By JENN McDOWELL
The state Board of Education has officially approved the tuition agreement for a proposed joint middle school between Candia and Auburn.
School Board members from both towns attended the state board’s meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 12, at which the board voted unanimously to approve the tuition agreement with the condition of obtaining voter approval.
In March, Candia will vote on the tuition agreement to cover 38 percent of the school’s project and operating costs, based on enrollment figures. Auburn will pay 62 percent, and those figures will adjust each year depending on enrollment in both towns.
If the tuition agreement passes with Candia voters, Auburn will vote on a $29 million 20-year bond for the project’s costs, including interest over the bond’s life.
The project is expected to get 40 percent state aid reimbursement, which will bring the project cost down to about $15 million for residents. Based on the 38-62 enrollment ratio, Auburn would pay about $9 million and Candia the remaining $6 million over 20 years.
Elaine Hobbs, chairman of the Auburn School Board, said the state Board of Education’s approval shows that the contract is fair and viable.
Soft costs have not been revealed yet, but Hobbs said the Auburn School Board will present those costs to the Candia School Board on Tuesday, Jan. 8.
Questions and concerns about operating costs for the school have surfaced as Candia’s deliberative session approaches in January.
“I think people are concerned. They want to know what’s going to be in the building,” said Hobbs, adding that a specific operating cost breakdown is vital to voters’ understanding of the school’s overall costs to both towns.
Some concerns
Candia School Board member Ingrid Byrd voted not to ratify the tuition agreement with the rest of the board, and said the state’s approval is a formality along the way.
Byrd pointed out that the school’s operating costs would likely increase each year with little say from Candia.
The tuition agreement provides for an advisory board of Candia parents and teachers and one school board member, but the governance of the school would fall under the Auburn School Board’s control.
No Candia representatives will have a vote in governance, she said, meaning Auburn could increase the school’s budget with no official input from Candia.
She also pointed out that Candia residents would not have the voting power to oust members of the Auburn School Board if they felt they weren’t running the school correctly.
Another issue that has arisen is the first consideration clause in the tuition agreement, which states that Candia teachers would be considered for positions at the new school first.
Many tenured teachers will lose that distinction upon going over to the joint middle school in 2010, which would lessen their job security, Byrd added.
“This is not a win-win situation. People are looking at where they’re at, and saying this is not necessary,” said Byrd.
The proposed 102,000-square-foot school would sit on a site Auburn’s School Board already purchased in July 2006 after voters authorized the acquisition of the land on the corner of Hooksett Road and Old Candia Road.
Auburn voters allocated $650,000 for the land purchase in 2006 and last year voted for $137,000 to fund engineering and design studies for Team Design, Inc. Candia raised $91,000 for those studies.