STOCKTON SPRINGS, Maine — An abandoned school is the topic of discussion in Stockton Springs. Town manager Jennifer King said she's not sure which way her community will vote.
"I mean it could go either way all I hope is that there's a strong presence at the polls so that there is a voice shown on one or the other side where they really truly want the school to go whether it's going to be sold or we're going to keep it," she said.
What King and other officials do know is that the town doesn't want the school sitting empty anymore.
"It's a shame that it's just sat there as long as it has. And it's just... it'd be so wonderful for it to be used," Ryan King, who lives right next door to the school, said.
The town has a few options.
If they vote to keep the school, it may be turned into a community center or recreational facility.
But if the vote goes the other way, there's already an anonymous buyer interested in turning it into an assisted living facility.
King said this anonymous buyer has purchased a school in another Maine town and has been successful in turning that into an elder care facility.
With eldercare facilities closing across the state, she says this would be beneficial to her community.
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The town has held a public hearing and discussed this issue at select board meetings. Many people who attend those meetings, "they wanted it to be something that would benefit the community," King said.
After the building closed, it developed a mold problem. King said it could have been worse and is under control now.
She also said she hopes whatever the outcome is next month is definitive and truly reflects the opinion of the town.