A front-page report in the Monadnock Ledger Transcript on Aug. 27 was titled “Withdrawals projected to increase town costs.” The MLT has been covering our withdrawal process from the beginning, and while this article is an accurate summary of what occurred, I would like to submit some additional context.

The Dublin Education Advisory Committee was empowered by our Select Board. Our committee was tasked with investigating the quality and cost of the education being offered to the students of Dublin. The ConVal community has arrived at the current situation because our School Board tried to close four primary schools. They instigated this process by means of the Prismatic report, which we believe was intentionally limited. Rather than looking into all possible cost-saving measures, they focused on the primary schools.

Many residents spoke at School Board meetings, where they indicated their displeasure with the Prismatic report and asked why other cost savings were not reviewed. No satisfactory answer was given to these questions. Why do you think the study was focused solely on four primary schools? What would you have said if it was your primary school threatened with closure?

Attendance in ConVal is down by 9% in the last seven years while the budget is up by 36%. All indications are that this trend will continue. Does this seem like a sustainable situation to you? The Articles of Agreement, written in 1967, are no longer relevant. Towns are being assessed on the basis of a 50/50 split between equalized property value and attendance. This creates a situation where Dublin pays the most per student at $37,000. Bear in mind that the ConVal average spending per student is $27,000.

This inequitable situation exists despite the fact that Dublin is the fourth-wealthiest town in the district. One town in ConVal pays $15,000 per student. Please ask yourself why Dublin should be assessed so disproportionately. What would you think this if it were your town that was paying so much more than the others?

One of the Peterborough School Board representatives, Janine Lesser, was quoted as saying “I don’t know why the smaller towns think we would be willing to take on these costs. This is why the district was created in the first place – to share the costs.” It appears that it is OK for Dublin to bear an exorbitant cost, while others feel that their towns should not. This situation has existed for 57 years. Does this seem fair to you?

Both Dublin and Francestown passed warrant articles requiring the ConVal School Board to conduct a feasibility study to determine if it was feasible for both towns to run their own schools. We have been told many times that ConVal is subsidizing our school. The Feasibility Committee has the opportunity to say that it is feasible for us to run our own schools. Removing the Dublin Consolidated School from ConVal and running it locally would remove this expense from the other towns and eliminate the threat to close our school. Does this sound like a reasonable solution to you?

The townspeople of Dublin treasure their local school. It is part of the social fabric of our town. We would like to retain our school and improve it. We believe that an increased level of attention will allow us to improve the quality of education for our children. We are willing assume this responsibility. Shouldn’t Dublin be given the opportunity to achieve the goals which our town supports?

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If you would like more information, please attend one of the forums being offered at the Dublin Town Hall. These meetings will be Wednesday, Sept. 12, at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 14 at 10 a.m.. The DEAC will review what has been recommended to our Select Board and take questions from our community.

Jay Schechter is chairman of the Dublin Education Advisory Committee.