New Hampshire house speaker Terie Norelli throws her weight behind a school funding constitutional amendment – but not the one backed by Governor Lynch.
The amendment Terie Norelli and top House Democratic leaders say they’ll back, shares a key trait with that supported by Governor Lynch: it would give lawmakers the leeway to target school aid. Where it departs – and house Democratic leaders say this is just as important -- is that it seeks to preserve the current standard of judicial review. Speaker Norelli, who’s never before supported a school funding amendment, calls the measure a good compromise.
“We said how can we come up with an amendment that does allow for a an efficient use of funds, getting it to the students and communities that need it the most without giving any room for the legislature to backpedal on state aid for education. I believe this Constitutional Amendment does that.”
Specifically, the amendment would require the state to define an adequate education, determine its cost, and pay for it with state dollars. The distribution of that money would be entirely at the discretion of lawmakers, which means some towns could see no aid whatsoever.
“That is certainly a large concern with a significant block of Republican voters."
Hooksett Republican David Hess is Deputy House minority leader. Unlike Norelli and most House Democrats, Hess has backed many of the 33 Claremont-inspired amendments proposed and shot down over the past decade. Last year, the GOP scuttled a Democrat-backed amendment because it failed to guarantee that every town receive some state aid. Hess stopped short of promising the same outcome this time around, but he does say changes will be required for the amendment to gain the 237 votes it will need to get out of the House.
“And we have told the governor that with a properly worded amendment we can deliver 120 to 130 votes. His problem is not with us. His problem is with the Democrats, the Democrats in the House.”
And Governor Lynch role in this debate is a key question. On the one can’t influence the outcome by threatening a veto – because Governor’s can’t veto amendments. But on the other hand, unlike house Democrats, for Lynch enacting a Constitutional amendment has long been a top priority. Yesterday, the Governor declined to weigh in with much specificity, but he did make clear that he expects the proposal to evolve.
“Well I’m certainly happy that the speaker recognizes we have a need for a Constitutional amendment, but we’ll now have to work on the language to make it acceptable to the people needed to pass it.”
That work may be intense -- and as with all previous school funding amendments – fruitless, because the language needed to build a truly bipartisan coalition may not exist. Nor may an amendment that can quell the all but inevitable criticism from local education officials. Dean Michener is with the state school boards association.
“The amendment really doesn’t do anything for local school districts and there would really be no protection for those average wealth districts for however the legislature chooses to define fiscal capacity.”
The House Finance Committee will meet to discuss this latest amendment, as well as all others still under consideration next Tuesday. The amendments will head to the full house later this month. Should a proposal secure the needed 60 percent support from lawmakers in both chambers, it will go to the November ballot, where it will require 2/3rds support from voters.
