SACO — The Saco School Board will soon begin discussions on a short-term solution for a Pre-K location for the gap between the end of the current lease and the completion of a new building.

In 2020, the Saco School Department entered into a five-year lease agreement for the former Toddle Inn daycare building at 5 Willey Road to house the district’s Pre-K program.

Plans for a new school building are in the works, but if the proposal for the new building gets approved, it’s projected completion date is 2027, two years after the Toddle Inn lease ends.

Superintendent of Schools Jeremy Ray said at a meeting earlier this month that rental and operational costs of 5 Willey Road for the 2024-2025 school year, the last year of the lease, are projected to be about $400,000.

He said that the school board will have discussions at a future public workshop regarding where it wants to house Pre-K for the interim years, and the facilities committee has brainstormed 21 possibilities for an interim site.

School Board Member Kevin LaFortune noted the Toddle Inn lease ends May 2025, while the school year ends in June. He said that according to the signed agreement, additional months after May 2025 will cost twice as much as the current monthly fee.  

“If we were going to the end of the school year and add a month there is some additional expense that I don’t think anybody really knows about,” he said.

Mayor William Doyle answered questions from the board regarding how that item in the lease was agreed upon. He said an originally approved lease had language involving the potential purchase of the property that the schoolboard couldn’t enact on its own. In a revised lease, amendments were agreed upon by all parties to avoid legal costs and litigation, he said.

School Board Member William Gayle said while the cost of the Toddle Inn building appeared to be an issue, the facility met the needs of the Pre-K program. He asked if the board would consider reopening discussions with the lease to try to amend it to more favorable terms so the school department could continue to use the building until a new facility was ready.

“It was a very convoluted situation from the very start,” said School Board Member Beth Johnston. She said though the timing of the lease’s end was awkward the amended agreement was better for the school department than the original document. She said while she thought the building had served students well, she didn’t think the school board should make another amendment to the contract, and should look for a less costly option.

Publisher Liz Gotthelf can be reached at newsdesk@sacobaynews.com.