Nora Foster: Taxpayers should really consider voting ‘no’ on HB 751-FN

To The Daily Sun,

Would I like my rural high school to have a swim team? A STEM lab? More advanced courses? Yes, yes, and yes. But those things cost money — money my school district doesn’t have.

If the proposed Open Enrollment bill HB 751-FN (introduced by Sen. Tim Lang) becomes law, I’ll be able to send my student to another district to access the amenities of wealthier schools. Sounds good, right?

Here’s the catch: under this proposal, my local district would be required to pay at least 80% of its average per-student cost to the receiving school. That means my home district loses funding while its core operating costs remain. Outcome: my property taxes go up to cover the new expense.

Whether a math class has five students or 25, the teacher’s salary is the same. The lights still need to be on. Busing doesn’t get cheaper. Losing five, 10, or even 50 students doesn’t suddenly make it less costly to run a school.

Supporters claim this bill will “incentivize school districts to make improvements to attract students, allowing the successful ones to access a new revenue stream amid declining school enrollments.” For districts strapped by tax caps and taxpayer discord, that idea is absurd. Improvements take money. You can’t “incentivize” your way into a STEM lab or stronger course offerings if you have budget constraints.

School choice sounds appealing in theory. In practice, it rewards districts that already have advantages while weakening smaller ones. If we truly care about opportunity, we should demand that the state increase public education funding. New Hampshire ranks dead last in state-level K-12 funding. That’s not something to brag about.

If lottery and Keno revenues are up while enrollments are down, why hasn’t per-student funding increased?

Taxpayers should contact their representatives and demand they vote no on HB 751-FN.

Nora Foster

New Hampton