Revision: May 3, 2024, 9:51 a.m.
SB 219-FN-LOCAL - VERSION ADOPTED BY BOTH BODIES
01/03/2024 0030s
03/21/2024 1262s
2023 SESSION
23-1023
10/04
SENATE BILL 219-FN-LOCAL
AN ACT requiring mandatory reporting by school districts of school expenses.
SPONSORS: Sen. Murphy, Dist 16; Sen. Innis, Dist 7; Rep. Kofalt, Hills. 32; Rep. Cordelli, Carr. 7; Rep. Cushman, Hills. 28
COMMITTEE: Education
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AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill requires school districts to post mandatory reports of school expenses, including average cost per pupil, average teacher salaries, and top administrator salaries. It also creates a civil remedy for the enforcement of this requirement.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
01/03/2024 0030s
03/21/2024 1262s 23-1023
10/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Three
AN ACT requiring mandatory reporting by school districts of school expenses.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Legislative Findings. The general court finds that:
I. ? The United States spends far more on education per student than any other nation in the world except Luxembourg. At the same time, the United States lags behind other developed nations in teacher salaries, paying its teachers 75 percent of the salary of German teachers.
II. The United States allocates a greater share of its education spending to non-teaching staff than any other country in the world—nearly double the average among developed nations of 15 percent. In New Hampshire, this problem is particularly severe. While New Hampshire’s average cost-per-pupil is 94 percent of Massachusetts’, our average teacher salary is 77 percent of Massachusetts’. In Massachusetts, a teacher is paid 4 times the cost of one pupil, while in New Hampshire a teacher is paid only 3.4 times the cost of one pupil.
III. The size and wealth of New Hampshire’s education bureaucracy has skyrocketed. Over two decades, New Hampshire’s cost-per-pupil has increased by 77 percent, adjusted for inflation, while our teacher salaries have increased by only 1 percent. In the same period, New Hampshire has increased its non-teaching staff by 80 percent while increasing the number of teachers by only 23 percent. Administrative bloat has had dire implications for teacher pay and quality. In 2021, one New Hampshire high school teacher was hired at a salary of $37,714, less than a starting salary at a nearby Walmart. Meanwhile, New Hampshire superintendents are paid salaries of up to $178,133, while assistant superintendents are paid salaries of up to $136,500. At least 8 school administrative units in New Hampshire employ 2 or more assistant superintendents. Diversity professionals, now employed by both school districts and administrative units, are paid salaries of up to $153,380.
IV. These findings demonstrate that New Hampshire’s education spending is being unnecessarily, systematically, and progressively absorbed by an ever-expanding and privileged bureaucratic class. Unless this is addressed, the statewide problem and continued increases in education spending will fail to affect meaningful improvements in teacher pay and quality. The general court places the interests of students first, it hereby enacts the following rebalancing of teacher and administrator pay in New Hampshire.
2 New Subdivision; Students First Act. Amend RSA 189 by inserting after section 74 the following new subdivision:
Students First Act
189:75 Definitions. In this subdivision:
I. “Cost-per-pupil” refers to the cost-per-pupil within a school district and shall mean the lowest of:
(a) The total expenditures associated with the daily operation of schools divided by the average daily membership in attendance;
(b) Any reasonable and good faith estimate of I(a); or
(c) An amount determined in good faith by the department of education to correspond to I(a).
II. “Administrator” shall include superintendents, assistant superintendents, directors or coordinators of diversity, equity, and inclusion, or functionally equivalent officials whether or not their salaries are listed by the department of education, and business managers or administrators.
III. “Corresponding school administrative unit” shall mean the school administrative unit which includes a given school district.
189:76 Mandatory Report to Voters.
189:76 Mandatory Report to Voters.
I. Before any meeting at which any school district adopts a school budget, whether or not the district has adopted the provisions of RSA 194-C:9-b, a mandatory report to voters must be posted in at least 3 appropriate places, 2 of which must be places of business or other public locations, and one of which shall be the local newspaper or, if a local newspaper is not available, the district’s website. The report must be posted at least 7 days, excluding Sundays and legal holidays, prior to the meeting.
II. The report shall display the name of the school district, be prominently titled “Mandatory Report to Voters on School Expenses,” and shall contain three line graphs and one table. When posted in public locations, the report shall be displayed on two pages which are each eighteen inches wide and twenty-four inches tall.
III. The first line graph shall be titled “Average Cost Per Pupil” and shall display the district’s annual cost-per-pupil over the previous 10 years. The second line graph shall be titled “Average Teacher Salary” and shall display the district’s yearly average teacher salary over the previous 10 years. A good faith effort shall be made to adjust each annual statistic for inflation using the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Inflation Calculator or an equivalent resource. Each yearly statistic shall be clearly labeled. In each graph, the upper and lower boundaries of the y-axis must be capped at the nearest thousand dollars.
IV. The third line graph shall be titled “Administrator Salaries” and shall display annual totals of all salaries paid to administrators employed by the district and corresponding school administrative unit over the previous 10 years. A good faith effort shall be made to adjust each annual statistic for inflation using the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Inflation Calculator or an equivalent resource. Each yearly total shall be clearly labeled. The upper and lower boundaries of the y-axis must be capped at the nearest hundred thousand dollars.
V. The table shall be titled “Top Administrator Salaries” and shall list the titles and current salaries of the 4 highest-paid administrators employed by the district or corresponding school administrative unit. If less than 4 administrators are so employed, all administrators shall be so listed.
VI. Other than the name and logo of the district and corresponding school administrative unit, the mandatory report to voters shall not contain additional commentary or other text not described in this subdivision. Additional information may be posted on separate pages together with or alongside the mandatory report to voters.
189:77 Civil Remedies.
I. Any taxpayer in the taxing district who is aggrieved by a violation of this chapter may petition the superior court for declaratory and equitable relief.
II. The superior court may order declaratory, injunctive, or other equitable relief.
III. Any taxpayer who prevails on any claim brought pursuant to this subsection shall be entitled to an award of reasonable attorney’s fees.
189:78 Severability.
If any provision of this subdivision or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the subdivision which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this subdivision are declared to be severable.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2025.
23-1023
1/18/23
SB 219-FN-LOCAL- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
AN ACT relative to a salary floor for public school teachers.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ ] State [ ] County [ X ] Local [ ] None
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| Estimated Increase / (Decrease) | ||||
LOCAL: | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | |
Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
Expenditures | $0 | Indeterminable | Indeterminable | Indeterminable | |
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METHODOLOGY:
This bill sets a salary floor for certain districts based on certain criteria. The Department of Education does not have information to estimate this bill’s impact on local school districts, therefore this bill’s impact on local expenditures is indeterminable. This bill is not expected to impact state revenue or expenditures.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Education