School districts could adopt limits on administrative unit budgets

A school administrative unit could ask voters to adopt a cap on its annual budget. The option would apply to school administrative units made up of member school districts that raise money through annual meetings and adopt budgets under RSA 194-C:9. The question must be proposed by a member school board or by petition in a member district. Approval requires at least three-fifths of voters voting in the member districts. A district could later ask voters to rescind the cap, also requiring a three-fifths vote. If approved, the cap would apply starting with the next annual school district meeting and would continue until rescinded; the act would take effect 60 days after passage.

The cap would set the annual administrative unit budget using per-student overhead costs, enrollment, and an inflation increase. The calculation would use the member districts’ average daily membership as of October 1 of the year before the proposed budget year. The first capped year would use the per-student overhead cost approved in the adoption question. Later years would use the prior year’s per-student cost plus the prior year’s inflation factor. A budget above the cap could pass only if three-fifths of voters voting in the member districts approve it. The inflation factor could be a fixed percentage or a change in a listed federal or municipal cost index. The formula would apply each year after the cap begins, while an above-cap budget would be decided at that year’s annual district meetings.

School districts would use separate warrant questions and combined vote totals to decide whether to adopt or exceed the cap. The procedures would apply to voters, moderators, and school administrative unit officials in the member districts. Moderators would use paper or secret ballots, record the votes, and announce the results. The school administrative unit secretary would certify the results to the Department of Revenue Administration. A registered voter could petition for a recount by the Friday after the latest district annual meeting. For units using the existing alternative procedure, the proposed budget could not be changed before the vote except as allowed by the cap provisions. A public hearing on adopting the cap would occur 15 to 30 days before the vote, with notice posted and published before the hearing.