Dozens of New Hampshire communities voted this week at town meetings and in local elections to reject Republican lawmakers’ efforts to control who attends their local schools.
Their open enrollment legislation before lawmakers now would allow students to attend any public school in the state. Their home district would have to pay the new school for their education. Districts would also have to accept students from other communities.
Public school leaders and advocates say open enrollment would create chaos and unfairly divert local tax dollars, the largest source of money for schools, to other communities. The amount would equal what districts spend per student. In most communities, that would be at least $15,000 for each student.
In response, many communities moved this week to prevent their local students from using open enrollment to transfer to a new school district. Students could still attend private school or enroll in a different district under a “manifest education hardship” if the family and school decided another school would better suit the child.
Pittsfield School Superintendent Sandie MacDonald said open enrollment would force communities to divert their own limited money and resources to other districts.
“If you want to go to public school on the community's dime, you go to the public school in the community,” she said.
Voters in many communities also limited enrollment from non-residents.
The Littleton School District will take up to 10 students from other districts. The Keene School District will take between 10 and 15 students at its schools. Pittsfield voters set no limit. Exeter won’t enroll any non-residents. Mont Vernon will accept one student and the ConVal Regional School district will accept up to 35, but only in its German classes.
At least two communities rejected proposed limits: Epsom and Raymond.
Republican lawmakers, who oppose any limits on students leaving their district, argue that good schools will be able to hold onto their students. If schools are not meeting students' needs, they want students to have other options.
Megan Tuttle, president of the National Education Association of New Hampshire, said that argument overlooks the way public schools are funded in New Hampshire. School districts rely largely on property taxes, which differ from town to town based on property values. As a result some districts spend close to $20,000 per student and many with higher property values spend more.
Tuttle said schools are limited not by their dedication to children’s success but by how much local taxpayers can afford.
Open enrollment “is a diversion of getting away from the real problem, which is we're not adequately funding public education in the state,” she said.
Lawmakers had hoped to fast track their open enrollment legislation to take effect before annual school district votes. Some school district attorneys have said local limits will be moot if Republican open enrollment legislation becomes law.
