House lawmakers are scheduled to take up a bill Wednesday to increase annual per pupil funding for New Hampshire’s nearly two dozen charter schools.
The state’s charter schools currently receive about $5,500 per student, or roughly 40 percent of the average cost per pupil in New Hampshire.
The bill that goes before the House on Wednesday bumps that up to 50 percent.
Karin Cevasco, co-founder of the Gate City Charter School for the Arts, says any additional funding is welcome.
“It’s really a small increase, considering that what the state pays now per charter school student is less than half of the state average. But just having that funding there really makes it possible to be sustainable.”
Her school is among four new charter schools slated to open this fall, bringing the total number in the Granite State to 22.
The bill is a holdover from last year’s legislative session.
The Department of Education estimated last year it would cost another $1.1 million annually to pay for the increase.
