The New Hampshire house has approved a senate-backed school funding plan that all but eliminates donor towns, but retains the statewide property tax……The measure differs from the school aid package the house approved earlier this year, but lawmakers on both sides of the aisle said they feared ending up with something worse if the matter were hashed out in the committee of conference. New Hampshire Public Radio's Josh Rogers reports.
Town by town comparison of the Senate and House plans
After several hours of debate, the plan sailed thorough by a nearly three to one margin…..Afterwards, house speaker Doug Scamman said he's confident lawmakers have laid the foundation for a lasting school funding solution.
"I think this will be a fairly permanent piece of legislation…….And the kids won't be jerked up and down depending on the whims of the legislature."
The plan spends about 473 million dollars a year in non-property tax money…….Some twelve million dollars more than what the house had proposed spending…….The plan also relies on 363 million dollars in property tax money that communities would spend locally………
"We as a state have decided that we want property taxes to fund education."
That's House finance committee chairman Fred King…..The Colebrook Republican told collegues the Senate plan is a good one……And he urged them to consider how things have changed since the Claremont lawsuits.
"Recognize we were spending about 7 percent of the cost of local education out of state funds and recognize the progress we've made, and I think we should stop apologizing for not in funding education……Because I think we've reached the point where our total commitment of the state to our local communites meets the average throughout the country."
If proponents tended to stress that the plan marked progress in distributing state aid……Critics were adamant that it remained inferior to the house's original bill.
"In the Senate version the rich towns get richer and the poor towns get screwed."
That's Walpole democrat Jack Pratt. He urged the house to support it's own proposal -- which he stressed was a bipartisan measure that unlike the senate plan was vetting by several committees……..Pratt offered a list of examples he said showed the senate proposal's fundamental unfairness.
"The House gave the town of Amherst 2.2 million. The Senate gave them 3.4. Bedford: the house gave 1.5; the senate gave 2.8…….Berlin -- oh poor Berlin -- the house gave 10.1; the Senate gave 8.6."
But not all critics of the plan were willing to take such a stance……Peterborough Republican Mark Carter, was a staunch backer of the house's original bill……..He said that preference still stands………..But for Carter, to not accede to the senate position would be to jeapardize the chance at making any progress at all…….
"Now some have said that I'm inflexible at times, but I don't havce to be hit with a brick to see that when it comes to education funding that a committee of conference would give too much power to too few people with too much bias."
That mixture of frustration and skepticism is shared by Governor Lynch…….Lynch has had a tough week on the school funding front……First he announced that the senate majority supported the proposal he backed……Only two see two senators defect in favor of the plan now destined to become law…….Lynch says he hasn't made up his mind over weather to sign the measure -- but says a veto is out of the question.
"This was a choice between two options -- this plan, and keeping the current broken law……Which I believe needs to be replaced……What this does is allow us to eleiminate donor towns and target aid two priciples I care faily strongly about…..As I said I'm disappointed that the senate republican leadership has elected to keep the statewide property tax as part of their plan and I will keep on fighting to get that statewide property tax eliminated."
Several communities -- including Nashua and Londonderry have spoke about suing over the law -- which send their communities less money……Last year, then attorney general Peter Heed told lawmakers a near identical plan was unconstutional…….Governor Lynch says he believes the measure does live up to the Claremont decisions, and says he'd expect Attorney General Kelly Ayotte to defend the measure as vigorously as possible should the matter end up in court.
Town by town comparison of the Senate and House plans
