CONCORD, N.H.—Republican and Democratic Senate leaders are teaming up on a constitutional amendment to give lawmakers almost total control over state school aid amounts and who gets it.
Senate Majority Leader Joseph Foster and Republican Leader Ted Gatsas won approval from the chamber's Rules Committee on Tuesday to introduce their amendment. A hearing will be held next Tuesday.
The amendment would give lawmakers "the authority and responsibility to reasonably define the content of an adequate public education and to distribute state funds for public education in the manner that it reasonably determines to alleviate local disparities."
"This has ultimate flexibility," said Foster, D-Nashua.
Gatsas said lawmakers should give people an opportunity to vote on the issue.
Both argue the state must distribute aid to the neediest communities rather than guarantee a per pupil base aid amount to all. Foster said current court mandates require a base amount for every child, which means property wealthy towns get money that would be better spent in poorer ones.
Gov. John Lynch worked privately with Foster and Gatsas for several months on language for an amendment, said Colin Manning, Lynch's press secretary.
"The governor believes strongly we need a constitutional amendment to effectively target aid to communities that need it the most," said Manning. "After 10 years, the governor believes we need to get an amendment on the ballot to let the people have a say."
Amendment supporters have tried numerous times to put an amendment before voters that would shift control over school funding from the courts to lawmakers. All efforts have failed. Both chambers would have to approve an amendment by three-fifths of the membership -- a high hurdle. If approved, two-thirds of voters would have to agree to a constitutional change.
Last spring, the Senate approved an amendment that had Lynch's blessing, but the House voted 187-176 to bar consideration of that amendment or anything similar this year. The latest Senate amendment addresses the same subject. If it passes the Senate, opponents could use parliamentary procedures to attempt to block the House from considering it.
The state has struggled over the school funding issue for years.
In 1991, Claremont and four other property-poor towns sued over the state's reliance on local property taxes to pay for schools. A series of Supreme Court decisions held that the state has a duty to provide an adequate education that is adequately funded.
A key 1997 ruling found the state's reliance on local property taxes for most school funding unconstitutional.
Two years ago, Londonderry and a group of towns won a lawsuit against the state over the aid system put in place in 2005. The state appealed and the state Supreme Court sided with the towns. The funding system was replaced with an interim aid system to give lawmakers time to craft a better one.
The high court gave lawmakers until last June 30 to come up with a definition of an adequate education simple enough to determine its cost. Lawmakers adopted a definition and established a special committee to come up with a price tag.
The suing towns asked the high court to order lawmakers to also come up with funding this year, but the court deferred to the Legislature. In a September order, the court gave the state until July to work on a school funding fix without further court intervention.
The special committee released its report Friday, which did not contain a total estimated cost because no agreement was reached on the threshold to use in selecting the poorest schools for extra state aid. But committee members estimated the cost would be roughly $900 million annually. The state currently distributes $897 million in aid.
That means existing tax sources could be used to pay for the aid if the Legislature and governor accept the recommended system.
Foster, a member of the special committee, said adopting a new aid system should be done regardless of what happens with his amendment.
"I'd like to see them both go forward," he said.
