Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro, is the prime sponsor of CACR 3, which is the exact same proposed constitutional amendment from the 2011-12 session that almost passed but failed to reach the three-fifth majority needed. At the time, Republicans controlled 75 percent of the seats.
CACR 12 and now CACR 3 would split the baby in what many believed was and is the best compromise put before lawmakers, although they have never passed a constitutional change that would remove the courts from the state’s public education system.
The proposal says the Legislature alone will have full “power and authority” to set the guidelines and standards for public education, while emphasizing the “responsibility” of the state to maintain a public education system.
The amendment attempts to prevent the state from walking away from its current responsibility to fund public education, but provide greater flexibility in determining how the money is spent, while giving lawmakers full authority to set standards and accountability requirements. Supporters say it would allow the state to better target the money to the neediest communities.
Three years ago, the amendment had broader support than previous iterations, with then-Gov. John Lynch backing the effort, as well as some Democrats including one senator, and a coalition of constitutional lawyers including Eugene Van Loan, Chuck Douglas and Marty Gross.
However it did not have the support of most Democrats or “the Libertarian wing” of Republicans who believed it did not go far enough in establishing the Legislature’s absolute power to decide all education issues including funding.
Consequently the proposal fell short of the needed three-fifth majority in the House after it had barely passed the Senate.
Gov. Maggie Hassan has not thrown her support behind the proposed amendment, but did leave the door open to an amendment that would give lawmakers greater flexibility to target aid to the neediest school districts.
“Gov. Hassan has in the past supported limited constitutional amendments that would allow greater flexibility to target aid. But the governor has also made clear that we must maintain our commitment to strong public schools, which is why she will not support any amendment that allows the Legislature to walk away from its responsibility of adequately funding education,” said her press secretary William Hinkle. “Gov. Hassan will continue to stress that any workable solution must guarantee that the state would retain an ongoing obligation to public schools.”
Bradley said there is consensus among many groups that the language is good and accomplished what was intended.
This time, he said, there is a good core group of supporters. Co-sponsors include Senate President Chuck Morse, R-Salem, the chairs of the two budget writing committees, Jeanie Forrester, R-Meredith, and David Boutin, R-Hooksett, as well as the chair and vice chair of the Senate Education Committee, John Reagan, R-Deerfield, and Nancy Stiles, R-Hampton, and another committee member David Watters, D-Dover, which guarantees a positive vote from the committee.
House sponsors include Majority Leader Jack Flanagan, R-Brookline, and chairs of the budget writing committees Neal Kurk, R-Weare, and Norm Majors, R-Plaistow, and Deputy Speaker Gene Chandler, R-Bartlett.
“If over the long-tern we want a sustainable and viable education funding program in New Hampshire,” Bradley said, “I think you have to give the Legislature this kind of flexibility — not complete flexibility — to target the more needy school districts. This is how we avoid reinstitution of the statewide property tax or move toward an income or sales tax.”
Over the years, communities that have benefited from the Claremont decisions have been reluctant to give lawmakers greater control, fearing they would walk away from their commitment when money is short. But communities that would have to send money to the state under a higher statewide property tax rate want to see lawmakers have greater control and avoid becoming “donor communities” again.
The wording of the proposed amendment is “In fulfillment of the provisions with respect to education set forth in Part II, Article 83, the Legislature shall have the responsibility to maintain a system of public elementary and secondary education and to mitigate local disparities in educational opportunity and fiscal capacity. In furtherance thereof, the Legislature shall have the full power and authority to make reasonable standards for elementary and secondary public education and standards of accountability and to determine the amount of, and the methods of raising and distributing, state funding for public education.”
This debate is bound to bring about the divides that have doomed past efforts.
“If (the amendment) has the 15 votes or not (needed to send it to the House) remains to be seen,” Bradley said. A constitutional amendment requires a three-fifth majority in both the House and Senate to be placed on the general election ballot, and a two-thirds majority of general election voters to change the constitution.
The first public hearing on the proposed amendment is Jan. 27 in Room 103 of the Legislative Office Building before the Senate Education Committee.
