ANDOVER — The Andover Elementary School Parent/Teachers Association is offering free childcare from 8:30 a.m. to noon Saturday at the annual town meeting.

The reason is to allow parents to attend and vote on raising $100,000 for selectmen to negotiate an agreement with SAD 44 to keep the school open.

That article also states that if Andover residents vote in the coming school year to withdraw from the district, the money raised would be used toward expenses for the town to operate its own school district.

Susan Merrow, a selectman and member of the Andover Withdrawal Committee, said the child care offer was the idea of the PTA.

“When there are small children at home, only one parent can attend town meeting, so they thought this would be a fun idea for the children and healthy for the community to have more young families be able to attend,” she wrote in an email.

She said at least three PTA members will also be at the Town Hall a half hour before the start of the 9 a.m. meeting to serve coffee and doughnuts,  and provide support for saving the school.

Notices went home with children on Wednesday to let parents know child care will be available.

Residents overwhelmingly voted to form a withdrawal committee after the SAD 44 board voted to close the school a couple of years ago to save money.

At that time, the town raised an additional $214,000, on top of its regular school assessment of about $400,000, to keep the school open. The next year, it raised an additional $68,000 to operate the school.

The school serves about two dozen students in grades kindergarten to five.

For months, the Andover Withdrawal Committee has engaged lawyers to help negotiate an agreement with SAD 44.