NH House Leadership on Passage of SB 82--Charter School funds

CONCORD – The House today passed SB 82, which would extend the state board of education’s authority to approve chartered public schools and allow school districts to fund the schools. The current 10-year pilot program allows the state board of education to approve up to 20 public charter schools and advocates say the program has been a success. The bill would also allow public charter schools to apply for federal funds specifically designated for charter schools. House leaders released the following statements:

 “No parent should be forced to send their child to a bad school. This legislation ensures that the money follows the student by allowing state aid to be used toward a charter school out of district. Charter schools provide more public school options for New Hampshire parents and parental choice is the best way to ensure academic achievement,” said House Speaker William O’Brien (R-Mont Vernon).

“School choice is a free market approach that encourages excellence, not just adequacy, in education.  We have an education bureaucracy that is currently failing our teachers and students.  This monopoly ‘one size fits all’ approach that we have created stifles the pace and quality of education. The House will continue to support reform in education that promotes local control and parental choice. Democrats continue to want to dump money into failing schools but Republicans know that competition will make schools stronger,” said House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt (R-Salem).

Comments

[dave]

Until ALL the funds follow the student from his local school to the charter school, this is nearly useless bill. i.e if a school district spend $10K per student, the same amount should go to the charter school.

Of course, my real choice would be to issue every parent a voucher that they can endorse as they choose to a public or private institution. Can't you just see the change in attitude a principal would have if they had to sit across the table from a parent who said, "Before I endorse this voucher we need to have a talk about..."

[C. dog]

Dave –
Wonder how many folks would endorse this big step toward freedom? We could easily tweak this approach by only issuing vouchers – or for the voucher averse: electronic cheques – to those incapable of ponying up the ~ $5K/year/ute education fee. Now that's what I call thrifty Yankee ingenuity, dare I say flinty?
– C. dog strikes out for the Freedom Trail once again