April 9, 2010 NHSBA Legislative Bulletin

Governor Proposes Budget Reductions

Yesterday, Governor Lynch released his plan to ensure a balanced budget. The proposal will be presented to the Legislative Fiscal Committee Monday morning, and also on Thursday at a joint meeting of the House and Senate Finance Committee when an amendment to SB 450 (relative to costs and expenditures at the department of health and human services) will be introduced that includes legislative components of the Governor's proposed reductions.

Based on lower than projected FY 2010 revenues, increases in demand for services, and other constraints (such as losing the ability to utilize the medical malpractice JUA funds), the state is projecting a potential shortfall of $210-220 million. In conjunction with other spending cuts, budget adjustments and layoffs, the governor is recommending a 2% cut in education of $1.29 million for FY 2010 and a 16% cut of $9.923 million for FY 2011.

The current year FY 2010 proposed cuts reduce Catastrophic Aid by $670,000; Tuition & Transportation Aid by $99,000; Reading Recovery by $33,000; Statewide Special Education by $75,000; Local Ed Improvement grants by $25,000; state testing by $23,000; school nutrition by $52,000; and adult education by $81,000.

Next year's FY 2011 proposed cuts reduce Catastrophic Aid by $7.8 million; Tuition & Transportation Aid by $602,000; Dropout Prevention by $139,000; Statewide Special Education by $23,000; Local Ed Improvement grants by $39,000; court ordered placements by $119,000; state testing by $239,000; school nutrition by $16,000; adult education by $102,000; and career tech student organizations by $9,000. In addition, the state contribution toward municipal and school retirement costs is cut by $9.4 million, reducing even further the state share from 25% down to 20%.

Both Monday's Fiscal Committee meeting, and Thursday's Joint Finance Committees meeting, will be important and hopefully provide more detailed information.

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HB 1523, revising the statute on pupil safety and violence prevention to include harassment, intimidation, bullying, and cyberbullying, was supported by NHSBA at a public hearing before the Senate Education Committee. The bill contains needed improvements to the current statutes and incorporates cyberbullying. During testimony, suggested modifications to certain areas of the bill were offered by NHSBA to help clarify a few sections of the bill: specifically the role of school boards as the policy development body, a clarification to the scope of the definition, and modifications to "annual training" requirements. (See the February 26, 2010 NHSBA Legislative Bulletin for a further description of the bill.)
SB 486, suspending state building aid for new projects approved next year, was opposed at a public hearing before the House Education Committee. The bill includes a legislative statement of purpose and incorporates changes to the Committee to Study the School Building Aid Grant Program. It suspends building aid grants for next year (June 30, 2010 - June 30, 2011), provides for a waiver if the condition of the building, or portion thereof, constitutes a clear and imminent danger to the life or safety of occupants, and adds two more members to the Building Aid Study Committee: one senator and one representative. The Study Committee is charged to solicit and consider testimony and hold a public hearing before making a final report by December 1, 2010. The final report should include any findings or recommendations for proposed legislation to be considered next year.
This bill is in direct conflict with the NHSBA resolution that was adopted unanimously at the January Delegate Assembly. Suspension of the program will likely delay any local projects being considered next year, ultimately increasing their cost. Continuation of the aid should be maintained while the Study Committee completes its work, since the Building Aid program has effectively created local and state partnerships in financing school building improvements and represents a significant part of fulfilling the state's constitutional duty to provide an adequate education to all children. The broad impact of building aid is evident by the fact that eighty percent of school districts statewide participate in the program and are currently receiving state grants.

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Senate Action This Week
The Senate met on Wednesday and passed the following bill:
HB 1176, relative to investment of capital reserve funds. This bill permits the assets of capital reserve funds of counties, towns, and districts, to be combined for investment purposes. Any interest earned or capital gains realized on the moneys so invested shall accrue to and become a part of the individual funds on a pro rata basis. This bill has been adopted by both the House and Senate and will now go to the governor for signature.

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House and Senate Hearings Next Week
House Education Committee - Room 207 LOB (Legislative Office Building)
SB 503, relative to unique pupil identification: Tuesday, April 13 at 10:30. The bill requires early childhood programs and postsecondary institutions to participate in the unique pupil identification system and submit a report to the department of education containing information on certain pupil indicators.
SB 520, relative to school district liability for special education costs: Tuesday, April 13 at 1 pm. This bill addresses continuing concerns over the financial liability for special education services when a child has been "parentally placed" in a school outside the child's district of residence. The bill seeks to clarify that a child's district of residence remains the legally liable and financially responsible district and allows for a contractual agreement between the two districts. An amendment with further refinement to the language of the bill is expected at the hearing.

Senate Education Committee - Room 103, LOB (Legislative Office Building)
HB 1324, relative to staffing exceptions for geographically isolated small schools: Tuesday, April 13 at 10:15. This bill establishes a definition of a geographically isolated small school and implements a procedure for such schools to petition the department of education for approval of an alternative staffing plan.
HB 1411, requiring notice to educational support personnel and non-certified school district employees: Tuesday, April 13 at 10:30. This bill requires the superintendent to notify, in writing, all qualified education support personnel and non-certified school district employees who have completed their probationary employment period of the intent to continue or not to continue that employment into the next school year.
HB 1469, relative to the required number of instructional days and instructional hours in a school district's calendar: Tuesday, April 13 at 10:45. This bill provides that the number of days in the school year may be defined by department of education in rules that specify an equivalent number of hours.
This bill is strongly supported by NHSBA and represents a specific resolution of the Association. It brings state law into agreement with the Minimum Standard Rules change adopted in 2005. The Rules in Ed 306.18 require each school to maintain a school year either based on hours or days. Current law reflects the previous provision of allowing a school year based on hours "if approved by the commissioner". HB 1469 simply removes the requirement for commissioner approval, replacing it with "as required in rules".

House Finance Committee - Room 210, LOB (Legislative Office Building)
SB 465, relative to the transition period for implementing the adequacy aid formula: Tuesday, April 13 at 1 pm. This bill extends the hold harmless/collar provisions for calculating the distribution of education adequacy grants one year, through the 2012 fiscal year. The bill also establishes a committee to study the sustainability of the existing state programs for funding K-12 education, including adequate education grants, fiscal capacity disparity aid, and catastrophic aid. The committee would consist of three senators and four representatives, and have a specific duty to study the sustainability of the existing state programs for funding K-12 education, including adequate education grants, fiscal capacity disparity aid, and catastrophic aid. The committee shall report its findings and any recommendations for proposed legislation on or before December 1, 2010.