Marcia Hayward: Tell reps ‘no’ to expanding vouchers, open enrollment

To The Daily Sun,

Why is the Republican-led State Legislature bent on destroying public education? They continue to put forth bills which downshift costs to the local taxpayer and ignore Supreme Court directives at providing adequate funding for public education.

Last year the Republicans voted to lift the eligibility cap for the voucher program but limit the enrollment to 10,000 students. According to Department of Education data, the state has 10,510 students enrolled this year. This current enrollment for the biennium will cost $113 million and be over budget by $26 million. Eighty percent of the students using vouchers never attended public schools but attended religious or private schools or homeschooled. This year, the Republicans propose legislation which will lift the enrollment cap. Imagine what this will do to property taxes in support of a program which has little oversight?

Another school choice idea being hastily rammed through the New Hampshire Senate is to amend House Bill 751 which allows a NH public school student to enroll in any other public school in the state rather than the school where he or she lives.

The way it works is that the home district of the student would pay the receiving district its average per-pupil costs. If the sending district per-pupil costs are less that the receiving school’s, the parents must make up the difference. If the sending school’s per-pupil costs are more than the receiving school’s that amount of money would be sent to the receiving schools.

This bill makes property poor communities donor towns to property wealthy towns. It is still exporting property taxes raised in one town to another.

Please tell representatives "no" to expanding vouchers and open enrollment schools. Remind them that it is the state’s responsibility to provide an adequate education and to pay for it.

Marcia Hayward

Laconia