A meeting to discuss the future of Teresa C. Hamlin School in Randolph has been re-scheduled to Monday, according to an email from School Administrative District 11.

The meeting will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at the school. The meeting previously had been scheduled for Monday but was postponed because of widespread power outages caused by severe wind and rain.

Enrollment at the school is down to 44 students, prompting district officials to talk about enrollment data and options regarding the school.

Superintendent Patricia Hopkins said previously that they need to consider whether to continue operating the school or if it closes, how that will play out.

She said she has heard rumors about the fate of the school, but said no decisions have been made.

This is not the first time district officials have discussed the possible closure of Hamlin. With a capacity of 155, it’s the smallest school in the district, which is made up of Gardiner, Pittston, Randolph and West Gardiner.

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Hopkins said a committee was assessing space needs for the district in 2010, her first year as superintendent there. In 2011, enrollment at the school was 120.

A committee also met during the 2013-14 school year to consider reconfiguring the district. One of those considerations was closing the Randolph elementary school, but it has remained open. With the transfer of the combined second and third grades, 44 students remain at the school, in kindergarten, first grade and a combined third-through-fifth-grade class. Twenty-one staff members are listed for the school; none is a principal.

The majority of students are from Randolph, Hopkins said.

The procedure for closing a school is spelled out by the state Department of Education. The requirements include completing a cost analysis report and other paperwork. If a school district pursues that route, voter approval is required.


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