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Committee advances bill to make charter public school buildings clearly eligible for governmental use
Summary
The Executive Departments and Administration Committee voted 12-0 to advance House Bill 1093, a technical change to state law that explicitly treats public charter school facilities as public school buildings for zoning and permitting, after testimony that some towns had treated charter schools as private entities.
The Executive Departments and Administration Committee voted 12-0 to advance House Bill 1093, which would clarify that public school buildings include facilities owned, operated and occupied by public charter schools established under RSA 194-B.
Representative Tanya Donnelly, the bill’s private sponsor, told the committee the measure is a “cleanup” intended to restore the prior interpretation so charter public schools are not treated differently when seeking zoning approvals or building permits.
Jessica Wachsman, dean of operations at the Birches Academy Charter School in Salem, testified that town-level interpretations of current law have required some charter schools to follow the rules and pay the fees normally applied to private entities. “One program in Nashua had over a $100,000 in additional fees because they didn’t recognize her as a public school,” Wachsman said, and Birches “had to pay over $20,000 in fees” after purchasing its building and seeking renovations and changes.
Wachsman told the committee she and other charter-school leaders found that municipalities interpret the statute differently, requiring traffic studies, driveway changes and other conditions in some towns that public (non-charter) schools do not face.
The chair said the amendment adopted by the committee inserts charter public schools explicitly into the governmental-use provision (recorded in testimony as RSA 674:54) rather than changing the general state building-code definition, which the chair said would be a cleaner, more targeted fix to reduce future misinterpretation.
The chair moved Amendment 2026-1013h and Representative Sellers seconded. After discussion the clerk called the roll; the amendment was adopted. Representative Grotta then moved that HB 1093 “ought to pass” as amended; the motion was seconded, the clerk called the roll again, and the committee voted to advance the bill 12-0.
The chair said there were no objections to placing the bill on the consent calendar. The committee closed executive session, noted final action had been taken on its house bills, and adjourned.
The bill will proceed to the next stage of the legislative process; the committee report will accompany the bill to the calendar.
