LEBANON, Maine — The Maine School Administrative District 60 school board voted this week to begin the state's formal process for closing Lebanon Elementary School, a vacant building whose broken boiler has set off a dispute with the town of Lebanon.

The vote came at a meeting attended by members of the Lebanon Selectboard. Days earlier the Selectboard had hired lawyers to try to stop the district from winterizing the 1952 building. It argued the district had effectively closed the school without the town vote that state law requires.

The district's attorney told both boards that a vote to start the process "is not a vote to close." It directs the superintendent to prepare a report for the Maine Department of Education. That report must cover the number of students affected, where they would be educated, transportation, the building's debts and obligations, a plan for the property and the reason for closing.

Lebanon voters would decide

Only Lebanon voters would vote on the closure, the attorney said. The question would most likely go on the ballot with the district's budget validation referendum in June. The quickest version of the process takes about four months, and six is more realistic, she said. The school board must also hold at least one public hearing first.

If Lebanon voters chose to keep the school open, the district would have to reopen it, and Lebanon alone would pay to run it from year to year, the attorney said.

If voters approved the closure, the school board would decide what to do with the property. Under state law it could keep the building, lease it for up to four years at a time, transfer it to the town, sell it or tear it down. A town that accepts a transferred school also takes on any debt on it, the attorney said.

She urged the Selectboard to tell the school board early whether Lebanon would want the building and on what terms. A Selectboard member said that decision has not been made.

Boiler and winterizing on hold

The building's boiler has failed and cannot be repaired. The school board voted in October not to replace it. One person at the meeting put replacement at about $80,000, and district officials estimated winterizing the building at about $13,500.

District officials said contractors had urged winterizing soon to keep pipes from freezing. They said the district's insurer had confirmed in writing that the building would stay covered. The plan calls for filling heating and water lines with glycol, removing sprinkler heads and swapping smoke detectors for heat detectors. Security cameras and fire monitoring would stay running.

Some board members and Lebanon officials said they wanted experts to explain first whether leaving the building unheated could crack its masonry or cause mold. One board member warned that mold could leave the building condemned. Another person at the meeting said that without a boiler, the building was "looking at demolition."

One person at the meeting argued that winterizing would amount to closing the school before the town votes, in violation of state law. The district's attorney disagreed. She said the board has broad discretion over how to maintain its buildings, and that winterizing could be reversed later if the board decided to buy a new boiler.

In the end, the board took no vote on winterizing. Members agreed to wait about two weeks. The superintendent can still winterize sooner if the weather threatens the building, and district officials said they would talk with the board before doing so. The board's next meeting is scheduled for Nov. 19.

Enrollment questions

Several people asked whether the district had planned for universal pre-K and new housing in Lebanon. One noted that a closure could mean long bus rides across the district for Lebanon students. District officials said the closure report will look closely at enrollment, and that the district has not seen an influx of students in recent years.

During public comment, one resident criticized the district's handling of student transportation. The resident said two administrators paid a combined $320,000 had spent a year and a half without fixing the district's bus problems. The resident also said the district starts its bus drivers at $23 an hour.

MSAD 60 serves Lebanon, Berwick and North Berwick. Lebanon Elementary School has not held regular classes for the past two school years. District officials said STEAM and adult education programs used the building until this year.