During Town Meeting last month, Littleton voters decided to move forward on a plan they'd been talking about for some time.
They pulled out of the local School Administrative Unit or SAU.
And Littleton wasn't the only town this year to make the jump to independence.
NHPR Correspondent Todd Wellington has more on what some school administrators are calling a trend.
YEARS OF MEETINGS, DEBATE, HEADSCRATCHING AND POLITICKING IN LITTLETON CAME TO AN END LAST MONTH.
AN “ACCU-VOTE†MACHINE SPIT-OUT THE RESULTS OF THE ANNUAL TOWN MEETING VOTE.
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AFTER THE HAIL OF BUDGETS, SPECIAL APPROPRIATIONS AND LOCAL ELECTIONS CAME THE NUMBERS SCHOOL BOARD CHAIRMAN MILTON BRATZ HAD BEEN WAITING FOR.
VOTERS PASSED AN ARTICLE ON THE SCHOOL BALLOT ALLOWING LITTLETON TO PULL-OUT OF SCHOOL ADMINSITRATIVE UNIT-35 TO FORM ITS OWN S-A-U.
BRATZ SAID THE BOARD WOULD IMMEDIATELY BEGIN PLANNING FOR THE TRANSITION.
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BUT THE DECISION HAS RAMIFICATIONS.
LITTLETON IS BY FAR THE LARGEST OF THE SIX SCHOOL DISTRICT’S THAT MAKE-UP S-A-U 35.
STUDENTS FROM BETHLEHEM, LAFAYETTE, LANDAFF, LISBON AND PROFILE MAKE UP LESS THAN HALF OF THE S-A-U.
THE REST BELONG TO LITTLETON - AND SO DOES A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF THE SAU'S ANNUAL BILL.
LITTLETON PAYS NEARLY 43 PERCENT OF THE SAU'S ANNUAL BUDGET.
AND SINCE SOME OF THE S-A-U’S OPERATING COSTS ARE FIXED, THEY WON'T DROP WHEN LITTLETON'S ONE-THOUSAND STUDENTS NO LONGER ATTEND.
DOWN THE ROAD IN FRANCONIA, THE LAFAYETTE SCHOOL DISTRICT'S CHAIR IS TINA PEABODY.
SHE'S IS ALSO THINKING ABOUT THE SAU'S BUDGET, AND WHAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN LITTLETON NO LONGER PAYS THAT 43-PERCENT.
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BUT ACCORDING TO THOSE LITTLETON RESIDENTS WHO WANTED TO SECEDE, MONEY WAS NOT THE ONLY DRIVING FORCE.
CHAIRMAN BRATZ SAYS HIS SCHOOL BOARD HAS BEEN GROWING INCREASINGLY FRUSTRATED OVER THE YEARS.
HE COMPLAINS THAT THE SUPERINTENDANT’S OFFICE WAS CHRONICALLY UNDERSTAFFED.
IT’S RESOURCES WERE SPREAD TOO THIN AND LITTLETON, BRATZ SAYS, WASN'T GETTING THE SERVICE IS NEEDED.
BUT AND MOST OF ALL, SAYS BRATZ, THE ISSUE WAS ABOUT CONTROL.
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LITTLETON DIDN'T MAKE THAT DECISION OVERNIGHT.
AND IT’S NOT THE FIRST SCHOOL DISTRICT TO WITHDRAW FROM A MULTI-SCHOOL SAU.
IN FACT, VOTERS IN THE EPPING AND CHESTER SCHOOL DISTRICTS HAVE ALSO OPTED THIS YEAR TO PULL OUT OF THEIR SAUS.
MARK JOYCE IS WITH THE NEW HAMPSHIRE SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR’S ASSOCIATION.
HE SAYS HE’S SEEN ABOUT A DOZEN SCHOOL DISTRICTS WITHDRAW AND FORM THEIR OWN SAUS OVER THE PAST 12 YEARS.
HE SAYS IT ALL BEGAN WITH A CHANGE IN STATE LAW THAT MADE IT EASIER FOR DISTRICTS TO FORM S-A-U’S ON THEIR OWN ACCORD.
BUT THE ROOT CAUSES, HE SAYS, GO MUCH DEEPER.
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SO THE JOB OF THE SAU HAS GOTTEN HARDER, SAYS JOYCE.
AND AT THE SAME TIME, THOSE TOWNS THAT PAY MORE ARE DECIDING THEY WANT TO MAKE THEIR OWN DECISIONS ABOUT WHAT TO PAY FOR.
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SINCE S-A-U WITHDRAWALS ARE ESSENTIALLY LOCAL DECISIONS, THERE’S NOT MUCH THE REMAINING DISTRICTS CAN DO.
THE LAFAYETTE SCHOOL BOARD CHAIR TINA PEABODY ALSO SERVES AS S-A-U 35'S EXECUTIVE BOARD CHAIR.
SHE SAYS THE PROCESS OF CUTTING COSTS IS ALREADY UNDERWAY.
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LITTLETON'S MULTON BRATZ SAYS HE’S GLAD HIS SCHOOL BOARD IS MOVING-ON.
BUT HE BELIEVES THE PROBLEM IS BIGGER THAN JUST S-A-U 35.
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HE SAYS NEW HAMPSHIRE’S ENTIRE SAU SYSTEM HAS BROKEN.
AND HE CALLS ON STATE OFFICIALS TO FIX THE STRUCTURAL PROBLEMS OR FACE A FUTURE IN WHICH TOWNS DECIDE LIFE WILL BE EASIER ON THEIR OWN.
FOR NHPR NEWS, I’M TODD WELLINGTON
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