With the retirement of one of two co-superintendents from the regional school district, Epsom Selectwoman Meadow Wysocki wanted to know if any thought was given to eliminating one of the two highest-paid school positions.

The process to replace co-Superintendent Peter Warburton has already begun and any decisions to eliminate the position, leaving only Superintendent Patty Sherman to head the district, would have to be made by the district’s Executive Board, she was told.

The question came up during the discussion of Epsom’s proposed $13.4 million school budget during Saturday’s deliberative session. As one of the five towns in School Administrative unit 53 – including Pembroke, Chichester, Allenstown and Deerfield – Epsom voters have no direct say over the regional district’s budget.

Town voters will be asked to take steps to change that during the final step in their Town Meeting when they go to the polls on March 14. A petitioned warrant article will separate the Epsom school budget from the SAU’s administrative budget.

“This doesn’t mean we are upset with the school. We’re not,” said Budget Committee Member Linda Hodgdon. “But we’ve had quite a bit of difficulty getting information from the SAU.”

If the local school budget is approved, the school tax rate is expected to grow by $1.48, which would mean an extra $444 a year for a $300,000 home. If it is defeated, a default budget of $13.3 million would take effect.

The SAU expenses are considered fixed costs in the Epsom school budget. The year Epsom will pay 16.5% of the SAU’s $1.97 million budget, which amounts to about $325,000.

If cuts to the school budget need to be made, they are made at the local level and not at the administrative level, town officials explained.

Pembroke has already passed a similar measure. Epsom would be the second town to make the change. The other three towns would need to follow suit to separate the two school budgets and provide more detail.

“The SAU budget is a single lump sum and it would be useful to have that data,” said State Rep. Carol McGuire, an Epsom resident.

A common refrain was how difficult it is to get any information from the district’s top administrators. That’s what brought up the question about having one or two superintendents.

Hodgdon said SAU 53 is the only district in the state with two superintendents and each one of those positions is paid about $150,000 a year. Eliminating one would be a way to save money.

“Sometimes we argue over $1,000 or $500,” Hodgdon said. “$150,000 is a lot of money.”

Police and fire

Town voters will be asked to approve a new full-time police officer and a full-time firefighter in addition to setting aside $15,600 to buy new fire fighting gear and $420,000 for a new ambulance.

“I apologize for this high number, but that’s what they cost,” Fire Chief Stewart Yeaton said of the ambulance.

The cost for each first responder position is $49,000 for six months or about $100,000 a year.

If approved by voters, the police department would increase to a staff of seven, while the fire department would grow to a staff of six full-time firefighters.

The proposed town operating budget of $3.84 million, which is 3.9% higher than the current budget. If approved, it would add about 19 cents to the tax rate, which is $57 more a year for a house worth $300,000.

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