1 week Ago
HB 675 backers don’t trust locals to make decisions To the Editor: Lawmakers are being asked to tell local officials and voters they are either too stupid or too spineless to make tough local school spending decisions, so they’ll do it for you. HB 675 inserts state government into local decisions, arbitrarily capping school budgets, which will lead to dire public school cuts. This is one of the craziest and most destructive proposals to defund public education.
HB 675 would allow state lawmakers to play puppet master, telling local communities how much they can — or can’t — spend on local public schools. The bill only allows school budgets to rise to the level of inflation, and that increase only lasts until June 30, 2027. After that, it does not allow budgets to increase unless there is additional enrollment.
This would mean school districts are out of luck if the cost of heat or gas for buses rise or if desks or the gym floor need to be replaced. When the bill, now part of the proposed budget, was before the House, 14 Republicans voted against it, showing bipartisan opposition. The state continues to fail to meet its constitutional duty to adequately fund public education.
A spending cap would accelerate the gutting of public school programs because districts would no longer be able to ask local voters to dig deep to offset paltry state funding. As president of AFT-New Hampshire, I believe this measure is an insult to local control, local lawmakers and community residents who should have a voice in school district spending. DEB HOWES Hudson.
