Committee hears bill to raise New Hampshirestate share of school adequacy and add equity factors

CONCORD, N.H. Representative Dave Luno introduced House Bill 651 during the House Education Committee hearing, proposing an increase in the stateshare of the cost of an adequate education and adding differentiated aid aimed at making school funding more equitable.

Luno, who identified himself as representing Hopkinton and other towns, said HB 651 "builds on what we talked about last week in House Bill 550" and would "increase the state share of the cost of an adequate education from $4,100 to $7,356.01." He told committee members the bill would also "add increases to the three differentiated costs" that feed the adequacy formula, specifically citing free and reduced-price lunch (as a proxy for low income), English-language learners and special education students.

"The Rand case is about fairness," Luno said during his presentation, adding that the bill seeks to recognize "the…