West Paris residents were shocked to find their beloved 130-year-old elementary school, Agnes Gray, boarded up as part of securing it for the coming winter. The school was abruptly closed in February when a building inspection listing numerous life safety and maintenance issues was released. Lisa McCann / Advertiser Democrat

WEST PARIS — Local residents traveling on Main Street/Route 219 in West Paris on Friday faced a gut-punch sight: Workmen were at Agnes Gray Elementary School, boarding up the first-floor windows.

West Paris Library Director Brenda Lynn Gould posted pictures on the West Paris Community page on Facebook, and it quickly went viral with more than 106 comments voicing local members’ disbelief and frustration about their community school looking more vacant than ever.

Neither town officials nor at least one of West Paris’ two representatives to Maine School Administrative District 17’s school board, Donna Marshall, had been made aware ahead of time that securing and winterizing Agnes Gray would be done last week.

West Paris Town Manager Joy Downing on Monday told the Advertiser Democrat that she received a one-paragraph email from SAD 17 Superintendent Heather Manchester that said, “No doubt you have seen the windows at Agnes Gray boarded up. This is part of the winterization process. Also, we’ve had reports from West Paris residents about teenagers hanging out at the building at all hours. We are concerned about vandalism.”

Manchester told the newspaper Tuesday morning that the school board operations committee gave the go-ahead to winterize the building.

Recent vandalism

Vandalism at the school, including a break-in of its outdoor education yurt, was reported back in July to the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office.

Downing said there had been rumors of more troublemakers hanging around the school drinking and smoking. She had also heard that a lock to one of its outbuildings did not work but could not confirm whether these were actual incidents or neighborhood chatter. Another resident said they were told that the school’s plumbing and water pipes have been drained, but again she was not sure if that was true.

Manchester confirmed to the newspaper that SAD 17’s facilities department is aware of at least four incidents. The outdoor yurt has been broken into twice and sprayed with graffiti. A wooden swing frame was yanked out and placed on top of the supply shed, the garden shed was found with open doors but otherwise untouched, and a picnic table was flipped upside down on a building entrance ramp. She said she was not aware whether the Sheriff’s Office had identified persons of interest.

SAD 17’s second annual operating budget for the current fiscal year, which was rejected during a referendum ballot Aug. 6, contained $39,000 to winterize the school. The majority of the cost is attributed to the amount of propylene glycol antifreeze needed to keep the pipes from freezing.

The same amount was proposed in the third budget, which is the subject of a validation hearing tonight and a districtwide vote on Oct. 8.

Winterization to the building was completed this week.

Past the point of repair?

The SAD 17 school board, administration, Portland architectural firm LaVallee Brensinger and two Oxford Hills elected officials, State Sen. Rick Bennett and Rep. Sawin Millett have worked to figure out the cost and funding options to make Agnes Gray safe enough for students and staff again.

On Aug. 27, the school board’s Operations Committee finally released an estimated cost and schedule to rehab the school. To carry out all of the infrastructural repairs, fire safety, egress and exit upgrades, and heating and plumbing system replacements would take at least 18 months and require at least $4 million dollars funded by local taxpayers.

Agnes Gray’s steam boiler is far beyond its end-of-life expectancy and air quality tests last spring revealed the presence of mold inside most of its walls. The roof is disintegrating and most of its rooms lack proper egress. Furthermore, its stairwells and exits are in poor shape, and conditions inside the school, which housed about 125 students, were so cramped that some staff members used closets as office space.

The committee unanimously agreed to recommend that the school board vote against expending any money to repair the building. Agnes Gray’s future was not listed as an agenda item for the board’s Sept. 16 meeting.