AFT-NH Testimony on SB 295
From Debrah Howes, President AFT-NH
Thank you, Chairman Murphy and Members of the Senate Education Finance Committee, for taking my testimony.
My name is Debrah Howes. I am the president of the American Federation of Teachers -NH.
AFT-NH represents 3,500 teachers, paraeducators and school support staff, public service employees and higher education staff across the Granite State. We work with close to 30,000 students in public schools across the state, all of them entitled to a robust public education, which is their constitutional right as Granite State citizens.
I am here today to express our staunch opposition to SB 295.
The NH Constitution places a high value on educating the children of the Granite State. In Part 2, Article 83, the NH Constitution guarantees each Granite State child the opportunity for a robust public education through public district schools and places the responsibility for paying for it squarely on the state. I use the word robust because it is clear the term “adequate” used in the constitution does not have the commonplace meaning of just barely enough, but rather an education sufficient to prepare the student for working life, further studies and full civic participation in the community after finishing school. We saw the overwhelming support for robust public education in the hearing to pare back the subjects covered by the definition of adequate when.
Parents of course have the right to seek the educational setting for their child that they think is best, but the State is under no constitutional obligation to pay for this. The NH Legislature made the choice to subsidize some families’ private educational choices in 2021 through its voucher law, originally aimed at families living near the poverty level, then expanded eligibility to reach close to the median income of Granite Stater. This program, which is a choice the legislature has made with taxpayer money, currently serves about 5300 students and costs $27.5 million this year. The NH Legislature has done this all while still failing to meet its constitutional duty to the vast majority of students who rely on the public school districts for the education they deserve and have a constitutional right to. Now SB 295 is asking to expand their spending of choice by subsidizing any families’ private educational decisions, while failing to meet the constitutional obligation to the 155,000 students in Granite State public schools.
At a time when we have already been warned about the need for state budget cuts across the board, when revenues are lagging and there are projections of a $20 million deficit this year, now is not a time to expand eligibility for an optional spending program that could cost up to $102,000,000 a year in new state spending.
The Granite State simply cannot afford to fund two education systems: one through the public district schools that any child can attend and another through a patchwork of private opportunities and settings that can reject any student or family that does not fit with the providers’ mission or values. If that was enough of a concern, there is also this. There is currently too little transparency in the existing voucher program to know whether students are being well served academically, or if the taxpayers of the state are getting anything in return for their financial outlay. Expanding the program to make it universally available at this time would be extremely unwise.
Here are some things we do know, both from the Granite State and from other states who have adopted universal voucher programs.
- In a bipartisan RABA Research poll of NH voters conducted in late January, 78% do not approve of taking public tax money and using it for private educational choices instead of public schools that serve all students.
- 74 % said they did not want the existing school voucher program expanded.
- This tracks with findings in other states where voters have rejected school vouchers when given the chance in ballot measures. Voters in Colorado, Kentucky and Nebraska, all rejected school vouchers in the election of 2024.
- Vouchers do not save taxpayers money because most of the cost of the program is for students who were already in private settings. In NH about 75% to 80% of the participants were already in private schools or homeschooled before enrolling in the voucher program.
- The cost of universal school vouchers in NH is estimated to be $100 million each year, which is mostly new education spending for the state.
- With revenues down and deficit projected, expanding vouchers would crowd out needed spending on improving student opportunities and supports in our public schools and relieving the burden on local taxpayers.
- A universal voucher program could even drain resources from other state priorities in the general fund. This has happened in other states with universal voucher programs.
- Arizona’s universal voucher program was projected to cost the state about $65 million in 2024 and $125 million in 2025. But, the AZ Governor’s Office now estimates price tag is more than 1,346% higher at a cost of $940 million per year. This will put Arizona in a potential $320 million budget shortfall in its General Fund, which is used to pay for public schools, transportation, fire, police, and prisons. This new estimate means that more than half of all K-12 education funding in Arizona will now benefit voucher students—who comprise only 8% of the student population.
- The Florida universal voucher is already more than $2 billion over budget in year one. The Florida Senate projected that its voucher expansion would cost $646 million. But independent researchers estimated that the program would actually cost almost $4 billion, and actual costs are already approaching that amount—$3.35 billion in the first year. In just one county, Duval, school officials report a $17 million budget shortage due to funds lost to the vouchers.
- Most students in Indiana’s universal voucher program come from well-off families. During the 2022- 2023 school year, voucher recipients were more likely to come from families that made more than $100,000 per year than families that made less than $50,000 per year.
- A 2024 compliance review of applicants to the NH voucher program found errors in 1 out of 4 applications that brought their eligibility into question. That was only a spot check of 200 applications. A complete audit by an independent auditor has not been done.
- In Arizona, Attorney General Kris Mayes has filed charges against people who created “ghost children” to claim voucher dollars.
- In Utah, the state’s voucher middle-man vendor spent more than state law allowed on administrative fees and expenses.
- In Florida, investigative reporting has found voucher payments to schools that faked fire safety and facilities inspections. Also in Florida, families have purchased big screen TVs, meal delivery kits and Disney World field trip passes with voucher funding.
- In NH we have no public data that vouchers are improving academic outcomes for the students using them. Data on the voucher program is considered proprietary to the scholarship provider, a private organization contracting through the state.
- Where data has been publicly available nationwide, report after report shows that vouchers do not improve academic outcomes for students.
- In many cases, vouchers cause a decline in academic achievement that rivals or even exceeds those caused by natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic.
- A recent national survey on looking at opinions on education conducted in late November of 2024 found that a bipartisan majority of voters prefer to strengthen opportunities and supports in public schools rather than giving individual families taxpayer money to pay for their own choices. This held true regardless of what party the voter belonged to, which candidate they voted for in the election or whether they had children in the schools. Most voters want to see public schools well-funded so they can support the learning needs of all students.
Now is not the time to expand NH school voucher program to be a subsidy available for every family regardless of wealth. If anything, it is time to provide greater oversight of the current spending and efficacy of the program because taxpayer money is a finite resource. And it certainly is time to look carefully at the NH Legislature finally meeting its constitutional obligation to fully fund our public district schools so that students in every district can have smaller class sizes; lots of individualized attention to tailor learning to students’ needs and interests; and art, music and outdoor learning, which are known to enhance kids’ imagination and even a desire to come to school. This is what would prepare Granite State children for the workforce, higher education and civic participation in their communities.
I urge you to find SB 295 Inexpedient to Legislate.
Thank you,
Debrah Howes
President, AFT-New Hampshire
Voters overwhelmingly support better public school funding to help students learn and thrive rather than vouchers!
https://all4ed.org/publication/voters-views-on-education-in-2024/
