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Open‑enrollment bill sparks debate over funding, capacity and transport; districts, boards and superintendents testify
Summary
House Bill 741 would make all districts 'open enrollment' and set a funding formula where the resident district pays 80% of average cost per pupil to the receiving district; hearing included testimony from a school board chair, NHSBA, a superintendent running an existing program and local officials who raised unpredictability and equity concerns.
Representative Glenn Cordelli presented House Bill 741 to the Senate Education Committee, saying the measure would expand current open‑enrollment law so every district becomes an open‑enrollment district and parents may enroll students in another district subject primarily to school capacity. “The status quo was not working in many places,” Cordelli said, and he described a funding mechanism where the pupil’s resident district would pay 80 percent of its average cost per pupil to the receiving district while retaining 20 percent and remaining responsible for special‑education services.
The bill drew immediate skepticism from school‑board and administrative witnesses about predictability, inequity and local fiscal impacts. Brian Winslow, speaking for the…
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