Over the past two years, some members of the ConVal School Board have opposed
Francestown’s withdrawal from ConVal and routinely exaggerated potential financial
impacts to sway district voters.  This feels eerily similar to the exaggerated savings that
were promoted by the School Board just two years ago, when the intent was to close
Francestown (as well as Temple, Bennington and Dublin) Elementary School.   
Francestown’s desire to withdraw from ConVal (81% voted in favor of withdrawal in
March 2025) is not driven by economic factors. Francestown wishes to retain and
prioritize its elementary school.

The studies to date have concluded that:

  • An independent Francestown district is financially feasible for all district towns and was unanimously approved by the State Board of Education. 
  • Francestown would take responsibility for its own SAU, which would benefit both Francestown and SAU 1 financially.
  • The impact to the remaining towns (~$1.6 million) would fall within the margins of the $63M ConVal budget, where surpluses routinely exceed $2 million ($5.4 million this past year).  
  • Though Francestown ranks fifth out of the nine district towns for median household income, high property values result in Francestown being a “donor town” to the tune of approximately $1 million per year.

It has become clear that Francestown has a sufficient tax base, student population, facilities, and local support to successfully operate an independent school
district.  Opponents often inflate commonly volatile variables (special education,
transportation and insurance) to combat this assertion.   We have not ignored these risks,
but the fact is that several small towns in New Hampshire effectively manage
independent districts and have overcome these challenges to thrive.  Though the total
special ed costs of Francestown students were not provided, the costs from the slightly
larger independent Mason School District showed that Francestown’s conservative
allocation for special education was 100% more than Mason’s highest annual special
ed costs in the past 10 years.    
   
The question then becomes, how can Francestown afford this without impacting their
taxpayers?  The answer lies in how ConVal is funded. This year’s feasibility study
determined that it costs approximately $3.5 million to educate Francestown students within ConVal.  When accounting for state aid that Francestown is entitled to, Francestown
contributes $4.6 million to ConVal.  This imbalance is due to ConVal’s 50/50 (property
value/students enrolled) apportionment formula.  Because Francestown has relatively
high property value and a low number of students, each year Francestown contributes
about $1.1 million more than it costs to educate its students.  Coincidentally, Francestown
Elementary School costs about $1.1 million annually, so under ConVal, Francestown is
not only paying for one, but is effectively funding two elementary schools.  Simply put, if Francestown can afford to fund two elementary schools now, Francestown can fund a
single elementary school by taking ownership of this “donation.”   

Conversely, it is the loss of this “donation” that is driving school board opposition to
Francestown’s leaving.   If Francestown were to leave, ConVal estimates it will cost
approximately $1.6 million to the remaining towns in the district, 72% of which is derived from the loss of the donation, with the remainder coming from shared fixed costs that ConVal believes it cannot shed. 

Fortunately, the remaining ConVal towns would get something in return. The stretched
administration and shared staff would be able to focus on the remaining schools.
ConVal would no longer have to manage the resources (lunch, transportation, heating
fuel, mileage reimbursement, etc.) that are delivered to Francestown. They would no
longer struggle to staff FES. And, they would no longer have to plan and budget for
ongoing maintenance (estimated at $500,000 for a new boiler, paving, etc) for a 30-year-old facility. 

For Francestown, withdrawal is not about saving money or renegotiating the Articles of
Agreement to reduce their “donation.”  Francestown has benefited as a member of
ConVal for 58 years and, as a result, intends send grades six through 12 to ConVal. Unfortunately, the priorities of ConVal and Francestown have diverged in recent decades to the point where FES has been neglected and constantly under threat of closure for over a
decade.   

There has been a longstanding pattern of neglect at FES.   Over the last 10 years, FES
has consistently had the highest staff turnover, lowest average salary, and lowest
investment in full-time staff within ConVal.  It is obviously not a priority and possibly the
lowest priority school in the district. By withdrawing, FES becomes Francestown’s top priority, and ConVal’s stretched resources can be applied to the remaining schools by shedding FES and reallocating time and energy previously used to combat Francestown’s withdrawal year after year.   
  
Through neglect and repeated attempts to close its elementary school, Francestown
has been compelled to act.  The finances have been well-vetted and Francestown has
proven that it can afford it, the district can afford it, and both parties will emerge stronger
and more appropriately focused moving forward.   Let Francestown leave.

Francestown resident Pat Troy serves on the Francestown School Committee.