With a decision from ConVal’s Feasibility Study Committee nearing, the Dublin Select Board has voted to support Dublin Consolidated School leaving the school district but remaining in SAU 1.

The feasibility committee is set to meet Thursday, and will make a decision by Sept. 1 on the feasibility of Dublin and Francestown leaving the district. Of the original five options in its draft final report, the Dublin Education Advisory Committee elected to focus on either withdrawing from the district and remaining in the SAU or withdrawing from the district and the SAU and contracting with a different SAU.

The Select Board settled on leaving the district and staying in the SAU, according to Select Board member Carole Monroe, the board’s representative on the DEAC. Monroe said they hope to continue to send Dublin students to ConVal middle and high schools. Francestown has also indicated a desire to withdraw from ConVal but stay in the SAU.

“Financially, it’s looking like it is feasible to do it. It’s not unusual,” Monroe said, referencing other school districts that are their own entity but a part of the Keene SAU, while also sending students to Keene High. The school districts in Chesterfield, Harrisville, Marlborough, Marlow, Nelson and Westmoreland are all part of the Keene SAU, which is SAU 29.

However, Monroe said given the feasibility committee’s upcoming vote, if they can not work together, leaving SAU 1 is still on the table.

The DEAC formed after a failed vote in March to amend ConVal’s Articles of Agreement that could have resulted in the closure of Dublin Consolidated School.

“We are trying to get the primary school back,” DEAC Chair Jay Schechter said.

Schechter and Monroe said two forums will be held for community members to learn about the thought process and the DEAC’s conclusions. The forums are scheduled for Sept. 11 at 6 p.m. and Sept. 14 at 10 a.m. The forums will be held regardless of the feasibility committee’s decision, and both will be at Town Hall.

Your Daily Puzzles

Cross|Word

Flipart

Typeshift

SpellTower

Really Bad Chess

“Our goal is to maximize turnout, which is very critical to explain this process to the public,” Schechter said.

If the vote from the feasibility 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. On the other hand, if the feasibility committee votes no, Schechter said they could write a minority report to send to the state outlining why the DEAC disagrees with the decision.

“I think they are going to have a tough time voting against it, but who knows?” Schechter said.

Monroe said she’d like to think the feasibility committee will agree with them, but the costs for other towns paying into the ConVal school district could rise subtly. Mike Hoyt, the School Board representative from Bennington, has previously said if towns withdraw, it would require separate sets of books covering the costs for SAU 1 staff and services, administering separate Dublin and Francestown districts and administering the ConVal district as a whole, which would include the remaining towns. According to Peterborough Select Board member Bill Kennedy, the additional expense and work would be shared among all nine towns, “with only a small fraction falling on the towns that are leaving.”

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.

SAUs and school districts

According to information from Citizens Count, school administrative units are offices that oversee the operations of school districts. SAUs can vary from a single school to multiple schools across several towns. They can also include a single school district or multiple districts.

State law requires that every school belong to an SAU.

The difference between SAUs and school districts

According to Citizens Count, SAUs and school districts in New Hampshire have different responsibilities.

-- Each school district has a school board. SAUs do not have school boards.

-- Districts create school budgets, negotiate contracts, hire teachers, arrange for busses and maintain buildings and facilities.

-- SAUs handle the business and administrative responsibilities for the school district or districts, such as accounting, bookkeeping and managing health and retirement benefits for school employees. They may also coordinate curriculum across the member districts.