Two school-owned buildings could be given to the Town of Wareham after the School Committee agreed to ask Town Meeting to let the buildings change ownership.

The School Committee discussed the property-transfer Wednesday regarding the rights of both the Ethel E. Hammond School and the West School.

“In general, I do support giving any building that we have that doesn’t have a principal in it back to the town,” said Committee member Michael Flaherty.

Currently, the Boys and Girls Club is the sole tenant of the Hammond School. Half of the building is currently under a lease agreement between the Club, with the other half left vacant.

The West School was recently vacated, as the West Wareham Academy moved from there to the East Wareham Early Childhood Center. According to Shaver-Hood, there are nine students attending the Academy.

Business Manager Michael MacMillan said there are "direct" and "indirect" costs that come from keeping the Hammond School in particular, as it is still being used.

When asked if there was a sense that the Board of Selectmen had any interest in obtaining the buildings for the town, Shaver-Hood responded, “We sure hope so.”

In another matter to be presented at town meeting, Shaver-Hood said the wheelchair lift at the Minot School is broken.  Without it, the school is not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. She said that although there currently aren’t any students using wheelchairs who attend the school, there could be parents, grandparents, etc., who would like to access the building but may not be able to.

The estimated cost of the lift is between $50,000 and $60,000, according to Shaver-Hood.

“We’re trying to be proactive,” she said.

“The bottom line is that we’re not ADA compliant, and anybody that couldn’t get in could sue us,” said Committee member Geoff Swett.