FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 1, 2008

Contact: Speaker Terie Norelli's Office

(603) 271-3664

SPEAKER TERIE NORELLI TESTIFIES ON

EDUCATION COSTING BILL

CONCORD – Today, Speaker of the New Hampshire House Terie Norelli (D-Portsmouth) testified before the House Education Committee during a public hearing on SB539, a bill which determines the cost of a constitutionally adequate education.

The House Education Committee is examining the policy aspects of the bill. If passed by the Education Committee, and then the full House, SB539 will then move on to the Finance Committee.

"This legislation takes us through the next step in fulfilling our constitutional obligation to provide an adequate education to all New Hampshire students," said Norelli. "Last session, we adopted the definition of an adequate education. As part of that legislation we established a commission to consider its cost. I am proud of the commission for their efforts to constitutionally determine the cost by actually examining the components of an adequate education, rather than resorting to spreadsheets.”

"The House is also currently deliberating a constitutional amendment to allow for targeting of aid based on fiscal capacity,” Norelli continued. “While the question of targeting state aid within adequacy deserves robust discussion, and will receive due consideration by the Finance Committee and the House, it is important to note that it is an issue of funding. I believe it is imperative that we pass a bill that associates a cost to the definition of adequate education that we adopted last year.”

Senate Bill 539 allocates aid per pupil based on universal costs required in all schools and differentiated costs for schools with higher concentrations of economically disadvantaged pupils. Schools also get allocations for the number of children receiving special education services or English language instruction. The legislation, as passed by the Senate, also includes funding for “fiscal capacity disparity aid” to help towns that struggle to raise enough money on a smaller tax base to meet the needs of their students.

“Members of both the House and Senate have worked diligently and thoughtfully on this critical legislation. I commend their hard work in ensuring that the cost of an adequate education reflects the definition, and I look forward to careful deliberation by the House,” said Norelli.

Link to SB539: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2008/SB0539.html