COSTING COMMITTEE RELEASES INITIAL DRAFT OF ITS FINAL REPORT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                          Thursday, January 31, 2008

Contact: Senator Iris Estabrook

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COSTING COMMITTEE RELEASES INITIAL DRAFT OF ITS FINAL REPORT

CONCORD – Members of the Joint Legislative Committee on Costing an Adequate Education received draft copies today of the document they’ll be considering as their final report, due to be submitted to the Legislature on Friday, Feb. 1.

The findings in the report are expected to form the foundation of legislation to be considered this year establishing the cost of an adequate education.

“Today’s report is a result of a very thorough committee process. We have heard expert testimony, examined both national and state reports and data, and discussed all issues presented before the committee,” said Rep. Emma Rous (D-Durham), Chairwoman of the House Education Committee and Co-Chairwoman of the Joint Legislative Committee on Costing an Adequate Education. “I am proud of our progress in meeting the needs of all students while focusing resources on our most economically disadvantaged schools and students.”

The committee identified the “universal” costs faced by all schools by assuming a certain number of teachers per pupil. It also factors in administrative costs, transportation, supplies, technology, maintenance and specialty teachers such as art and music to arrive at a cost per pupil of $3,456. The committee recognized that this does not reflect the full cost of educating a student but concluded it does represent the cost of implementing the state’s new definition of an adequate education.

The committee also identified, as part of adequacy, a need for “differentiated aid” for special education students and students learning to speak English. Based on hours of instruction, the committee arrived at an additional cost of $675 per pupil for students who require English language instruction. Special education students would be allocated aid based on whether they are served mainly in regular classrooms or in specialty classrooms.

The report also calls for more aid to schools with students who are economically disadvantaged to meet their needs for an adequate education. Rather than identify a per pupil figure, however, the committee focused on the impact of high proportions of at-risk students in a school as measured by the numbers of students qualifying for free and reduced lunch under federal guidelines.

“In schools with above average poverty rates, the poverty level of the school influences the scores of all children, including those from more advantaged families. Low income students in high-poverty schools are doubly at risk…” the report quotes from a U.S. Department of Education study.

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The committee recommends to the Legislature a per-pupil cost as high as twice the “universal” costs to address schools that have especially high proportions of at-risk students. The committee also recommends directing those additional monies to programs with demonstrated success at improving student achievement, such as reduced class size or after-school homework help.

The report includes a menu of possible options to serve as an example but committee members agreed the list can be expanded as long as there’s evidence a program is effective.

The committee also agreed that state aid should be allocated based on the needs in individual schools as opposed to school districts. This approach recognizes that several New Hampshire communities have both affluent and economically disadvantaged schools within a single district. The committee report recommends that school officials work with lawmakers to develop an effective and efficient accounting method to implement this new approach.

The report includes a previously-released section on kindergarten. The new definition of an adequate education adopted last year calls for all school districts to offer half-day kindergarten in 2008 but only 11 school districts remain statewide that do not offer public kindergarten.

The kindergarten recommendations call for full state funding of portable classrooms using $1.6 million in existing Kindergarten Construction Aid. The report also recommends supplemental adequacy aid payments for the projected enrollment of half-day kindergarten students in 2008 and 2009.

The costing committee, made of five members of the House and five from the Senate, was formed last year following the passage of legislation that adopted a new and more comprehensive definition of an adequate education. The definition formed the foundation of the costing estimates and the next step will be to turn the recommendations of the costing committee into legislation.

Committee co-chairwoman Senator Iris Estabrook (D-Durham) already is working on legislation to put the committee’s recommendations into action.

“I’m developing a piece of legislation to create a sensible system for addressing the challenges faced by schools with a high percentage of at-risk students. It will be built on the findings of this report and establish firm parameters for state aid,” she said.

Senator Joseph Foster, (D-Nashua) a committee member, said he embraced the report but that it wouldn’t end the debate on a constitutional amendment.  

“This plan does the best we can to direct additional aid to needy schools but we’re limited by our constitution and the Londonderry decision. I continue to support passage of a constitutional amendment so we can do an even better job of targeting aid to the students who need it the most,” he said.