More than 30 people filled seats at Dublin Town Hall Saturday morning to hear a final presentation about the town withdrawing from the ConVal School District.

On March 11, residents in all nine ConVal towns will vote on whether the town – as well as Francestown -- should leave the district, capping months of research, forums and communication with the School Board about the autonomy of Dublin and the education of its students in the district. Dublin’s or Francestown’s request can be approved in one of two ways – either garnering majority support across the district or getting 60% in the town and 40% approval in the district as a whole.

“Withdrawal is not an easy decision, but this relationship dates from 1967,”  said Select Board member Carole Monroe, who was also a member of the Dublin Education Advisory Committee, which conducted research and surveys on Dublin’s relationship with the district. “Few contracts that old don’t need revisiting.”

The relationship Monroe referred to is explained in the Articles of Agreement for the nine towns in the ConVal district, which include spelling out costs to towns.

“We’re paying $5.4 million a year for 142 students. The AoA no longer works for anyone,” said Monroe, sharing slides on district finances and student testing as she spoke. 

In 1967, funding by town was based 75% on student numbers and 25% on property valuations. In 1998, this was changed to 50% student numbers and 50% valuations. Monroe also said that while Dublin’s cost per student is upwards of $37,000 a year, students from outside the district can tuition into it for $10,000 if there’s room.

“It’s an unfair formula,” she said.

As to whether Dublin would tuition students to middle school or high school in ConVal in the event of withdrawing, Monroe said that this decision would be made later. 

“Our goal is not to close Dublin Consolidated School, but perhaps to have students attend there for grades K to 6,” said Monroe.

Citing the interest to withdraw there and in Francestown and the petition warrant article seeking to cap district spending at $29,000 per student, Monroe said that these initiatives are “indications of dysfunction” within the district. She added that 45% of students in Dublin attend elsewhere, either at independent schools or by being homeschooled. 

Jay Schechter, also of the former DEAC, said, “There is no association with this initiative and the budget cap petition. DEAC did not take a position on it,” he said. Schechter pointed to a dropoff of student scores on statewide tests once they enter middle school and then again at the high school, which drew a response from resident Christy Greene.

“ConVal has the best test scores of the surrounding districts,” she said, citing Mascenic and Jaffrey-Rindge by comparison. “There’s a critical shortage of math teachers across the state.”

“The root cause (of these issues) is state funding,” added resident Brian Wilson. 

“We’re not going to make special education a pariah in this matter,” said former DEAC member Blake Anderson when a question about those costs to the town was raised. Former DEAC member Blake Minckler responded to a question about tuitioning students back into the district but not having a vote on the School Board.

“There would still be a representative on the SAU board, and our biggest bargaining chip would be our tuitioning of students to them,” said Minckler.

“There’s more to this than money,” said resident Justina Patrick. “It’s exciting to think of our having students here with more local control.”