CARIBOU, Maine — Staff filled every seat in the Caribou Learning Center board room, with some having to stand, during a Monday, March 6 meeting in which the RSU 39 school board voted to close Hilltop Elementary school.
Hilltop is one of four facilities that will eventually close as a result of Caribou’s new pre-K-8 school. The difference with Hilltop is that the district has set the wheels in motion to give the building back to the city, sell it or lease it to a private company, and ultimately transform the facility into a senior living center. The Maine DOE will then pay to demolish three other facilities (Teague Park, Caribou Middle School, and the Caribou Learning Center) at some point around the projected construction of the new school in 2020.
The school board initially mentioned the transfer of Hilltop students to Teague Park during a March 1 school board meeting. Transfers originally involved moving students, in pre-K through second grade, from Hilltop to Teague Park, and also moving fourth- and fifth-graders from Teague Park to Caribou Middle School.
The Learning Center Board room was packed for a March 6 RSU 39 meeting in which school board members voted to close Hilltop for the 2017-18 year and establish a transition team to determine where students should go between then and the projected 2020 construction date of a new preK-8 school in Caribou. (Staff photo/Christopher Bouchard)
After hearing concerns from staff, the board decided to table these transfers for March 6, in which they voted to close Hilltop and voted to create a transition team. The board tasked the transition team with recommending the best student distribution method between the 2017-18 year and the completed construction date of the new facility where Teague Park currently stands.
Despite the sizable turnout, nobody spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting. However a few board members commented on the closure before voting.
“This has been discussed a lot,” said board member Ron Willey. “It might not appear that way, but we’ve had workshop meetings and have discussed the ins and outs of this a lot.”
Board member Betheny Anderson said the safety of the building for kids concerned her, and she was uncomfortable sending kids to Hilltop.
“The heating system at Hilltop is faulty,” said Superintendent Tim Doak. “We almost had to put over $10,000 into it this year. In some areas, it’s 80 degrees and in other areas it’s 60. It’s the most constantly upgraded school we have.”
Board Chairperson Tanya Sleeper said she wanted to avoid painting a picture of “doom and gloom.”
“There’s a lot of people in this community who work in this school that can help make the budgets and transitions work. There is a whole host of reasons why we need to tap into our internal resources,” said Sleeper.
Doak “I think we should celebrate Hilltop. We should have a community function at the end of a year, maybe a barbecue. We could also have a time capsule or put pictures of Hilltop up in our new school. We should relish this building that has served the community so well over time, not just kick it to the wayside and say we’re done with it.”
Sleeper urged any staff members in the audience to reach out if they wanted to be part of a transition team for students.
“You really are the experts in terms of how those children will best be served,” Sleeper said “Please make sure you reach out. I think it’s vital that parents, teachers, and administrators lend to that discussion.”
