Pinkerton welcomes Auburn

Auburn voters spoke out in a big way last week and approved a plan to become Pinkerton Academy's fourth official contracted town.

Auburn residents voted, 1,119-190, in favor of pulling out of the current contract with the Manchester School District and send its students to Pinkerton, joining Derry, Hampstead and Chester as a sending town.

"We are very pleased with the outcome of the Auburn School District vote," Pinkerton Headmaster Mary Anderson said. "The support from the district is overwhelming."

Right now, Auburn sends almost all of its students to Manchester's Memorial High School. Some Auburn students enroll at Pinkerton every year, as space permits. About 80 Auburn students are at Pinkerton now.

"The tuition contract with Pinkerton was obviously an issue that generated a great deal of community interest," SAU 15 Superintendent Dr. Charles Littlefield said.

He said the Auburn School Board will formally notify Manchester of the impending change before June 30. Auburn must also give Manchester two years notice before ending that contract.

By approving the move to Derry, Auburn freshmen will walk the halls at Pinkerton by the fall of 2013. The town expects 79 Auburn freshmen that year. Auburn also will be represented on the Pinkerton Board of Trustees.

Having Auburn students come back to Pinkerton under contract could help the school's tuition and enrollment numbers also.

Last fall, Pinkerton released its budget numbers for next year, with a tuition rate set to increase due to declining student numbers. The new rate is $9,712 per student, up from the current rate of $9,369, a 3.65 percent increase.

Anderson told sending town officials in past months the tuition increase is directly connected to Pinkerton's declining enrollment. Pinkerton now has approximately 3,200 students. Next year, the school anticipates about 3,100 students.

Still, the tuition rate is among the lowest in the state.

"I know we would much prefer to keep the Auburn students in Manchester, and clearly losing them would have some budget impact," Manchester School Board member Sarah Ambrogi said.

Pinkerton trustees said enrolling more Auburn students could stabilize the school's student population.

"We are looking forward to Auburn transitioning all of their students to Pinkerton by September 2013," Anderson said.

The school first opened its doors to students as a private institution in 1815. In 1949, it began educating all of Derry's high-schoolers and negotiated a long-term agreement with Derry in 1962.

Over the next 30 years, more towns signed contracts with the Derry high school, although some have come and gone. Chester has sent students to Pinkerton since the Academy began and Londonderry was also an early enrollment contributor. Londonderry left in 1978 after building its own high school, as did Salem and Windham.

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