By GARRY RAYNO, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD —- A proposal to allow the state to appoint administrators for financially troubled school districts had a cool reception at a public hearing Wednesday.
That did not stop the House Education Policy and Administration Committee from voting down party lines 10-7 to approve the plan, sending it to the House floor in January.
The proposal’s sponsor, Rep. Glenn Cordelli, R-Tuftonboro, said his plan would require timely audits, communication, accountability and transparency, all of which did not occur over the past few years with the Claremont School District which learned in August that it had a $5 million deficit.
Cordelli said his amendment to House Bill 121 tries to address what happened in Claremont and seeks to prevent similar problems that may be occurring in other school districts.
His plan would deny school districts state funds if they fail to do audits and other financial reports, would allow the state Department of Education to place districts on probation for up to six months to correct deficiencies, and if they fail to do so, the department could hire an administrator to oversee the district with sweeping authority to override school board decisions, make changes to day-to-day operations, cancel or renegotiate contracts and lay off or fire personnel.
Cordelli said much of the language in his proposal comes from House Bill 752, which passed last session to deal with Charter Schools that are at financial risk after several closed in the last year because of financial failure.
“This provides the framework to address what we have seen happening in Claremont these days,” Cordelli said. “The intent is to make sure things are in place so we can address failures like Claremont.”
But others called the proposal one more attempt by the Republicans and Cordelli to dismantle the state’s education funding and a statewide punishment for what happened in one local school district.
Others questioned if the state has the authority to override the wishes of voters in a state subdivision like a school district and called it a massive overreach by the state that would better be handled through the bills filed for the 2026 session to address the Claremont situation.
Kaitlin Bernier, who is a member of the Merrimack School District Budget Committee, was critical of the proposal calling it incredible overreach by the state in unproductive and undemocratic ways.
She noted a state-hired administrator could override the local school board, fire the superintendent and business manager, and hire someone else while the district could be ordered to pay for a forensic audit.
“This will add multiple costs to New Hampshire taxpayers who will now have to fund a new auditing administration it did not ask for, the cost of losing their autonomy removing all local control,” she said, “while nullifying the voices of voters who elected (representatives) while the state pushes it owns agenda.”
She said she has sat in similar rooms while the same committee as it has said it cannot find the money for an adequate education or special education catastrophic costs but moves forward to push policies that blame school districts for the state’s shortfalls.
“This amendment is statewide punishment for something that happened on the local level,” Bernier said.
Brian Hawkins of NEA — NH said while his organization believes audits should be done, shared with the public and discussed in open meetings, the proposal goes far beyond financial issues.
He suggested with several bills to be discussed in the 2026 session on the Claremont situation, the committee wait and deal with those bills and take the time needed to discuss the complicated issues and not try to do it all on Nov. 5.
“This is far too broad,” Hawkins said. “What is the goal? This will not help a school district get back on track.”
Noting the provision that would allow parents to have their students transfer to another district if their school is on probation, he asked how that would work for the district that receives the students.
Laws are in place when you want to renegotiate a contract, Hawkins noted.
“We should ask what is the goal and what is necessary to correct those deficiencies,” Hawkins said. “That ought to be the role the state plays.”
The bill needs to focus on fixing the critical issues, he said. “We do not want to make the problem worse.”
Christina Barrett, executive director of the NH School Board Association, had similar concerns.
He noted one auditing firm does the majority of school districts’ audits in the state, noting the timeline needs to be longer than four months.
He noted charter schools and public schools are two different animals. Four or five charter schools have closed in the last few years all for financial challenges.
Claremont is one school district with challenges over many decades without problems, he said. “One is not in line with the other.”
If this is intended to deal with financial challenges or negligence, he said, the probation encompasses many other issues beyond finances.
“I am concerned potentially you may be imposing a $5,000 penalty for what may be a $50 crime,” Barrett said, ”at the whim of the State Board (of Education.)”
He and several members of the committee noted the amendment does not speak to the qualifications of the administrator who would be brought in to oversee the school district and if they had any experience in education.
Earlier, Rep. Hope Damon, D-Croydon, asked Cordelli why there were no qualifications listed for an administrator.
Cordelli said he was not specific as the department could tap someone within the department or go outside to hire an administrator, but it is clear the person should have a strong financial background.
Damon asked if the person shouldn’t have experience in education, and Cordelli said he did see that as a necessary qualification. “I think business experience is much more suitable in this role,” he said, “rather than an education background.”
Rep. Loren Selig, D-Durham, asked Department of Education Attorney Diana Fenton what are the legal implications of having someone the state hires overriding the decisions of an elected board.
Fenton said that is a complex question that she would be inclined to seek guidance from the Attorney General’s Office.
She noted the AG has gone into county attorneys’ offices to oversee operations on occasion.
Damon asked if the legislature could pass a bill that conflicts with the law obligating the state to pay school districts for an adequate education, while the bill proposes to withhold state aid from districts that fail to file reports.
Fenton said she would defer to the Attorney General’s Office.
Under the amendment, school districts, municipalities, counties and village districts or precincts would be required to hire an auditor within four months of the close of the financial year, and once the audit is done, publish it on their website and discuss it at the governing body’s next meeting.
The plan would also increase the fine for failing to produce an audit in the required time from $250 a day to $500 a day and in the case of school districts, the Department of Education may withhold state funding until the information is complete including other financial reports.
The Department of Revenue Administration would be required to notify the Department of Education when audits are not done on time.
The Department can place a school district on probation for up to six months if: it commits a material violation of any of the conditions, standards, or administrative rules; fails to meet generally accepted standards for fiscal management; significantly violates state or federal law; becomes insolvent or financially unstable; fails to comply with the reporting requirements; fails to comply with state or federal reporting requirements; and fails to remedy the causes of its probation.
The department would work with the district to remedy the deficiencies and if that fails the department could hire an administrator to oversee the operations of the district including the rearranging of duties and schedules, cancelling or renegotiating contracts and eliminating administrators, or staff and teachers with less than three years in the district.
Cordelli proposed changes suggested by the Department of Revenue Administration to better align it with its local property tax rate-setting time frame, including extending the time period for completing audits as well as other concerns raised by committee members, but the amendment was not available yesterday afternoon on the legislative website to review.
Garry Rayno may be reached at garry.rayno@yahoo.com.