Molly Kelly

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, December 1, 2009 Contact: Senator Molly Kelly
(603) 271-4153

COMMITTEE CONSIDERS TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF SCHOOL BUILDING AID

CONCORD – State grants to communities renovating or building new schools have grown by 150 percent in the last decade, from $18.5 million in 1999 to $46.2 million in the latest budget – an unsustainable trajectory according to a legislative committee studying the issue.

The Committee to Study the School Building Aid Grant Program met today to discuss an interim report it plans to issue by Dec. 15. The report will include a recommendation that the Legislature consider a temporary suspension of school building aid for new projects approved after June 30, 2010. The goal is to give the committee more time to study and recommend changes to the program. A final committee report is due by Nov. 15, 2010.

“My committee members plan to review the eligibility criteria and recommend a redesign of the school building aid program with clear objectives and to ensure it is financially sustainable into the future,” said Senator Molly Kelly (D-Keene), who serves as chairwoman of the committee.

“The Committee’s research to date has led to a preliminary sense that schools in greatest need of repair, renovation or replacement do not sufficiently benefit from the existing program while schools in communities with greater local fiscal capacity are readily accessing the funds for building more elaborate and expensive schools. The Committee recognizes the need to revise eligibility criteria to be more fair and equitable to those schools and communities with the greatest need,” a draft of the interim report reads.

The committee is not proposing to change current grant allocations, recognizing that communities were counting on the state’s contributions when building projects were approved. In total, the state has obligations to pay just over $600 million for previously approved projects with an additional cost of $200 million for debt service.

The committee’s draft report also acknowledges that if a temporary suspension goes into effect, some accommodations may have to be made for school districts with safety issues. The committee is expected to approve a final version of its interim report on Dec. 15.

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