The joint legislative committee studying school administrative units recommended moving most centralized business functions — accounting, human resources, transportation and labor relations — to larger regional entities, largely aligned with county boundaries, and said those entities should be led by elected county school administrators.

The committee’s chair told members the proposal would preserve local school boards’ academic responsibilities while consolidating administrative functions “so we can achieve cost savings and, at the same time, return local control of academics to elected school boards.” The chair cited U.S. Census per‑pupil spending tables showing New Hampshire’s administrative costs are substantially above national norms and a 1993 State Board of Education study describing past consolidation options.

Why it matters: The plan would reduce the number of chief administrative offices from more than 100 SAUs to roughly a dozen county‑level entities (with Manchester and Nashua treated as separate city units). The committee said consolidating administrative work at a larger scale could lower per‑pupil administrative costs and allow more specialization in business services. The committee also recommended creating a continuing joint legislative committee to refine implementation details during the 2027–28 biennium if legislation moves forward.

What members said: Committee members debating the recommendation raised competing concerns. Supporters argued larger units can spread fixed administrative costs over more students and draw on existing county infrastructure for budgeting and shared services. One member pointed to Hawaii, a single statewide district, as an example of lower administrative cost per pupil in some contexts.

Members who opposed the elected‑administrator idea said hiring qualified professionals should not be replaced by a popularity contest. “We hire people with qualifications for the responsibilities of the job,” a member said, arguing an elected county administrator could politicize technical management responsibilities. Minority members said the committee has not yet done sufficient analysis of educational impacts, special education consequences, and cross‑county SAUs, and urged that any legislation be informed by further study and stakeholder hearings.

Timeline and next steps: The chair told the committee that, under legislative calendars discussed, municipal chief administrators for Manchester and Nashua could be elected in November 2027 and the county administrators in November 2028, with county administrators taking office in time for the 2029–30 school year if implementing legislation is passed in 2026. The majority recommended a special joint legislative committee continue work through the 2027–28 biennium to fine‑tune transition details, funding flows and statutory language.

Special education and other outstanding issues: Members agreed special education requires separate treatment; it combines specialized services, evaluations and local instructional delivery and accounts for a substantial share of school spending. The committee noted a separate study commission on special education is active and recommended coordination between that body and any consolidation implementation effort.

Recordkeeping and evidence: The committee asked staff to include the U.S. Census per‑pupil spending extracts, the 1993 State Board study, and proposed statutory language (including the School District Governance Association proposal and related House language) as appendices or as navigable links on the committee webpage so interested parties can review the supporting materials.

What was decided: The meeting closed with the majority adopting report language subject to final edits; minority members signaled they will file a minority report. The committee scheduled a reconvening to finalize votes and editorial corrections on the committee report.

Provenance: Committee discussion and quotations are drawn from the committee’s meeting transcript, including the chair’s presentation of the Census table (00:08:26) and the chair’s summary of the majority recommendation (00:31:36).