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Last night the House Finance Committee amended the Constitutional amendment that the Senate passed at Governor Lynch's recommendation.
The big change is: there is no longer a requirement that the state pay for 50% of an adequate education statewide.
The effect of the amendment now appears to simply be: the state will no longer be required to ensure an adequate education. It may choose to chip in, or not.
The amendment was approved by the Finance committee on a party line vote: every Democrat supporting it, every Republican opposed.
It must now be passed by the 2/3rds of the House (I am not clear on whether the Education committee will make its own recommendation) and then go back to the Senate. If it gets that far it goes on the ballot in November 2008.
In fulfillment of the state's duties set forth in the preceding article, the legislature shall have the authority and responsibility to reasonably define standards for elementary and secondary education in its public schools, determine the level of state funding thereof and establish standards of accountability. The legislature shall have the authority to allocate state funds for public education in a manner that honors the rights and responsibilities of local communities and that reasonably will mitigate local disparities in educational opportunity and fiscal capacity, provided that every school district receives a reasonable share of the state funds.
mitigate: make less severe.
The amendment says that the state's responsibility is no longer ensuring an adequate education throughout New Hampshire. Instead, the state will have a responsibility to make things a bit better than they would be with no state funding.
