CALAIS – For months now, parents of middle school children have been focused on two issues: whether their youngsters should go to a renovated middle school or to a new building.

On Wednesday night, a third option was proposed: Divide the middle school pupils and send half to the high school and the other half to the elementary school.

Middle school parents reviewed that option several years ago and rejected it.

“Basically, the state has asked us to come back and investigate the possibility of putting some classes in with the high school, and at this time, it is strictly an investigation,” Superintendent May Bouchard said at a school committee meeting Wednesday. “We need to have our architectural firm come in and do a study at the high school.”

Bouchard said the seventh- and eighth-grade pupils would be transferred to the high school, while the fifth- and sixth-grade pupils would be relocated to the elementary school.

The superintendent and Chairman Regina Taylor met with the state officials earlier this week.

Bouchard said the state asked for the review because of the city’s declining school enrollment.

“Our projections show that within the next four or five years, we’ll be down to 100 students or less at the middle school level. In the past, they built a lot of small schools around the state, and there are quite a few in Washington County built for 100 or less. But these schools are having a hard time maintaining themselves,” she said.

Now the state is taking a more cautious look at enrollment projections before committing to any new construction. Last year’s middle school enrollment hovered around 180 pupils.

“Is the state favoring looking at this over the other two options we have been looking at?” committee member Nancy Gillis asked.

Although it would cost about the same to build a building or renovate the existing facilities, Bouchard said, “it doesn’t look like they want to invest that in a brand new building.”

Bouchard said there was plenty of room at the high school. She said the high school was built to hold more than 500 students. Last year, there were fewer than 300 students at the school. She said the plan would call for placing the seventh- and eighth-grade pupils in a separate wing and isolating them from the high school students.

If parents agree to the proposal, it would mean the state would spend money to renovate the high school and elementary school. It would be an infusion of cash both facilities need. If Calais residents reject the consolidation plan and decide to renovate the middle school or build a new facility, they would have to pay the cost entirely out of property taxes.

“It would save us a lot of running around if [the state] just came out and told us what to do,” committee member Billy Howard said.

Several years ago, a former school committee closed the 50-year-old middle school for health and safety reasons. Last year, several local people spent time and money, including a large donation from the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation, to renovate the gymnasium portion of the former middle school.

During the discussion, Bouchard stressed that the state wants the city only to look into the issue. She said the architects still would have to see if the high school could be renovated to include the additional space for a middle school wing. “It would certainly be much less costly to have two schools than three schools,” she said.

If the city is forced to consolidate, Gillis said, the city should push the state for funds to repair both schools, including the roof at the high school.

“It really may allow these kids to get classes that they aren’t able to get now, or even do some exploratory classes … even at the technical center,” said committee member Anne Perry. “I think we really need to look at what the benefits can be as well as what the drawbacks are and make this the best situation possible.”

The school committee members said they would meet with the public and address their concerns once they had information in hand from the architects. Bouchard said if everything remained on track, the matter could go to referendum in December.

If the voters decide to split up the students, it would be up to the City Council to decide what to do with the former middle school.