Senator Dietsch Introduces SB 265, Protecting Stabilization Grants

CONCORD—Today, Senator Dietsch introduced SB 265-FN, relative to maintaining stabilization grants at the current level. This bill would stop stabilization grant cuts, crucial to rural and inner-city education funding, at the level provided in fiscal year 2018 rather than decreasing by 4 percent per year.

Senator Dietsch released the following statement after the hearing:

“Stabilization grants are a critical component of New Hampshire’s education funding formula, intended to alleviate pressure on property-poor towns. The last thing the Legislature should be doing is phasing out this important program and thereby compound the downward spiral: fewer children in the district mean schools get less money, local property taxes increase, families and businesses move to escape property tax increases, fewer children mean even less funding, and so on. SB 265 puts a bandaid on hemorrhaging school funding. I look forward to working with my colleagues on a more complete overhaul of education funding. We need to restore New Hampshire’s values as stated in our state Constitution; public education is necessary to the foundation of any democracy.”