Lynch's education funding plan

[Kat Kanning]

How is this going to be funded?  They're talking about eliminating the statewide property tax.  What evil thing are they planning on replacing it with?  Sales tax?  Income tax?


http://nhdp.org/News.asp?id=256
News

A Bipartisan Plan for Educational Excellence
Presented by Gov. John Lynch, Rep. Jim Craig, Rep. Ken Weyler, Rep. Sharon Nordgren, Rep. Liz Hager, Sen. Bob Odell, Sen. Lou D?Allesandro, Sen. John Gallus, and Sen. Joe Foster

The Bipartisan Plan for Educational Excellence meets the state?s responsibility to ensure that every child in every community has the opportunity for a quality education.

Bringing People Together for a Lasting School Funding Solution: Gov. Lynch showed leadership and kept his promise, bringing together Republicans and Democrats to present a sustainable and lasting solution to school funding. This plan will meet the state?s responsibility to ensure that every child in every community has the opportunity for a quality education.

Directs More State Education Aid to the Communities That Needs It Most: This plan directs more state education aid to the communities that are struggling the most to provide their children with the opportunity for a quality education. Communities with the greatest risk of not being able to provide their children with a quality education will receive the greatest amount of aid.

Eliminates the Statewide Property Tax and Donor Towns: This plan eliminates the statewide property tax and the concept of donor towns -- divisive concepts that have led to lawsuits and blocked real progress on education funding.

Provides Sustainability and Predictability for Communities: Through his budget, Gov. Lynch provides the revenue sources necessary to pay for education funding in the next biennium and for the long-term.

Maintains the State?s Commitment to Education: Under this plan, the state will distribute $455 million in real state aid to education in Fiscal Year 2006 and at least $467 million in Fiscal Year 2007. State aid to education will grow by the Northeast Consumer Price Index and student population growth every year. All factors in the Education Equity Index will be recalculated every two years. To ensure that educational quality is not jeopardized in any school district, a transition period guarantees that no community will receive less than 75 percent of its current real state aid in the next biennium

Creates the Education Equity Index to Meets State?s Responsibility for Education: The plan creates an Education Equity Index to measure a community?s risk of being unable to provide its children with the opportunity for a quality education.

The Education Equity Index uses a broad range of factors ? fiscal capacity (median household income and equalized property valuation per student), classroom resource challenges (number of students receiving free and reduced lunch and number of students with limited English proficiency) and student performance (third and sixth grade assessment tests, graduation rates, and the number of students going on directly to college) ? to measure a community?s risk.

Focuses on Improving Quality: New Hampshire?s goal should be educational excellence. The Education Equity Index sets a target of 20 percent above the statewide average. The plan directs state aid to communities that fall below that target. By including student performance measures, the state can monitor progress in each district. This complements accountability measures already put in place by the legislature.
Posted: 2/11/2005

[GT]

While listening to the NH House online today I heard that they are going to increase the cigarette tax another 28 cents to pay for it. In the same breath they also said that raising the tax should help stop people from smoking. If the tax stops people from Smoking they will have no money for education. Quite a bunch of confused individuals up there in Concord.

[Kat Kanning]

Would 28 cents per pack really raise all that money for schools?

[BillG]

Would 28 cents per pack really raise all that money for schools?

school funding is 455 million of which 435 comes from local property tax.

the difference of 20 million will be targeted aid to city/towns that fall below the "index" and funded via increase in cigarette taxes.

[AlanM]

Andru Volinsky, the lawyer for the Claremont plaintiffs, has already said he feels this plan is unconstitutional, which means he will challenge it in court. The 2nd Claremont decision basically says that "targeted" aid is unconstitutional, according to several lawyers who have spoken out on the issue.
I believe Lynch, like Shaheen, is setting this whole situation up to pass an income or sales tax. i.e. push for an obviously unconstitutional bill, and when it is ruled to be so, throw up your hands and say "I don't know what else to do except to have a statewide sales or income tax." This is what the Dems and Rhinos have wanted for the last 30 years. When are people going to see through the smiles and phony promises and see the truth?

[GT]

So what is the solution?

I know there are a lot of home school proponents around hear, but not everyone can home school.

Londonderry which has an average household income of $70-80,000 and a median property value of $325,000 is already whinning that they are getting ripped off because the Lynch plan will take 3.1 million away from the town.

Public education here is costing close to 9,000 per student. The school budget is 54,000,000 and the town budget is somwhere around 25,000,000. They want to build a 2 new fire stations and a 5.5 million dollar addition to an elementary school.

No one seems to be blinking any eye. When are people going to wake up!

[Pat K]

Alan is correct,these people never stop their tax quest . Falter on this just once and they know once the tax is in it's never going away.

[AlanM]

What is the solution? Privatize all public schools. Eliminate all school attendance requirements. Make education a personnal decision, not a public one. Support charities that help those who need help. IMO.

[GT]

What is the solution? Privatize all public schools. Eliminate all school attendance requirements. Make education a personnal decision, not a public one. Support charities that help those who need help. IMO.

So how do we get from point A to point B?

[AlanM]

What is the solution? Privatize all public schools. Eliminate all school attendance requirements. Make education a personnal decision, not a public one. Support charities that help those who need help. IMO.

So how do we get from point A to point B?

Good question.
I think the first thing is to take away the school attendance requirement. Also, mandatory accreditation. Choice begins when force ends. This will also spur home-schooling initiatives, and it will encourage the growth of private school options.
We need to have a Constitutional Amendment clearly stating the state does NOT have a role to play in education. Neither does the Federal Gov. The Constitutional amendment should also ban the acceptance, by the state, of any Federal monies for education.
Existing public schools can be spun off into private entities, possibly owned by the administrations, staff, and any citizens in the current district, who agree to take on any current debt. Some investment should be required from any of these parties. The same could be done with the University system.
Charities, such as the Liberty Scholarship Fund, can take over the job of supporting low income families needs for education.
Just my thoughts.

[Kat Kanning]

The big thing in our way is the teacher's unions who are getting fat from robbing us blind.

[AlanM]

The big thing in our way is the teacher's unions who are getting fat from robbing us blind.

True, Kat. I think it is important for us to vote AGAINST any and all school funding proposals. This will have the effect of 1) forcing the lay-offs of some staff and teachers, lessening the support to an extent, and 2) encouraging some people to look for alternative schools (i.e. private)

[Russell Kanning]

Starve the beast

[Dave Ridley]

I'm not sure it will be possible to end GovSchool theft via the normal political channels, that institution is pretty entrenched.    I tend to like the Starve the Beast option and pattern my buying habits and what not so as to keep as much money as possible out of government in NH, even if that means feeding government elsewhere.   On the other hand I go out of my way to buy as much NH stuff as possible when there is no tax on it.

Beyond that perhaps a statewide property tax revolt, civil disobedience, would do the trick.   Sales tax is the ultimate enemy; that would be tough to disobey.

I may start a different thread on this to brainstorm ways a tax revolt might work...