The RSU 71 school board will vote Monday on a measure that would effectively close Kermit Nickerson Elementary School in Swanville.
At a meeting last week, the school board and interim superintendent said that the board can vote to move all of the students out of the school without a community vote.
Swanville residents would then be asked to vote on whether or not to retain the school building.
In late January, the administration proposed closing the Nickerson school at the end of the school year to cut costs.
The move would save the district an estimated $450,000, interim superintendent Bob England has said, adding that the district could potentially raise another $90,000 if it leased the school building to another entity.
At a tense community meeting last month, parents and teachers raised concerns about transparency, a rushed process, and a lack of data to support the district’s claim that the move would benefit Swanville’s students.
Cooper Reed, parent of a third grader at the Nickerson school, said the administration has given unclear information about the role that Swanville voters would have in making the decision.
“I want what’s best for the district. I think it could have been done more thoughtfully and intentionally,” Reed said. “This is really harmful in terms of parents’ trust toward the school district.”
The Nickerson school has nearly 60 students, who would go to the Captain Albert Stevens School in Belfast next year if the closure happens.
