Recent articles about the poor physical condition of Maine schools and the lack of affordable housing suggest solutions. Consolidation should not be one of them. Reports that my team and I wrote for the Rural School and Community Trust remain valid. Consolidation is bad for students, families and communities; it often results in high costs for administration, transportation and purchasing.

Schools built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were intended to last 75 years as centers of community. Schools built during the second wave of school construction, after World War II and into the 1960s, were built for a 25-year life span to accommodate the anticipated population bubble. Now, in part because of deferred maintenance, schools from both periods are in poor condition.

What to do? Instead of consolidating schools, let’s return them to being centers of community by building workforce housing above them, renting space within them to appropriate businesses and inviting community organizations to hold paying events.

Many schools throughout the U.S. have been doing this for years. An article in the Portland Press Herald noted that the lack of sewage capacity limits the development of housing. Let’s use the
excess capacity in schools for workforce housing as the student population diminishes. Other techniques, such as using the 1031 tax incentive, may attract private investors looking to defer capital gains taxes and invest in their communities.

Small schools work best for students and families. Administrators and teachers can serve multiple schools and keep students in their neighborhoods.

Barbara Kent Lawrence, Ed.D.
Brunswick