By GARRY RAYNO, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD — Advocates pushed for removing the enrollment cap from the Education Freedom Account program, while opponents said the state needs to fully fund its obligations to public schools instead.
Senate Bill 581 would remove the current 10,000 enrollment cap for the program and also eliminate priority guidelines for admitting students.
At a public hearing before the Senate Education Finance Committee Thursday, the bill’s prime sponsor, Sen. Victoria Sullivan, R-Manchester, said there is currently a waiting list of 800 children to join the program.
“No children should be left in the waiting room for their choice for education,” she said.
But David Trumble of Weare said the state has a constitutional obligation to fund public schools, but does not have to fund private or religious schools.
He noted the US Supreme Court’s recent ruling that if states do fund private schools, they cannot discriminate against religious schools, but they are not required to fund private schools.
“This is an optional program that takes more money from public school districts,” he said. ‘That is what you are required to do, not fund a program that is voluntary.”
The committee also heard from several mothers who told of finding the right educational fit for their child and children after bad experiences in their local public schools. They said all families should have access to those opportunities.
But opponents said the program will further shift more and more of the burden of public education to local property taxpayers while creating a new program that does not ensure the students are learning or thriving in their new environment.
The enrollment cap was added to the bill last session that removed any earnings cap for families who want to join the universal voucher program.
Under the statute, the cap would expand by 25 percent for the next school year if the cap is hit.
While the cap is 10,000 students for the program that will cost $52 million this fiscal year, the actual enrollment is 10,510 students due to exemptions such as family income below 350 percent of the federal poverty level, or a sibling is currently in the program.
Because the cap was hit this year, next school year the cap will be 12,500 students, which would accommodate the 800 students on the waiting list and 1,700 others.
Patty Long, a former Jaffrey elementary teacher from Peterborough, told the committee she opposes removing the enrollment cap until the state meets its obligation to fund an adequate education for its public school students and stops shifting the cost to local property taxpayers, which is why people’s property taxes are going up.
“This program takes public dollars away from public schools,” she said, “and that will cripple public schools.”
She noted only 343 students out of the 10,000 switched from a public school to the program, which means 98.7 percent of the students were already in private or religious schools or homeschooled. “They have already made their choice in education,” Long said.
The state has not been paying for those students’ education, she noted, so every student is a new direct liability to the state.
Long also noted the jump in the number of EFA students since the earnings cap was removed in wealthy communities like Bedford, Bow and Windham
“You did not create a new education pathway, you simply shifted who pays the bill,” Long said. “This is not school choice, it is a public subsidy for those who can afford to pay for a private education.”
The increase in enrollment is not an indication of improved outcomes, she said, it is a financial incentive.
“When you underfund the university system or public schools,” Long told the committee, “you impact the future of this state for generations to come.”
But Andrea LeClair of Manchester told of her daughter’s experience in her local elementary school and the failure of the school to address the bullying and harassment her daughter was subject to.
She said she spent many years as a therapist in public schools, but she was not prepared for what happened to her daughter.
She said a racist incident prompted a teacher to read a book where the person is to be judged by the color of their skin not their character, which is against her faith and beliefs. The incident resulted in her daughter being choked several times and threatened by one of the students saying he would bring a gun to school and kill her.
She said the end result was a two-day suspension.
LeClair said she toured a private school and was allowed to have her daughter enter halfway through the school year and given a break on tuition.
“That was like a rainbow after a storm,” she said, and she and her husband have decided to keep her daughter in Catholic school through high school.
Her child did not receive the faith-based education her family wants her to have in public schools, but she is now, she said.
Angela Clark of Strafford, said her child began attending the local public school and was told not to talk about God or her faith at school.
“That was upsetting to her and for us as practicing Catholics who live and breathe our faith,” she said.
She said the grades were mixed and her daughter came home and asked about a topic of sexual nature she overheard.
“We could no longer justify sending our kids to public schools,” Clark said, but could not afford the local Catholic school until they learned about the EFA program, now four of their five children are attending a school where they receive a Classical Catholic education.
She said the enrollment cap should be removed so all families could have the opportunities they have to be blessed with an education that aligns with their family’s values.
Rebecca Bettencourt of Hopkinton, said her child, who is extremely introverted and shy, began in the public school and was struggling but as young parents they did not believe there were other options outside of public schools.
They tried homeschooling with others but could see there had to be a different way for him to learn.
Bettencourt said they investigated different options through the EFA program and were able to send him to a private school where he has excelled and is thriving.
EFA has allowed them to find the educational experience that meets his needs.
The program does not help just the very wealthy, but middle class families like hers, Bettencourt said.
But Brian Hawkins of the National Education Association NH said it would be premature to expand the program at this point.
He noted there are huge challenges facing public schools and the dollars would be a better investment there.
New Hampshire is facing what other states like Arizona with similar open-ended voucher programs and tax cuts have found, that the investment in public schools decreases without a decrease in enrollment.
Without a last minute change, the Manchester School District would have lost $12 million this school year in state aid, he noted, which is how much the state’s voucher program is over budget.
The school building aid program that was $50 million is now just funding the projects that have already been accepted, and there is no new money for new projects, Hawkins noted.
And he noted the cost of the EFA program this year — $52 million — is more than all state special education aid at $49.9 million.
As school districts work to set their budgets, there are many costs that are not in their control, Hawkins said, also noting the uncertainty of federal grants that have been rescinded or clawed back.
When you layer on all the uncertainties, he said, this is not a good time to be making this investment in expanding the EFA program.
The committee intends to decide on what recommendation to make on the bill next week.
Garry Rayno may be reached at garry.rayno@yahoo.com.