HOLLIS — In the early 1940s, Rita Anderson practiced softball in a farmer’s hayfield in Hollis that was notable only for its lack of amenities: No diamond, no bases, no outfield fence. Armed with only a ball and a bat ”“ gloves and chest protectors were luxuries for which one could only wish ”“ Anderson played just across the road from the old Hollis High School, a small brick-and-mortar building where she and her classmates received their secondary school education.

Anderson graduated in June of 1947 on Friday the 13th. She was at the top of a class that consisted of 13 students, a number greatly diminished by several Hollis boys’ service to their country in World War II. Sixty-four years later, almost to the day, Hollis voters will decide whether the old high school stays ”“ or, like the hayfield, recedes into history.

Two years ago, Maine School Administrative District 6, which owns the building, offered the school back to the town with the stipulation that if the town refused it, the building would be returned to the district and likely demolished. Hollis selectmen, at that time, decided that the town would rather not incur the costs of heating and maintenance that ownership of the building would require.

At the June 14 Town Meeting, the Board of Selectmen will be watching the vote closely; if approved, the measure would allocate $64,000 for studies that would determine the best use for the building. Article 19 on the warrant was made possible by Anderson and friend Roberta Ramsdell, who spearheaded a petition to have it included on the ballot. The two women said they feel that the historic value of the building, which now houses administrative offices for the Adult Learning Center, warrants status as a permanent landmark.

Selectman Ben Severance sees it differently, however, claiming that the building would serve no real practical use to the town.

“The selectmen don’t care to have it,” said Severance. “We have approached both the libraries, but they both like where they are. We don’t see what the benefit would be for the town.”

Severance also sees economic reasons to refuse ownership of the building. He estimates that renovation costs on a building of that kind could average about $2 million, which he claims the town of Hollis simply cannot afford.

“If we’re spending money on that (building), then that’s money we can’t use for infrastructure without a considerable tax increase,” said Severance, who estimated that SAD 6 spent more than $10,000 in the past fiscal year just to heat the old school.

Anderson and Ramsdell dispute that figure, claiming maintenance costs would be far lower than the town’s estimates. According to Ramsdell, whose husband attended the old Hollis High School, selectmen discouraged her from seeking the necessary signatures to have the article placed on the ballot.

“One of them made the comment that, ”˜When they take the wreckin’ ball to it, I’ll be having lunch across the street, watching it,’” said Ramsdell.

The group interested in preserving the school, loosely called Friends to Save Hollis High School, have cobbled together some figures of its own, asserting that taxpayers have already doled out roughly $71,000 for improvements to the building in recent years, including a new septic system in 1996, 45 replacement windows in 2004 and a new steam boiler and oil tanks in 2008.

While Anderson acknowledged that taxpayers in the SAD 6 district would be responsible for providing the $64,000 for studies to determine proper usage of the school, the cost would be less than the estimated $75,000 to demolish the building.

She said there will also be additional costs to retrofit the building for any future potential usage.

“Once you stop using the building for students, you’ve got to do something to the building to use it for something else,” said Anderson.

Anderson and Ramsdell cited several possible uses for the building, including a community center, a day care center, and a location to host conferences, lunches, and dinners.

“We feel it would be a nice place to have meetings,” said Ramsdell. “They have a community center, but it’s always booked up. You can never get in.”

“We think it would be a wonderful selectmen’s office,” said Anderson, “but they want a new one.”

Severance, while acknowledging the enthusiasm of Friends to Save Hollis High School, dismissed the idea of using the building to house town offices.

“We don’t see that building as fitting into a municipal setting,” he said. “This is not the right economic climate for these kinds of things. The only thing historic about this building is its age.”

That’s a point with which Anderson takes issue, as her own history with the building is deeply personal: Memories of band practice, senior plays, checkers tournaments and softball in the hayfield all add to her desire to see the building stay.

“Hollis High School is the only public building of historic value left in the town of Hollis,” said Anderson.

— Staff Writer Jeff Lagasse can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 319, or at jlagasse@journaltribune.com.