Kim Caron

I am the Superintendent for the Surry School District. Surry is one of the few sending districts in New Hampshire that does not operate any schools. Surry educates resident students via AREA and tuition agreements with the Keene School District. At our March school board meeting, we discussed the potential implications of the open enrollment legislation. As a small sending district, the majority of our budget is student tuition, transportation, and special education expenses. Mandatory open enrollment has the potential to make already fluid student enrollment predictions and related financial planning even more challenging. In addition, mandatory open enrollment has the potential to increase district administrative costs, transportation costs, and special education expenses. This could be devastating to a small community such as Surry. I understand that there will be a public hearing on SB101 this Wednesday, March 25th. Please know that the Surry School Board is very concerned about the educational and fiscal implications of this bill. The implementation of mandatory open enrollment requires thoughtful discussion, detailed research, and comprehensive financial planning. Sincerely, Kim M. Caron