By PATRICK ADRIAN
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LANGDON — The Fall Mountain Withdrawal Study Committee hopes to have a withdrawal plan complete and ready to send the state department of education for review by Oct. 10.
The committee met for a second time after originally convening May 29. The group includes residents, selectmen and school board members from Charlestown, Acworth, Alstead, Langdon and Walpole, who will meet twice each month at Fall Mountain Regional High School.
Most of the plan development will be done in subcommittee groups between committee meetings.
The Finance Subcommittee will be responsible for demonstrating how much it will cost for Charlestown to operate as an independent school district, as well as what Fall Mountain’s operating budget might look like without Charlestown, whose students make up 44 percent of the district. That plan will also show the financial impact on each of the remaining towns.
The Assets and Liabilities Subcommittee will study shared assets and remaining debts, and how the towns will settle those matters. The Educational Impact Committee will look at how Charlestown’s exit from the district will impact staffing and educational services in each of the districts.
As Langdon School Board member Mary Henry noted, much of each subcommittee’s work will interconnect.
So far only the finance subcommittee has met. Langdon Selectman Lucien “Lou” Beam reported that its members plan to meet twice each month between committee meetings and will look at expenses such as payroll and benefits, revenue and reserve funds for costs like transportation, tuition and capital projects.
New Hampshire law requires committees recommending withdrawal to submit their plans to the Department of Education by Nov. 21. New Hampshire R.S.A. 195:26 states that each plan must include a breakdown of each district by student population, schools and grades; composition of new school boards; how to apportion operating and capital expenses, shared assets and debts; and education plans for students in the withdrawing and cooperative districts.
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