The Dublin Select Board met with Dublin Education Advisory Committee Chair Jay Schechter Monday, with the intention of aligning the two groups’ goals – specifically, narrowing the committee’s focus and coming to an agreed-upon timeline for their work ahead of the withdrawal feasibility study that was initiated by a petition warrant article approved at Town Meeting.

While the study will be conducted by the ConVal School Board through a separate feasibility study committee, Dublin will have the opportunity to prepare its own withdrawal feasibility report, which would be presented to the state Board of Education if ConVal were to determine that the town’s withdrawal from the school district was unfeasible.

Since the DEAC was created to advise the Select Board on how to best provide a cost-effective, publicly available education to Dublin students, it would be the their job to provide actionable data for the town to use in anticipation of the report, if it was needed.

Initial discussion concerned Dublin’s withdrawal options – in particular, whether Dublin would stay within SAU 1 or not. Currently, the ConVal School District is the only district within SAU 1; if Dublin were to leave the ConVal district, it could operate its elementary school as its own district within SAU 1, while sending middle and high school students into ConVal.

While the DEAC has considered other potential options for public education in town, resident John Wood noted that the withdrawal approved by voters at Town Meeting was only for Dublin to leave the district, not the SAU entirely.

Schechter and the Select Board agreed that they would have to clarify the goals of the School Board’s feasibility study in order to make sure they could be prepared with the right information.

The Select Board also urged the DEAC to get additional input from Dublin residents. Schechter and the Select Board determined that they would hold a public forum to present potential withdrawal options to residents, and prepare a survey for Dublin residents to share their thoughts on the withdrawal process. While there was no timeline agreed upon by the conclusion of the meeting, the DEAC and Select Board will continue to work together to set one in stone in the coming weeks.

The DEAC hopes more members of the public will attend their sessions. The next DEAC meeting will be on Tuesday, April 9, in the lower level of the Dublin Town Hall.

Sticker requirement returning to transfer station

Dublin will soon resume its transfer station registration policy, which will require that all residents affix a sticker on their vehicle to dispose of trash at the transfer station. It’s a system that the town had used in the past, but it had “fallen by the wayside” in recent years, Select Board member Chris Raymond said, potentially allowing non-residents from neighboring towns to use the station. In an effort to mitigate this issue, the Dublin Select Board recently began discussing how to best reimplement the system.

On Monday, board members spoke with Town Clerk and Tax Collector Maureen Hulslander to coordinate the distribution of stickers. After a brief deliberation, the Select Board and Hulslander agreed that they would require a proof of residence or occupancy for each sticker they hand out, or a lease in the case of residents who rent property in town. The town will administer multiple stickers for residents with more than one vehicle registered in town; summer residents with out-of-state vehicle registration may have to work with the town for more than one sticker.

The town will start administering transfer station stickers for 2024 and 2025 at the beginning of June. They will be available at the town clerk’s office during regular hours.