On Tuesday, Dublin Education Advisory Committee members discussed cost projections regarding withdrawal from the ConVal School District, including Select Board member Carole Monroe saying she was “concerned” that the projected cost increase for other towns was higher than she expected.

The Dublin Select Board has endorsed the town leaving the ConVal School District and running Dublin Consolidated School on its own, while remaining in the ConVal SAU, which handles business and administrative responsibilities such as accounting, bookkeeping and managing benefits for school employees

During the ConVal Feasibility Committee’s Aug. 22 meeting, School Board member Jim Fredrickson of Temple, said Antrim’s school tax assessments could potentially rise by $500,000 a year as an example of what would happen in Dublin and Francestown left the district. Additionally, Hancock Select Board member Betsy Villaume pointed out that homeowners in Hancock whose home is worth $400,000 could property taxes rise by $550 a year.

In response, Monroe said educational costs like positions that are shared between schools are already anticipated and that the cost of Dublin Consolidated School hiring its own employees is already included within the DEAC’s projected costs.

“We’re not asking them to pay our share,” Monroe said.

Monroe added that the only thing the other towns in the district would have to pay for is a portion of the SAU costs because Dublin would not use all the services of an SAU.

DEAC member Blake Anderson said he suspected either confusion or “willful ignorance” on the part of the School Board members because all the data was in the committee’s projections.

“The SAU will be handled according to the state formula,” he said. “We heard for years that they [other towns] were subsidizing Dublin schools; now there’s been this entire 180.”

DEAC Chair Jay Schechter and member Blake Minckler said state law regarding withdrawal from a cooperative school district does not mention if the town withdrawing from a district has to be feasible for the other towns, but only for the town leaving.

Also on Tuesday, the DEAC started preparing to present its findings to the public during forums  Sept. 11 at 6:30 p.m. and Sept. 14 at 10 a.m. at Dublin Town Hall. Members discussed creating a PowerPoint that highlights the key parts of the final report. Residents of Dublin can find the final report on the DEAC’s page under the Town of Dublin’s website.

DEAC members anticipate that the Feasibility Study Committee will make a recommendation to the state regarding withdrawal at its Sept. 12 meeting. If the committee recommends withdrawal, the DEAC and the committee will have to come up with an education plan by Nov. 15 to submit to the the New Hampshire Department of Education. If the feasibility committee votes no, Dublin representatives would be allowed to prepare a minority report.

If the state approves the withdrawal plans, the proposals would go to a vote in March. Withdrawal can pass either by majority vote in a town looking to withdraw and across the district as a whole, or by three-fifths vote in a town seeking to withdraw, unless three-fifths of voters across the district disapprove.