HB1093

This bill is blatantly discriminatory. We need truck drivers and this will further limit otherwise qualified applicants.

Chairman and members of the committee, Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony. I am writing to express my opposition to HB 1093, a bill that threatens the stability of traditional public school funding and overrides the essential land-use authority of our local communities. While proponents frame this bill as a matter of "equity," it is, in reality, an attempt to bypass the fiscal and regulatory safeguards that protect New Hampshire taxpayers. I urge you to vote Inexpedient to Legislate (ITL) for the following reasons: 1. Diversion of Critically Limited State Building Aid New Hampshire’s school building aid is currently capped at $50 million annually. Our traditional public schools already face a massive backlog of hundreds of millions of dollars in deferred maintenance and essential safety upgrades. By expanding eligibility for this capped fund to 30+ charter schools "on the same basis" as traditional districts, this bill will inevitably push existing community schools further down the waiting list, leaving local property taxpayers to foot the bill for urgent repairs. 2. Erosion of Local Control and Land Use Authority HB 1093 seeks to grant charter schools "governmental land use exemptions". This provision would allow charter schools—often operated by private boards rather than elected local officials—to bypass municipal zoning ordinances and neighborhood planning. Our cities and towns have a fundamental right to manage their own development, traffic safety, and community character. Stripping this authority from local zoning boards for the benefit of a single class of entity is a direct assault on the principle of local control. 3. Lack of Public Accountability Traditional school districts are governed by elected boards and must have their budgets approved by local voters. In contrast, charter schools are not subject to the same level of direct voter oversight regarding their capital expenditures. Awarding state-funded construction grants—calculated and disbursed in the same manner as traditional districts—without the accompanying democratic accountability is a misuse of public funds. 4. Prioritizing Constitutional Obligations The New Hampshire Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled in the ConVal and Rand cases that the state is currently failing its constitutional duty to adequately fund public education. It is fiscally irresponsible to expand infrastructure obligations to a new category of buildings before the state has met its core obligation to fully fund the basic education of students in our existing neighborhood schools. HB 1093 puts "the cart before the horse" by expanding facility funding before fixing the state's fundamental adequacy formula. It risks further draining the resources of our community schools while stripping municipalities of their right to regulate land use. For these reasons, I respectfully ask the committee to recommend ITL on HB 1093. As a special education teacher in a public school, as a parent, as a taxpayer, as a citizen concerned with the well-being and education of all children in my community, we have a responsibility to those in the public school system. Already the way charter schools are funded in NH negatively impacts public schools. Don’t let this further harm them and our children, teachers, and our communities in the process. Sincerely, Katherine Moretti Rochester, NH

I oppose this bill prioritizing charter school aid over public education

I oppose using any tax money to support charter schools in any manner. Schools should all be run for the benefit of the community at large. In addition, supporting any school that teaches any religious views is anathema to me as a free-thinker. In essence, they teach bigotry, and encourage rigid, all-or-nothing thought. And their graduates learn habits anathema to a pluralist society. In Scandinavian countries, schools are multi-purpose, and serve a function for adult education and community meetings. They are popular with the taxpayers because everyone benefits. Our schools should be more like that, especially as the population ages. However, charter schools will be restrictive, and I can’t imagine myself participating in any venue that supports a restrictive world view.

My taxes should go to my town. Please stop this madness!!

Public funds need to stay in community public schools.

Public schools need all the funding they can get. If you want send your child to a charter school that is fine but it not okay to take away more public funding.

Our tax money should support our public schools. It is not right for charter schools to be able to jump the line for funding displacing schools that have been waiting for years.

There is no fiscally responsible reason to add Charter schools to the stats funding model when we are in a budget deficit and our public schools are still under funded. Any legislation being proposed needs to be focused on fully funding our Public school first and foremost as has been reaffirmed by the courts. Additionally the school voucher program should be eliminated as it is yet another mechanism that is taking money away from public schools and is simply a "Educational Welfare" for the rich.

This is another step towards equal funding given to both charter schools and traditional public schools. Charter schools should not be funded like traditional public schools until they meet all the requirements placed upon traditional public schools. Among many other things charter schools must accept all applicants including special needs students.

This is a bill that unfairly strips away much-needed funding from public schools in favor of charter schools.

Adding charters to an underfunded building-aid list doesn’t expand opportunity—it pushes public schools and 6,000+ waiting students further back.

This is not right. I oppose

Charter schools are a much looser organization than public schools. The requirements for public schools-the building itself, the processes that go on in that building, all have a staggering level of necessity because of the student mix. Also they serve the greater portion of the population. It seems quite logical that the state’s funding for buildings goes to the entity that does the most work.

Public money should be for pubic schools.

Public schools should have first priority. The bulk of our students attend public schools.

Until charter schools are held to the same financial. transparency standards as public schools state monies should not be available for their use.

Please support our public schools!

I want to see public schools remain the priority for ALL state education funding!

Public schools must come first.

No school should be able to jump in front of others who applied before they did. We need to prioritize our public schools.

I strongly oppose HB 1093. State construction aid is already limited, and traditional public schools are struggling to maintain and repair buildings that serve entire communities. Charter schools should not receive the same construction funding or be placed on the same timeline, especially if that means moving ahead of public schools that have been waiting for years.