As the state legislature could soon pass a mandatory public school open enrollment law, Allenstown finds itself among districts across the state considering how to maintain their student population and control expenses.
Open enrollment was a large topic of discussion at Allenstown’s deliberative session on Saturday, when both town and school issues were discussed. The school district is looking to institute a policy that would allow up to 25 students to be accepted into the district in a given year while preventing residents from sending their students to schools in other towns.
“This declares that 0% of our students would be leaving, so we would know that we wouldn’t have to be paying other school districts,” SAU 53 Superintendent Jack Finley said at the meeting.
By the time residents vote on the measure on March 10, the decisions could be rendered moot if universal open enrollment is fast-tracked and signed into law.
While residents asked clarifying questions, Mike Frascinella, who chairs the Economic Development Committee, expressed wariness about universal open enrollment as a whole.
“I don’t like this idea. It sounds like school districts can steal students from other school districts,” he said.
Other residents asked questions about the potential effects of open enrollment on the district and sought to better understand the overall implications.
“This would allow Allenstown to have a little bit more control and financial predictability for us to create our budgets, build our budgets and maintain our budgets,” Finley further clarified.
A Supreme Court ruling last fall set off a mad dash by local school districts to adopt policies that restrict students from leaving. At the time of the ruling, just two districts in the state — Prospect Mountain and Franklin — had open enrollment policies. Since then, at least two more — Kearsarge and Pembroke — have followed suit.
When students choose another school to attend, the home district must pay the tuition, the justices ruled.
If universal open enrollment passes, then students in all districts will have the ability to attend school in any other district.
Also of note at the meeting was a discussion around the re-opening of the transfer station, which closed last year after residents voted for the default budget and the town needed to make cuts. The elimination of curbside pickup and the closing of the transfer station left many residents both angry and in the lurch.
A petition warrant article led by Selectman Kathleen Pelissier would add money to the budget to account for the reopening of the transfer station. She originally proposed $450,000 but offered multiple options for cutting costs. Voters at the deliberative session chose to decrease the amount to $150,000, which will cover the station’s re-opening.
“By law, we are supposed to have a transfer station,” Pelissier said. “DES sent us a letter and said that we are in violation of state law by not having that facility open to our public.”
Her husband, Chad Pelissier, is the road agent. He explained that the town has over 30 miles of public roads, which received curbside pickup back when it existed. The 22-plus miles of private road did not receive curbside pickup but still had to pay taxes to support these services.
This distinction played into the conversation on whether to allocate enough money to reinstate curbside pickup in addition to reopening the transfer station.
“We pay taxes and we don’t get any of this stuff,” said resident Fran Severance, who lives on a private road. “Why is it fair that we pay taxes without having the services?”
If the warrant article passes in March, the transfer station would reopen for all residents, regardless of what kind of road they live on.
This was one of the best-attended deliberative sessions in Allenstown history, with 96 attendees for the school session and 82 staying for the town portion.
Voting Day will be on Tuesday, March 10, with the polls open at the Allenstown Elementary School building from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information visit www.allenstownnh.gov.