Jessica Wheeler Russell, Traci Bricchi and Sally Hirsh-Dickinson are MVSD School Board members. These opinions are their own and do not represent the views of the entire school board.
March has now ended and for those of us who serve on school boards our duty to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars while meeting our constitutional duty to provide an adequate education for our students has been completed for this year.
While we were reviewing and tailoring our district budgets across the state the irresponsible bill HB 1393 was winding its way through the New Hampshire legislative process. This bill would allow an arbitrary per pupil cap on a school budget that can be introduced by petition with as few as 25 votes in a district, and the cap can only be raised with a 3/5th majority vote.
This cap would add a budget constraint that would not change year to year. Because of the inflexible nature school districts would not be able to provide an adequate education. In the last year alone, we have seen rising maintenance costs, an increase in fuel expenses, and a decrease in statewide funding for our school districts.
Without the ability to react to changes, this bill would leave districts scrambling to meet our obligations to students, parents and staff with massive cuts in the budget. Without the ability to appropriate funds districts could be facing even tougher decisions. For example, the first things to be removed may be extracurriculars like athletics or arts and sciences.
We do not have to look far to understand this reality. While most districts have completed their budget responsibilities for the year in the last few weeks, the town of Croydon has had to put together a budget only to have it hijacked by a small number of ill-advised residents, then updated, and now the board and district are attempting to provide their students with an education on a shoestring budget leaving parents wondering if their school district will be able to support their students after two years of an uncertain landscape.
It is no secret that homeowners are feeling the financial pressures as the state continually downshifts costs to the local towns and districts. In 2021 New Hampshire was ranked 50th in the United States for education funding and it has not improved.
Instead of trying to put a budget constraint on districts, which are obligated to provide an education for students, the state legislature must work on correcting the statewide funding formula. We urge you to contact your representatives, ask them to vote down this bill, and to also address this long-standing inequity in our state.