AFT-NH Testimony on HB 550
From Debrah Howes, President AFT-NH
Thank you, Chairman Ladd and Members of the House Education Funding Committee, for reading 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 support for HB 550.
This bill increases the base cost of an adequate education and expands the definition the state uses for an adequate education. We think both of these are long overdue steps in the right direction. As you are well aware, every Granite State child has the constitutional right to the opportunity for an adequate public education through their public school district. This opportunity for a public education must be robust enough to prepare the student for the workforce, career, service, further studies and full civic participation in the community after finishing school.
By increasing the base adequacy aid to $7356.01 from its current $4,182.00 would allow NH school districts to meet the learning needs of students and ease the burden being carried by local property taxpayers. Currently local property taxpayers are providing about 3/4ths of the cost of running our public schools. Since what each community can raise varies widely based on community property wealth, the quality of the public education, which is a constitutional right, also varies widely, and that is not fair to our Granite State children.
Expanding the definition of an adequate education to include the cost of teachers, paraeducators, principals, administrative assistants, custodians, school nurses, school counselors, library-media specialists and the required employment benefits for all that staff reflects realistic costs for running schools with the trained, professional staff needed to meet students’ needs. Actual student teacher ratios must be considered for how they impact the student experience in the classroom rather than as a mathematical average of adults with a certification in a building compared to the number of students in a building. Of course, the cost of maintaining the building so that it is a healthy place for students to learn and staff to work, including heat in the winter and cooling in late spring and early fall is necessary. Transportation is needed so you are not disadvantaging families who do not live a safe walk, or short drive, from the school. And definitely, school funding must keep pace with inflation.
Passing HB 550 would be a huge step towards the NH Legislature finally meeting its constitutional obligation to all Granite State children. The NH Legislature must 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 HB 550 Ought to Pass.