enrollment and demographics, and gather public and stakeholder input.
Larsen said the findings will guide future committee and board discussions, as well as possible workshops to help the board reach a consensus.
Most residents who attended the Oct. 20 forum indicated they were against closing any schools, with the majority saying they would rather the district renovate the older ones.
“Most community members I have spoken to are not in support of closing any community schools,” one resident said in written comments.
“Community schools are the heart of the community and should be maintained and improved where they are,” said another.
Aging facilities
The district has five elementary schools, one middle school and one high school, in addition to four other facilities for administration and services. Four of the 11 buildings are more than 70 years old. Two — including the Harpswell school — are almost 70.
Of the nine long-term options presented, six would involve renovating the Harpswell school and three would involve closing it.
Sawin said the school’s original section, built in 1956, contains five classrooms that don’t comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Additional sections were added in 1960, 1980 and 1996.
“That was a pretty big thing that we noted at a lot of (MSAD 75) schools,” Sawin said. “A lot of ADA things were not in compliance across the board.”
One of the long-range options would involve performing major renovations at Bowdoinham Community School, while closing both the Harpswell school and Williams-Cone Elementary, in Topsham. An addition would be built onto Woodside Elementary School, also in Topsham, to accommodate students from the closed schools.
Another option would involve performing major renovations at the Harpswell and Bowdoinham schools, closing Williams-Cone and building an addition at Woodside to accommodate those students.
A third option would entail building a new school at a location to be determined and closing the Harpswell, Bowdoinham and Williams-Cone schools, the district’s three oldest schools and those in the worst shape overall.
Attendees at the forums have been asked to choose their top priorities from a list provided by the district. The priorities, in order from most to least chosen, included school safety and security, energy efficiency, minimizing cost impacts, maintaining the current number of schools, traffic mitigation, and reducing the number of schools to save money.
Buildings get low grades
Sawin presented data at the October forum that showed how each existing school rated on a scale from “excellent” to “critical” in several key areas, including ADA and code compliance, safety and security, exterior and interior, heating and ventilation, plumbing, fire protection, and electrical systems.
Harpswell Community School received a “good” rating for its grounds and infrastructure. All of its other ratings were either “fair” or “poor,” plus one “critical” rating for ADA compliance.
Evaluations were similarly poor among most MSAD 75 schools. The exceptions were Bowdoin Central School, built in 1999, and the new Mt. Ararat High School, which was built in 2020 and received high marks in every category.
“This gives you a general idea as to the condition of those buildings, and that just means that you’re going to have to spend money to replace a bunch of things in these schools, maintain these schools, and continue to allow them to service the students and the staff,” Sawin said.
The architect added that it could take anywhere from three to 10 years to implement the long-term facilities plan after it has been finalized. The current process is primarily about setting priorities and finding out which options residents can live with, she said.
Larsen, the school board chair, said it was too early for the board to speculate on what would be best for the district and its students. “We are not at a point in the process to responsibly form any opinion,” he said.
Harpswell Select Board Chair Kevin Johnson said he doesn’t think there is any way Harpswell Community School would be shut down, adding that enrollment at the school has increased recently.
“There’s nothing to panic about — that’s not going to happen,” Johnson said in an interview.
Larsen said that in addition to attending the Nov. 17 meeting, residents can contact him with questions or comments about the process via email at larsenr@link75.org.
To review the facilities master plan presentations or submit comments, visit link75.org/departments/facilities-grounds.
