CONCORD – Senate and House Leaders, along with Gov. Lynch, announced today that an agreement has been reached on a constitutional amendment regarding education funding. The agreed to version of CACR 12 reads:
[Art.] 5-c [Public Education]. In fulfillment of the provisions with respect to education set forth in Part II, Article 83, the legislature shall have the responsibility to maintain a system of public elementary and secondary education and to mitigate local disparities in educational opportunity and fiscal capacity. In furtherance thereof, the Legislature shall have the full power and authority to make reasonable standards for elementary and secondary public education and standards of accountability and to determine the amount of, and the methods of raising and distributing, state funding for public education.
Senate President Peter Bragdon, R-Milford, commented on the significance of CACR 12 saying:
“Solving our education funding challenge here inNew Hampshirehas been one of our top priorities this session. Because we’ve had bi-partisan support and been so close on wording these last few weeks, I had great confidence we would reach an agreement. I want to thank Gov. Lynch and Speaker O’Brien for their willingness and determination to find common ground on this issue making it possible to implement the best education forNew Hampshirestudents going forward.”
“If CACR 12 is passed by the voters, lawmakers will have the responsibility to mitigate local disparities by targeting aid to the neediest school districts. The Legislature will also determine the amount of and the methods of raising and distributing state funding for public elementary and secondary education.”