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Concord, N.H. - Yesterday evening, Reaching Higher NH released an analysis of the school voucher bill that was attached as a non-germane amendment to HB1636 by New Hampshire Senate Republicans late Thursday night. The analysis shows that the bill would take $266 million from New Hampshire public schools over the life of the legislation while giving an additional $53 million to current private school students. This is a drastic increase in spending, even compared to the bill House Republicans rejected twice last week due to its high cost. A previous Reaching Higher NH analysis showed that the school voucher bill as originally amended would take $141 million from New Hampshire public schools. The significant cost increase from the previous bill to the current one is a result of student eligibility increasing from roughly 38,000 students to 172,000 students. "Governor Sununu's slapdash approach to legislating is the reason his key priorities keep getting rejected by his own party," said NHDP Chair Ray Buckley. "The Republicans who rejected school vouchers because of the cost will surely reject this reckless bill that steals twice as much from public schools as the last one. Sununu is desperate to sneak this unconstitutional, expensive, and unaccountable bill through to please the Koch Brothers no matter who it will hurt and what it will cost New Hampshire taxpayers." Despite Governor Sununu making school vouchers his top legislative priority, New Hampshire House Republicans rejected his original school voucher bill bill, SB 193, twice last week. But Sununu won't let his promise to the Koch Brothers fall by the wayside: House Republicans will vote on the new school voucher bill on Thursday.
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