Following a flurry of meetings among administrators, school trustees and city councillors, the Calais school system has made a bold move toward purchasing the Hight building on South Street, the former home of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services office. If the purchase is completed -- and indications are that it will be -- the building will be the site of a revamped version of the Calais Day Treatment Program.
      The Day Treatment Program is an alternative school for students in grades K‑12 with behavior impairments that prevent them from functioning in a regular classroom environment. "It may be that they can't stay in their seat, that they have mental health issues and can't go a full day or they may have aggression -- it runs the gamut," says Calais Elementary School Principal Sue Carter, who manages the program. The program has 28 students, ranging to the upper 30s, from schools throughout the region, including Lubec, Alexander, Princeton and elsewhere. Funding for the program is provided entirely by state agencies and tuition from the sending schools.
      The Day Treatment Program, which is now in its 17th year, has been held in two buildings. One, a modular building, is leased through Schiavi, and the other is the Aroostook Mental Health Center (AMHC) building. The condition of the Schiavi building is "terrible," according to Superintendent Ron Jenkins, mostly because of its age. The current lease is $45,000 a year for its estimated 2,500 square feet. The portion housed in AMHC is rented for $27,000, and it includes two classrooms, three to four offices and a quiet room.
      "On average, we've been paying $85,000 a year," Jenkins says, noting that amount does not include janitorial duties or utilities in the Schiavi building. The Schiavi building has mold in the carpets, leaks and numerous other challenges that are not repairable. "We're at a crisis point," Carter says.
      With the Schiavi lease due for renewal, the options facing the school were to close the Day Treatment Program altogether or to renew the lease. The city council contacted Jenkins and requested that he look into purchasing the Hight building instead.
      "Indeed, the building is close to perfect for what we would need," says Jenkins, noting it is 5,200 square feet. "Our whole program would fit there," he says, emphasizing that it would still have room to grow and very little retrofitting would be required. The new building is heated with propane. Jenkins said he anticipated that electricity will be more expensive but added that the lighting is more efficient. There is already an intercom system in the building, and it is handicap accessible. It has a secure entrance, a large front parking lot and a garage. Jenkins said that the trades programs at St. Croix Regional Technical Center have expressed interest in using the garage.
      The asking price for the building was $450,000, but Jenkins negotiated the price down to $375,000. Jenkins pressed the trustees to make a rapid decision -- others were interested in the building -- and received approval to pursue the purchase.
      On March 21 Jenkins reported that a purchase and sale agreement had been signed. The First National Bank agreed to finance the purchase at a rate of 3.31% over 10 years, resulting in payments of approximately $35,000 a year. Jenkins immediately requested that a title search be performed. "I would predict that within two weeks we will own that building," he says.
      With the building seemingly secured, Jenkins shared his vision of what the Day Treatment Program could become. First and foremost would be a new name, something like Calais Learning Center or St. Croix Regional Learning Center, which would rightly suggest that it is part of the school system leading to high school graduation and not a substandard option that merely houses students with behavioral issues. "We're looking at some new and creative things to do around providing alternative education for kids in this part of the county," Jenkins says.
      "Every time a kid ultimately graduates from our program and ultimately graduates from high school, that is a help to society," Jenkins says. He added that in many cases the students who attend the program would not be able to make it in the regular school environment.
      The Hight building was toured by Randy Morrison, Peter Foster and Calais Fire Chief Robert Posick to determine if any remodeling would be needed. Based on Jenkins' assessment of the requirements, he believes that two doors will need to be added to the building.
      The transition is not expected to be very difficult, and Jenkins said the goal is to have the building ready to house the program when it restarts in the fall.