UNITY — A planning committee of the Unity School District has submitted a feasibility plan to the state Department of Education seeking to withdraw from SAU 6 with Claremont.

Should the plan receive state approval, residents will vote on an article at the annual school meeting in March to withdraw and if at least 60% of those present approve, the new SAU would begin on July 1, 2026.

“The School Board and the (Withdrawal) Planning Committee ultimately concluded that the best course of action to provide Unity students with maximum educational opportunities is to withdraw from SAU 6,” the report to the DOE states.

The committee met briefly last Thursday to take a vote — which was unanimous — and sign the report.

The committee of seven began meeting last April after Unity voters approved a warrant article to form it last March. Its charge was to study the impact, both fiscally and educationally, how withdrawal would affect the town.

The Unity School District has about 100 students in total. It operates a K-8 school in Unity and offers high school choice, some students go to Stevens High School in Claremont, while others go to Newport and Fall Mountain in Langdon, N.H.

In its report, the committee outlined several reasons for its support of withdrawal, including: More direct and focused support of students; more control of SAU budget and accounting; and effective involvement in SAU decisions.

Though there may possibly be a slight cost increase to Unity under its own SAU, it should be viewed as “an investment in our school’s future that will provide many intrinsic values based on the aforementioned considerations,” the report states.

The report goes on to say that the committee believes benefits to students and staff with increased local control over SAU services should be a prime consideration in the decision.

According to the report, overall costs for administration are estimated to be about $55,000 more than Unity is now paying through SAU 6, but — as the committee stated — once the town’s new assessments are implemented, Unity’s share of the SAU 6 budge will increase.

For the current fiscal year, which began July 1, Unity is paying close to $194,000 or   about 8% of the SAU’s $2.49 million annual budget. That is a decrease of the historical average of almost 10% the report states, but that is because Claremont went through a property revaluation last year that saw a significant increase in property assessments.

Once Unity’s new assessments are applied from a recent revaluation, the percentage of the SAU budget paid by the district will return to about 10%, Committee Chairman Rocco Ruggeri said.

A cost comparison between a single district SAU and remaining with Claremont lists several administrative positions that Unity would need to fill. These include a part-time superintendent ($15,600 for 195 hours a year) and a business administrator ($10,500), a full-time administrative assistant ($95,000) and a director of technology ($20,300).

Advantages and disadvantages of remaining in SAU 6 or forming a single district SAU are also part of the report.

More Unity input into high school and tech programs, strong IT support and bulk pricing for goods and services are included in a list of advantages of staying in SAU 6, while more control over services when needed, full leverage to address concerns and ability to manage costs are cited as advantages to a single district SAU.

Claremont has not attempted to influence Unity’s decision, Arlene Hawkins, a Claremont School Board member and chairwoman of the SAU 6 board, said Friday.

“It is a community decision for Unity,” Hawkins said. “We would love to have them stay as I think we work well together.”

If Unity exits SAU 6, it would not be the first. The Cornish School District withdrew in 2014.

Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.