Please help Oppose the Cap on New Hampshire Charter Schools!

For Immediate Release
May 29, 2009
New Hampshire Chartered Public Schools Association

Last year the NH Legislature passed permanent funding for charter schools as part of the education funding legislation.  This followed several years of annually leaving continued charter school funding in doubt until the very end of the legislative year leading to angst and uncertainty for parents, students, teachers and administrators.  Last week on May 27th late in the budget process the Senate Finance Committee introduced an amendment that would cap charter school enrollment at 850 students for next year, fewer than the current enrollment of charters across the state.  This means that charter schools would have to hold a reverse lottery and ask students to leave the school. The Head of the Seacoast Charter School, Bill Wilmot, said, “Clearly, the idea of a reverse lottery would be devastating not just to kids and families but to the schools.  This is completely destructive to the community that we have worked so hard to create.”

Assistant Attorney General Bud Fitch testified to the Senate Finance Committee that a cap on the number of charter school students would “raise red flags” in terms of future stimulus money from the federal government.  Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has been very clear that “having arbitrary caps on charters doesn’t make sense.  The analogy I use is, do we ever put a cap on how many kids can graduate every year?”  He has also made it clear in the cover letter to the Governors that accompanied the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Guidance that charter schools must be treated equally and that this will be considered in future stimulus payments.  For New Hampshire, there is still approximately $52 million outstanding in the first round of stimulus as well as the Race to the Top Fund, a competitive grant program that New Hampshire may no longer be eligible for if charter school enrollment is capped.  Eileen Liponis, Executive Director of the New Hampshire Chartered Public Schools Association, stated, “charter schools are relatively new in New Hampshire.  This would be an enormous blow to these schools that have demonstrated their success and have shown that there are many New Hampshire students who need access to some alternative type of schooling to be successful.” 

The Senate floor vote on the budget will happen next week on Wednesday June 3rd.  Charter school advocates hope to have the support of enough Senators to pass a floor amendment that would remove the cap.