HOOKSETT – A committee formed after the annual School District Meeting voted unanimously to pursue withdrawing the district from SAU 15, the central administrative unit it shares with the school districts in nearby Auburn and Candia.

The SAU 15 withdrawal committee said branching out alone would allow SAU staff – which at SAU 15 is nine members and includes a superintendent, an assistant superintendent and a business administrator – to focus specifically on the needs of Hooksett’s growing community.

School board members in Auburn and Candia, meanwhile, said losing Hooksett would mean more burden to taxpayers in the smaller towns, and potentially less money to directly benefit student education.

The Hooksett withdrawal will be up for a town vote at the town’s next School District Meeting, provided the state board of education is satisfied the with drawal committee did the proper research.

If voters approve the withdrawal, the Hooksett-only SAU would be in action beginning July 1, 2008.

The withdrawal committee estimates a new Hooksett-only SAU will cost about $74,000 more annually than what Hooksett will pay next year for its share – which is 58 percent – of maintaining the joint SAU.

Those estimates don’t include one-time costs for some expenditures – for things like computers and office furniture – to get the SAU up and running, said withdrawal committee Chairman Dana Argo.

In a 23-page report issued by the withdrawal committee, there are repeated references to the SAU 15 staff, which the group said has become increasingly stressed to meet the demands of each of the three towns.

“With Hooksett growing, we believe our needs are going to be much greater,” said Argo.

Argo attributed the high turnover in superintendents – SAU 15 has had five in the last five years – in part to an overbearing workload.

“(Superintendent Charles “Phil” Littlefield) made the comment that it’s not the hardest job he’s ever had, but it’s the most time-consuming,” said Argo.

Argo also said the move to a Hooksett-only SAU could give the school board more control over the SAU budget, which for SAU 15 is under the auspices of school board members from each of the towns.

Though Hooksett school board members have weighted votes at SAU 15 board meetings, Argo said the SAU board can make budget decisions that don’t necessarily best suit Hooksett.

For example, he said, the SAU budget has increased in recent years, though the Hooksett School District has been dealing with default budgets.

“If the SAU budget goes up, we have no choice,” Argo said. “We have to find the money.”

Candia School Board Chairman Karen Smith and Auburn School Board Chairman Elaine Hobbs each said Hooksett’s withdrawal would mean more costs for the smaller towns, which would still have to maintain SAU 15 to some capacity.

“A financial impact will trickle down to have an educational impact,” said Hobbs. “We’ll be asking voters to contribute more money to things like administration.”

Smith and Hobbs also each said their boards have never felt as though the SAU 15 administration was too busy to meet their needs – even lately as the two boards have been discussing the possibility of a joint middle school arrangement.

“I’ve never felt like they were paying more attention to Hooksett or Auburn,” Smith said. Said Hobbs, “If they’re saying the SAU doesn’t have enough time for them, hire more people.”

Smith and Hobbs also said they hope not to lose SAU-wide collaborations for supply purchases and professional development that have become more frequent in recent years.

But Argo said he perceives some “philosophical differences” between the three boards that he said have prevented SAUwide progress in recent years.

As an example, he said, “They have an archaic IT system (at the SAU 15 office). I think it’s that way because the three districts can’t agree on what to do.”