Steve Smith
Charlestown
To the editor,
There has been quite a clamor for a new education funding lawsuit this cycle, and rhetoric like “hold the legislature accountable.” Fair enough, but have any of those folks addressed all the work that has been done on this issue this past session? I supported two measures that would have repealed or frozen the reductions in adequacy aid due to stabilization grant reductions. When it became clear that these were not going to pass, we formed a joint committee to work through the objections. They boiled down to two.
1 – Stabilization grants are based on 2011 student populations. It is unfair and poor practice to send grants based on inaccurate student numbers which change over time.
2 – Freezing the reductions in the absence of a new plan is wrong because of the previous reason.
For a year and a half, this committee worked on a solution that respects the opposing points of view, while creating a solution for hard hit communities like Charlestown and Claremont. The new plan bases its numbers on current student populations, adjusted annually, and increases aid for property poor municipalities and places with high numbers of students receiving free and reduced lunch. Here are the numbers.
ADM means number of students (Average Daily Membership)
F&R means number of students eligible for free and reduced lunch
Charlestown factors:
ADM=617
F&R=276
Grant eligibility – $2,500/student
Charlestown Numbers under the new system:
Base adequacy – 617*3897 = $2,404,449 +
F&R differentiated 276*2500= $690,000 +
Umberger grant – 617*2500= $1,542,500
Total aid to Charlestown based on 2017 ADM = $4,636,949
Tom Laware and I are not politicians. We are your representatives and work hard to produce solutions to your problems like this one. We ask for your votes on Nov. 6 so that we can continue to protect your interests and make education funding work for everyone, without expensive lawsuits.
Steve Smith
Charlestown
Smith is the Sullivan County District 11 representative.
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