Senate committee hears bill to require public votes before school boards reject gifts

Senate Bill 69, introduced to the Senate Education Committee Feb. 1 by Sen. Keith Murphy, would require local school boards to discuss and publicly vote on any decision to reject gifts, grants or donations to the district. Murphy framed the bill around a widely publicized local incident in which a school business administrator declined a church donation and pursued debt collection for unpaid lunch balances.

“In this case … the business administrator is not elected. He's hired by the school board,” Murphy told the committee while explaining his reason for the bill. He said the measure does not force boards to accept donations but requires that a board publicly explain and vote on any rejection so voters can see the reasons.

Committee members asked whether the bill would overreach on local control, whether towns already have gift policies, and whether the measure should also require public votes to accept gifts (not only to reject them). Murphy said he would be open to amendments and emphasized that the bill’s intent is transparency: if the board or an appointed administrator turns down a donation, the community should be told why.

Members of the committee discussed several related points: some towns and school districts already have gift‑acceptance policies; elected board members can revise or discipline appointed administrators; and an amendment adding an affirmative vote for acceptance could be considered to protect donor privacy in small gifts. The hearing included general support for the principle of public transparency but also questions about operational impacts and privacy for small, targeted donations.

No vote or committee action occurred during the hearing; the bill remains at the hearing stage.