Voters in Windham decide the fate of their shuttered elementary school

It’s been a tough couple of years in Windham.

The town of about 550 people voted to close its school in 2023 after a long and drawn-out battle.

And at town meeting Tuesday, the school was once again in the center of one of the day’s most contentious issues.

“That building is asbestos-ridden, and it was too small to be used a school,” said Windham resident Antal Persa, giving his opinion about a Town Meeting Day article to have the school district hand over the shuttered two-room schoolhouse to the town for $1. “I think we should tear the place down and just save the land.”

There was a lot of debate over who should decide how to use the building.

Cecilia Detrich said that even without children in the building, she wanted the town to maintain and use the building somehow.

“I think that it is extremely important that we maintain the school building as a building for the community,” she said. “One reason for that is because when you lose a sense of community then what are you but, you know, just places to sleep.”

In the end, voters approved the transfer of ownership from the school district to the town, with the stipulation that a committee would be able to make decisions about what the building is used for.

Windham voters were also asked to allow the select board to look into offering health insurance to the town clerk and treasurer.

The outgoing clerk and treasurer are leaving after decades on the job, and the board has been having trouble finding someone to replace those employees.

Katherine Querella said she thought it made sense to find the money in the town’s budget for the new benefit to attract younger applicants.

“The possibility for us to supply health insurance I see as an incentive to keep someone,” Quenella said. “To me I read this more as, ‘Do we as a town want to support that position?’”

Voters approved the health insurance benefit for both town positions, which the board estimated would add about $32,000 to the budget.

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