Stop NH State education aid act (SB 539)!

SB539: "AN ACT relative to the cost of an adequate education and provision of fiscal capacity disparity aid."

This bill has passed the House and is on it's way to the  Finance Committee!  We need your help!!

GOAL: Send this petition to Governor Lynch asking him to veto this bill, send it back to the House & Senate and submit a fair and equitable plan for ALL towns!

Donor towns pay attention!  This will adversly affect your community!
(See list of donor towns below...)

The latest education funding proposal by Sen. Iris Estabrook, D-Durham, a member of the committee that created this proposal. would cost more for at least half the towns in the state and Derry stands to be the biggest loser.  The Derry Cooperative School District would lose $7.4 million for the 2010-11 school year if the proposal passes.

A recent update to the plan decreases Derry's loss to $3.75 million next year and an additional $3.75 million over the following 2 years. Derry State Sen. stated the modified plan "will cause the district to slowly suffer."

Although the formula would increase the amount of state aid, six of 13 Southern New Hampshire towns would receive less money than they do now.

Sen.Estabrook said that she knew the formula wasn't going to please everyone, but it was a step in the right direction.

She said the "wealthiest" 25 communities in the state actually would lose state aid.   The formula gives $3,450 to every student in the state. School districts with more special education students, free and reduced price lunch recipients and English-as-a-second-language students would receive additional state aid.

Derry is a wealthy community? Chester, Danville, Newton, Sandown and Londonderry would lose anywhere from $100,000 to $1.8 million each.

But Atkinson, Hampstead, Kingston, Pelham, Plaistow, Salem and Windham would receive more money than they currently do?  
How exactly does this formula work and how is this fair where wealthier communites get an increase in state aid?

Here is the list of donor towns that stand to lose money from their school budget:
Acworth, Albany, Alstead, Bartlett, Bath, Belmont, Benton, Bow, Bradford, Bridgewater, Brookline, Cambridge, Carroll, Center Harbor, Charlestown, Chester, Cornish, Danbury, Danville, Deerfield, Derry, Dix Grant, Dixville, Dorchester, Easton, Eaton, Effingham, Epping, Errol, Fitzwilliam, Franconia, Freedom, Gilsum, Goshen, Grafton, Greenville, Groton, Hales Location, Harts Location, Haverhill, Hebron, Henniker, Holderness, Hopkinton, Jackson, Keene, Lee, Lempster, Lincoln, Litchfield, Londonderry, Lyman, Madbury, Marlborough, Marlow, Meredith, Middleton, Milford, Mont Vernon, Moultonboro, New Boston, New Castle, New Ipswich, New London, Newbury, Newington, Newton, North Hampton, Northwood, Odell, Piermont, Pinkham's Grant, Pittsburg, Pittsfield, Plainfield, Raymond, Roxbury, Rye, Salisbury, Sandown, Sandwich, Stark, Stoddard, Strafford, Stratford, Success, Sugar Hill, Sunapee, Tilton, Tuftonboro, Unity, Warner, Waterville Valley, Weare, Wentworth, Wentworth Location, Westmoreland, Wolfeboro.These towns are destined to lose over one million: Weare, Brookline, Danville, Derry, Sandown, Litchfield, Londonderry, Keene, Rye, Moultonborough.

Please join me in supporting this petition and presenting it to Governor Lynch asking him to veto this bill!
Send Comment to Governor Lynch----> http://www4.egov.nh.gov/governor/goveforms/comments.asp


NH House of Representatives:
http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/members/wml.aspx

Link to the bill:
http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2008/sb0539.html

Thank you!
Neil DeLuca
Resident of Derry, NH

NH EDUCATION Committee

Iris W. Estabrook
8 Burnham Avenue
Durham, NH 03824-3011
Phone: (603)868-5524
email: iris.estabrook@leg.state.nh.us

Joseph A. Foster
9 Keats Street
Nashua, NH 03062-2509
Phone: (603)891-0307
email: joseph.foster@leg.state.nh.us

Martha Fuller Clark
152 Middle Street
Portsmouth, NH 03801-4306
Phone: N/A
email: martha.fullerclark@leg.state.nh.us

Molly M. Kelly
89 Colonial Drive
Keene, NH 03431
Phone: (603)352-5605
email: molly.kelly@leg.state.nh.us

Peter E. Bragdon
P.O. Box 307
Milford, NH 03055
Phone: (603)673-7135
email: peter.bragdon@leg.state.nh.us

Robert 1. Letourneau
30 South Avenue
Derry, NH 03038
Phone: N/A
email: robert.letourneau@leg.state.nh.us
*Note: Sen. Letourneau voted NO for this bill in the Senate.