The Windham School District moderator will select several residents to join two School Board members to study withdrawing from School Administrative Unit 28.

Currently Windham shares SAU 28 with Pelham, but the addition of the new Windham High School could prove too much for the current school administration staff to handle, said Windham School Board Chairman Barbara Coish.

“The towns are both growing, and with Windham now going to have its own high school in the next couple of years, just the work load is so much for the personnel there,” Coish said. “If we’re going to do it, it’s probably the right time.”

Windham voters overwhelmingly passed an article on this year’s ballot authorizing the Windham School Board to form a committee to investigate the possibility of withdrawing from the district.

At a meeting of the SAU 28 board, which includes Pelham and Windham school board members, on Tuesday, May 13, it was announced that Windham board members Michael Hatem and Mark Brockmeier would be on the withdrawal study committee.

School District Moderator Elizabeth Dunn is in the process of seeking volunteers for the five seats on the committee that are reserved for community members.

Superintendent Frank Bass will be present during the withdrawal committee’s meetings to provide information and guidance as needed, but will not be a voting member, Coish said.

Once the committee is established, members will gather information regarding the costs, consequences and benefits of separating from Pelham.

Coish said the goal is to have the withdrawal committee give its final report and findings to the Windham School Board by January, giving the board time to draft another warrant article before the March 2009 election, should the findings be in favor of withdrawal.

Should Windham withdraw, it would retain the ownership of the SAU 28 office at 19 Haverhill Road, Route 111, and Pelham would be responsible for finding its own facility.

Pelham would keep the SAU 28 title, but not the staff. They would have to hire a new superintendent and school administration staff.

The state Board of Education, which has to approve the withdrawal application, would then issue Windham a new SAU number.

Bruce Couture, chairman of the Pelham School Board, said Pelham has not taken an official stance on Windham’s desire to pull out of SAU 28, but said the board is preparing for it in the event it happens.

The Pelham Board will reserve making any decisions until after the withdrawal committee has reported its findings, he said.

“There are probably pros and cons to both things,” Couture said, adding there are a lot of things to consider, including the financial situation Windham’s exit from the SAU will put Pelham in.

“I think in some ways it could probably make sense, and in other ways it could make sense to stay together,” he said.

Couture did say that the current school administration staff is at its workload capacity, and the opening of Windham High School in September 2009 will tax them even more, something else the committee will have to look into.

“I would think they’re close to being pretty full, to be honest with you. I don’t know if it’s in a crisis mode at this point ... it’s pretty tight,” Couture said.