Since the founding of the Josiah Bartlett Center ten years ago, we’ve taken a special interest in the relationship between federal and local governments. The recent sweeping overhaul of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act known as “No Child Left Behind (NCLB)” promises major changes at both the state and local levels. Unfortunately, the nature of those changes and the likely costs associated with them are often obscured by the political back and forth that tends to dominate the issue.

In this study, economist Brian Gottlob determines that a means tested school choice certificate program could save the state budget $32 million over eight years. For this study, Mr. Gottlob examined a program like the ones introduced in the legislature the last two years that would cap the total number of vouchers, direct a full voucher to children at the lowest income levels and award partial vouchers on a sliding scale to more moderate income families.

The Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy’s comprehensive analysis demonstrates that a choice program is consistent with court opinions and permissible under the New Hampshire State Constitution. In addition, a discussion of the Blaine Amendment describes their bigoted history.

A study in partnership with the Milton & Rose D. Friedman Foundation to examine the financial impact of a state school choice pilot program. The study shows that the voucher would be less than the avoided variable costs – resulting in a net financial gain for most communities.

Recent editorials and letters to the editors in various newspapers opposing the proposed constitutional amendment to restore to the Legislature its traditional power to determine education policy and funding (CACR2) all sound a common theme – those who suggest that the Judiciary should be excluded from the process are really only out to shrink the state’s share of the education budget. This is not a fair criticism.

Political leaders from the right and left, Democrats and Republicans, agree that the current system of state aid to education is a failure. Without constitutional change, legislators are stuck tinkering at the edges of the current system that no one likes. Yet opponents of any constitutional amendment contend that we can’t trust the people we elect and the current flawed system would just be replaced with the problems of the past.

The Statewide Property Tax is bad for economic development and the independence of local government. We have a short window of opportunity to repeal the tax and should do so before it becomes financially impossible.

Our study of the effects of New Hampshire’s current education funding system suggests the system is an abject failure that has not improved the relative situation of poorer towns and may be making things worse. Poorer towns have not made progress relative to wealthier towns on education spending and are losing significant ground on tax rates.

This report will enlighten people curious why charter schools did not emerge immediately after
New Hampshire’s charter school law was passed in 1995. It will provide helpful ideas for
New Hampshire legislators seeking to improve New Hampshire’s charter school law and
guidance to those who want to pursue a charter school here.