The timing of the deliberative session of Candia School District Meeting drew about as much attention from residents as discussion of its warrant articles.

The meeting, called to order at 12:54 p.m., immediately following the deliberative session of Town Meeting, took only about 45 minutes. As opposed to the Town Meeting, at which about 100 residents were present, only a handful stuck around for the School District’s presentation and discussion period for seven warrant articles.

Middle school Dominating most of that time was the last warrant article on the school ballot, asking whether Candia residents want to enter into a tuition agreement with Auburn for a $25 million joint middle school, and further asking them to spend a total of $296,708 for their first payment on the building costs.

This article was the only one that came to the deliberative session without a recommendation from the town’s Budget Committee.

The 20-year tuition agreement gives Auburn administrative control over Candia students, offers first right to refusal of employment for teachers transferring to the new school from the Moore School, and allows Candia residents to participate in an advisory board for the school.

Upon hearing that Candia would not have representation on the joint school’s school board, Marcia Marcotte said simply, “Interesting.”

Based on current enrollment figures, Candia would pay 38 percent of the capital and operating costs and Auburn the remaining 62 percent, figures which will likely change by the 102,000-square-foot school’s potential opening in fall 2010.

The project qualifies for 40 percent reimbursement of the building costs, which would bring the total cost for the project to around $15 million to be split between the two towns.

Several residents expressed that they were not in favor of the proposed school but said something needs to be done for students to upgrade the current facility and programming.

Democratic State Rep. Richard “***” Snow submitted to the School Board members and the small contingency of residents that the $150,000 in a separate warrant article asking to put the money in the school’s capital reserve fund be increased to $500,000 in case the tuition agreement does not pass with Candia voters.

“Something’s going to have to happen next year, and it’s going to be in Auburn or it’s going to be here,” said Snow, adding he proposed the amendment, which later failed, for the sake of discussion.

School Board member Ingrid Byrd, who opposes the joint middle school and did not vote with the rest of the board to ratify the tuition agreement, said that increase in the article would compel voters to vote it down, and no money would go into the capital reserve fund.

The Candia and Auburn school boards have been collaborating on the project since last year, when voters in both towns approved site study and engineering costs for Team Design Inc. of Bedford to investigate whether the site picked out for the school in Auburn was suitable for the construction.

The two boards have held numerous public input sessions for both Candia and Auburn residents to get input on the design, programming, costs and other things associated with the plans.

David Fischer, a building construction technology professor at Manchester’s Community College, has weighed in on the joint school at several of the input sessions.

He backs the joint school in terms of programming upgrades, which would include family and consumer science classes, two languages, and modern science labs, but said he cannot support the tuition agreement from a financial standpoint.

“I think it’s fiscally irresponsible,” said Fischer, adding he felt the School Board should have pushed for a cooperative agreement that would have allowed more control for Candia parents.

He pointed out a section of the tuition agreement which allows Auburn to spend up to $1 million for repairs or renovations without input from Candia.

“They don’t have to ask us, but we’re on the hook. They spend it, we pay it,” Fischer said., arguing the Moore School could be renovated for around $4.5 million in 2009 dollars.

Candia’s portion of the building costs, excluding operating costs which have yet to be solidified, would raise the school tax rate in the town by 80 cents per $1,000 of assessed value the first year, $2.13 per $1,000 the second year, and $2.06 per $1,000 in the third year of the bond.

The tax increases decline in the years after that.

School Board Chairman Karen Smith said that while the operating costs were not yet finalized, preliminary calculations showed a savings from what the Moore School currently costs to operate for a year. She added the numbers were projected and said she could not promise the town would save.

After lengthy discussion, the article was forwarded to the official ballot with no changes other than an amendment from legal counsel making sure the wording is clear that Auburn cannot vote on the school if Candia fails to pass the tuition agreement.

Candia will vote Tuesday, March 11, on the tuition agreement with Auburn. Should it pass, Auburn will vote Friday, March 14, on whether to take out the bond.

Other warrant articles, including the school’s 2008-09 proposed $7,486,408 million proposed budget and $7,526,161 default budget, the article asking for $83,347 to fund the first year of a collective bargaining agreement for Moore School teachers, and another asking for $91,885 to pay for a generator for Moore School all passed to the official ballot with no changes.