Portsmouth school board raises alarm over open-enrollment bill and unanimously opposed latest version

Members of the Portsmouth School Board told City Council members during the Feb. 5 work session that they unanimously voted at a recent board meeting to oppose a proposed state open-enrollment bill, citing uncertainty about budgeting, busing, special-education costs and the interaction with existing SAU50 area agreements.

School leaders said the legislation could allow students to move districts without clear caps or predictable timelines, making enrollment forecasting and fixed-cost budgeting difficult. The board expressed concern that if families leave under an open-enrollment mechanism, the district could lose per-pupil revenue while fixed staffing and capital costs remain, which could push per-pupil costs higher.

Dr. Mclofflin and other board members said districts statewide are largely opposing the bill out of similar concerns and that more than 500 schoolboard members and superintendents have signed on to that opposition. Board members described preliminary policy work in their policy committee to understand options—such as setting local limits if legally allowed or collaborating regionally to coordinate a response—but they said many legal and operational details remain unclear.

The school department offered to present the SAU50 area agreement and to brief the council again as the bill moves through the legislature. The board’s unanimous opposition was reported, but the transcript did not record a roll-call vote count in the meeting remarks; staff said they would provide documentation from the board meeting on request.