Darlene Ayotte

SB 101 represents a radical shift in how New Hampshire defines a "student." By changing the definition of "legal residency" from a specific town to the state level, this bill effectively strips local communities of their right to manage their own school populations. Capacity Mandates: Requiring districts to publicly post "capacity" and accept any out-of-district student until filled turns our local schools into state-managed commodities. Loss of Predictability: Schools will no longer be able to plan for the long term. A district could see a sudden influx or exodus of students, making it impossible to accurately project staffing needs, classroom space, or transportation routes. Financial Chaos: The "Money Follows the Child" Trap The funding model proposed in SB 101 is fiscally irresponsible for "sending" districts. Under this bill: The Burden on Local Taxpayers: If a student leaves, the resident district must pay the receiving school between 80% and 100% of their average per-pupil cost. Fixed Costs Remain: When a student leaves, the district’s fixed costs—heating, building maintenance, and teacher salaries—do not disappear. This model forces the remaining local taxpayers to subsidize the education of a student no longer in their building, while simultaneously trying to cover the unchanged overhead of the local school. Critical Impact on Special Education Perhaps the most concerning aspect of SB 101 is its impact on special education. As written, even if a student chooses to attend school in another district, the resident district remains responsible for the oversight and fiscal aspects of that student’s IEP and programming. This creates a logistical nightmare: one district provides the daily instruction, while another—which has no daily contact with the child—retains the legal and financial liability. This lack of predictability in special education costs could bankrupt smaller districts with already tight operating budgets. New Hampshire residents value their local schools and the community bonds that come with them. SB 101 is a solution in search of a problem that will only result in increased property taxes and decreased local control. I urge this committee to find SB 101 Inexpedient to Legislate. Thank you for your time.