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HB 370 - Proposal to Repeal the Education Tax Credit Program
HB 370 repeals the statutes enacted last year with the passage of the Education Tax Credit Program. The bill is scheduled for a public hearing before the House Ways and Means Committee next Thursday, January 31, at 12:30 pm in Representatives Hall of the State House.
ACTION ITEM
Please contact your local representative and members of the House Ways and Means Committee expressing your support for this bill. NHSBA Perennial Resolutions I:A and I:B oppose any efforts to subsidize private, religious or home schools with public tax dollars. Tax credits will only result in less revenue for the state despite the lack of resources to meet current obligations. The program "recaptures" state adequacy aid to locals, thus increasing the local property tax and relying on local funds to promote a state policy initiative. The state should not be diverting money from the state and local districts for private school purposes. Local districts will see little or no reduction in their expenses and fixed costs, yet will still be required to forfeit money in lost adequacy funds. The reduction in state revenues will only make it harder for the state to pay the bills it owes, which are currently underfunded. Rather than diverting scarce tax dollars away from our public school classrooms, and arguably for unconstitutional purposes by paying tuition at religious schools, NHSBA urges the legislature to support repeal of this program and focus on supporting improvements in our public schools and meeting current funding obligations, benefitting the vast majority of our children.
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SB 37 - Management Rights
SB 37, relative to management rights under collective bargaining, affirms employer's rights regarding standards by updating RSA 273-a to reflect Supreme Court decisions and case law relating to non-mandatory subjects of bargaining. NHSBA offered testimony in support of this proposal that specifically acknowledges the public employer's right to determine standards for evaluation, standards for selection, layoff and retention, standards for discipline, and standards for assignment and transfer.
ACTION ITEM
Please contact your local senator and members of the Senate Executive Departments & Administration Committee expressing your support for this bill. Recently adopted as an NHSBA resolution, the bill supports local control and the managerial rights of governing bodies.
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SB 40 - Current Year FY 2013 Adequate Education Funding
SB 40 addresses a technical calculation error by the Dept. of Education for current year Adequacy Funding. When applying the Hold Harmless provision for Adequate Education Funding (Stabilization Grants), many communities were given notice of approximately $3.5 million more than the hold harmless provision technically provided for FY 2013. SB 40 seeks to restore the original level of funding for which school districts previously received notice and were anticipating as revenue this year. NHSBA offered testimony in support of prompt action to correct this current year funding problem, impacting approximately 80 communities. No further appropriation is needed by the legislature since the necessary funds were originally included in the Department's FY 2013 appropriation. The bill was recommended OTP (Ought to Pass) 6-0 by the Senate Finance Committee and will be considered when the Senate meets next Thursday.
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One SAU per County Proposal Fails to Receive Recommendation
SB 23 directs the School Administrative Unit Legislative Oversight Committee to study consolidation of SAUs, specifically one SAU in each county. At the hearing, NHSBA offered testimony on the history of the SAU structure and how districts, by choice and vote of the legislative body, have chosen to change their administrative structure, resulting in more SAUs over the past 30 years. The Senate Education Committee voted 4-0 to recommend ITL (Inexpedient to Legislate) and the bill will be considered by the Senate next Thursday.
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HB 115 - Filling Vacancies on Cooperative School District Budget Committees
HB 115 addresses how vacancies on a cooperative school district budget committee are filled. The bill seeks to make changes similar to the procedure adopted last year in SB 328 for filling vacancies on cooperative school boards. The House Municipal & County Government Committee recommended unanimously that the bill, as introduced, be adopted. Committee members decided that NHSBA's concerns with filling a vacancy of the school board's representative on the budget committee were addressed by the broad power of RSA 195:12-a giving the cooperative school board chair the authority to appoint a member to serve on the budget committee.
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HB 187 - Limitations on Amending Cost Item Amounts for Collective Bargaining Agreements
HB 187 stipulates that no cost item agreed to by a public employer and an employee organization shall be modified by the legislative body. Currently, if a warrant article for the proposed cost amount of a negotiated agreement is modified, the likely result is for the parties to return to negotiations. NHSBA offered testimony to the House Labor Committee in support of the school boards negotiated agreement being presented for vote of the legislative body. Much is involved in the negotiation process, including give & take on various issues that comprise the 'total package' being presented to the voters. As the locally elected representatives of the community responsible for negotiating an agreement, those corresponding terms should be presented to the legislative body for a final vote.
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SB 2 - Technical Correction to Local Tax Caps
SB 2 addresses the calculation of a local tax cap. The bill provides that for districts adopting a local tax cap under RSA 32:5-b, determination of the amount of local taxes to be assessed and raised for the next year shall not include any fund balance brought forward from the previous year. This bill represents the "permanent fix" to the problem faced earlier this year by the only school district to adopt a tax cap: the Newfound Regional School District. NHSBA worked with legislative leaders to address specific legislation that was adopted for Newfound and offered testimony in support of the permanent fix in SB 2, which will ensure any district adopting a local tax cap will not meet with the same problem in the future. The Senate Public and Municipal Affairs Committee unanimously recommended passage of the bill for consideration by the Senate next Thursday.
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Additional Education Related Hearings Scheduled Next Week
Tuesday, January 29
HOUSE EDUCATION, Room 207, LOB
10:00 a.m. HB 269-L, authorizing a special meeting necessitated by changes in adequate education funding.
11:15 a.m. HB 303, establishing a committee to study the teaching of a second language beginning in kindergarten.
HOUSE FINANCE, Rooms 210-211, LOB
2:45 p.m. HB 358-FN-A, relative to the children in need of services program and making an appropriation therefore.
HOUSE LABOR, INDUSTRIAL AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES, Room 307, LOB
10:15 a.m. HB 178-FN-L, relative to binding arbitration in public labor relations disputes.
HOUSE MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY GOVERNMENT, Room 301, LOB
10:00 a.m. HB 280, relative to voting requirements in towns that have adopted official ballot voting.
10:45 a.m. HB 423-L, relative to amending official ballot warrant articles.
11:15 a.m. HB 460-L, relative to amending the default budget in towns that use official ballot voting.
2:00 p.m. HB 305, study of cooperative district apportionment formulas when electric generation facilities exist in district.
SENATE HEALTH, EDUCATION AND HUMAN SERVICES, Room 103, LOB
10:30 a.m. SB 53, relative to district policies regarding parental determination that certain course material is objectionable.
11:00 a.m. SB 48, relative to school performance and accountability.
Wednesday, January 30
SENATE PUBLIC AND MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS, Room 102, LOB
9:00 a.m. SB 73, prohibiting an immediate family member of a school board member from being employed by the district.
Thursday, January 31
HOUSE EDUCATION, Room 207, LOB
2:15 p.m. HB 321-FN-L, requiring proficiency on the statewide assessment for high school graduation.
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