Franklin, in the end, will separate from Hill School District. The New Hampshire state board of education approved Franklin School District’s withdrawal from SAU 18 this week.
The withdrawal has been under consideration for more than a year. It was originally approved 5-4 in October by Franklin city councilors, but that vote was deemed invalid since state statute requires a three-fifths majority vote.
At a council meeting in November, councilors decided to reconsider. Mayor Ken Merrifield apologized for not realizing the first time that the school withdrawal needed 60 percent “yes” votes, and not just a majority.
On Nov. 9, councilors took a second vote on the issue, this time deciding 5-3. With 62 percent of the vote, the withdrawal plan passed.
City manager Elizabeth Dragon said this week that the actual withdrawal process begins July 1.
Franklin School District will effectively be kicking Hill School District out of their 62-year-old school administrative unit.
In a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two districts, Hill School District agreed to take $1,750, four filing cabinets, one desktop computer and one laptop in exchange for Franklin School District keeping the SAU 18 name, office and other assets.
In its withdrawal plan, Franklin suggests Hill can hire the principal of Jennie D. Blake school to be a superintendent with part-time staff, or it can contract its services with Franklin School District or another SAU.
Hill has just 60 or so students at Jennie D. Blake Elementary School, according to state education department data. In 2015, Hill residents voted to enter into a 10-year agreement with Newfound School District for the older students.
Matthew Upton, the attorney that helped craft the MOU, said last fall that in his experience, school districts don’t usually withdraw from an SAU for the cost savings.
“It’s usually a function of districts going in different directions,” he said.
Most of the city councilors who voted for the withdrawal, however, said it was on the basis of cost-savings. Even if it was just a little bit.
Proponents of withdrawal said a one-school-SAU would garner $21,802 in net savings, allow administrators to focus on Franklin students, and give flexibility for the district to potentially consolidate financially with the city.
(Hill School District has refused to consider consolidation).
Meeting minutes from Nov. 9 show councilor George Dzujna saying that, with consolidation as an option, it might help the school and city work together.
Both entities have been meeting at a joint finance committee since last summer, when Franklin School District struggled to fill a $1 million budget gap.
Councilor Scott Clarenbach disagreed. He noted that most school board members were against withdrawal to begin with.
Councilor Olivia Zink was also skeptical. She said from the materials in front of her, she couldn’t see any certain cost benefits to withdrawing. She only recognized the loss of Hill’s payments into the SAU – it was $93,700 for 2016.
Opponents to the plan have said in past meetings that without much tangible educational benefit or cost savings, the withdrawal seemed like retaliation towards Hill for moving its students to Newfound.
Those arguments were not enough to sway Franklin city councilors, however. Following the council’s 5-3 vote in November, the state board of education decided Thursday to approved Franklin’s decision to withdraw.
(Elodie Reed can be reached at 369-3306, ereed@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @elodie_reed.)