Concord — The state Board of Education voted to certify the creation of the Cornish School District during its May meeting, setting a date of July 1, 2017, for the district to separate from SAU 6.

The new district will be given the designation of SAU 100, according to a certificate signed by Virginia Barry, the state commissioner of education.

“I think it’s a real opportunity for Cornish to be in control of its own school district, to form the kind of school district that is good for our community,” said Nicole Saginor, who chairs the transition committee working to prepare for the district’s departure from SAU 6, which also includes Claremont and Unity.

Without the shared services it’s receiving now, Cornish will need to hire a part-time superintendent and contract for technology services, she said.

The certification is the latest step in a three-year process to form a single-school district. Concerned with decreasing enrollment and rising education costs, residents voted 221-98 at the annual school meeting to withdraw from SAU 6.

Enrollment once topped 250 at the Cornish Elementary School, but that number dropped to 81 this year and projections predict the decrease to continue.

The transition team will look to neighboring Plainfield for a superintendent, said School District Clerk Merilynn Bourne. Sharing a superintendent, who would spend 12 hours a week in Cornish, and contracting with the Windsor Southeast Supervisory Union for technology services could save the town about $17,000 annually, reported a SAU Planning Committee.

Overall planning and execution of the transition could cost about $40,000, the committee said.

Cornish currently pays for 11 percent, or $221,000 this year, of administrative services offered by SAU 6. The town only accounts for about 4 percent of school enrollment.

Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.