Also on today’s menu:
Withholding Benefits From Foster Children
Tornado In Southern New Hampshire
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Judge David Ruoff in Contoocook Valley School District et al v. State of New Hampshire ruled that the state’s per-pupil funding level of $4,100 falls far short of what it should be paying, putting the figure at $7,356.01 or more. The state has appealed that ruling, and gubernatorial candidates are divided on whether the decision is reasonable.
School districts say the current funding level is too low to cover an “adequate” education as demanded by the state constitution, according to the NH Supreme Court. Inadequate state funding pushes the burden of educational costs onto property taxpayers, many of whom argue that they should not have to pay because they have no children in the schools, and rising taxes are making it difficult for some people to remain in their homes. Others argue that expensive school taxes make it difficult for municipalities to provide the services they need. “Property-poor” cities like Franklin are unable to provide the type of education that wealthier communities can provide.
During the recent National Federation of Independent Business of New Hampshire candidates’ forum, Executive Councilor and gubernatorial candidate Cinde Warmington said, “We need to have a bipartisan discussion around what we are going to do about school funding in our state, and, unfortunately, [the Sununu] administration opted to appeal this decision to the Supreme Court, and so we’re not having that discussion right now. That problem is only going to be solved when we all sit down and talk to each other.”
Former Manchester mayor Joyce Craig has said she supports the lawsuits as well, but Republicans Chuck Morse and Kelly Ayotte said during the forum that they oppose a judge dictating to the legislature what a state should pay. “I certainly think it would be wrong for us in the legislature to react to a non-elected official, a judge, that said a number that he didn’t even know if it would work for the state of New Hampshire,”Morse said. “He just threw it out. That’s not the way to govern.”
Ayotte said, “I don’t believe that that model of what’s going up to the Supreme Court right now is the correct model, and I hope that the Supreme Court will see it that way.”
Discussion: The judge was correct in ruling that the state is not paying its share of educational costs, and his figure of $7,356.01 was a minimum number for the legislature to begin working with. He was not dictating a number, as Morse disingenuously tried to say, but was stating a reality that the NH Legislature has failed to grapple with. Even the state’s education property tax is deceptive, because it is property taxpayers, not the state, that are paying the state’s share as well as their own share of the costs. It is long past time for the legislature to take its obligations seriously.
Withholding Benefits From Foster Children
Many states, including New Hampshire, do not turn over the Social Security and veterans’ benefits that children in foster care earn due to their own disability or based on a parent’s death or disability. Unlike other children in foster care who are fully supported by the state, New Hampshire uses those benefits to help cover the cost of providing the care. Last year, the state collected about $521,000 in benefits from about 90 foster children.
Representative Mary Jane Wallner (D-Concord) sponsored House Bill 1598 to redirect Social Security benefits to the children who have earned them, following the example of other states that have reversed the policy. The Children’s Advocacy Institute reported in April that approximately half of the states had reformed the practice or attempted to do so. Massachusetts ended its diversion of federal benefits this year.
While no one spoke against Wallner’s bill and the Department of Health and Human Services’ legislative liaison said the department supported it, the department asked for more time to consider its implications. Lawmakers sent Governor Chris Sununu an amended version of the bill leaving the current practice in place while requiring DHHS to study and file a report by November detailing how passage of the bill would impact the state budget.
Discussion: While the practice is perfectly legal because it helps to fund state services, similar to the way elders entering nursing homes under Medicaid forfeit their assets in exchange for the care, in the case of foster children, they eventually leave foster care and could use the money to establish themselves in society. If they fail to do so, they end up qualifying for further state aid. Providing those earned benefits thus helps the state in the long run.
Tornado In Southern New Hampshire
Across New England, residents remained on the alert after the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for June 23, but most communities experienced little to no damage. However, a tornado did touch down in Dublin, in southern New Hampshire, damaging trees and lifting and moving a truck.
The tornado hit late Sunday afternoon as strong thunderstorms traveled through, cutting a swath about 40 yards wide and 3.6 miles long, the weather service said. The wind speed reached speeds of 90 miles per hour.
Dozens of trees snapped or were uprooted, but survey crews found no significant structural damage. However, a truck was lifted and moved along the ground, and home had damaged shingles on a roof, the weather service said.
Discussion: In downtown Bristol, there was no significant wind at all, and even the thunderstorms were calmer than they normally are. The cooler temperatures from the previous day’s rain probably helped to reduce the risk here. We did see the yellow sky that accompanies hurricanes and tornadoes, however.