Latest news with #DonovanFenton
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bipartisan plea to create incentive to expand school lunch access
Feb. 11—A bipartisan pair of state senators is offering to expand access to free school breakfast and lunch programs if the state and local communities agree to split the cost. State Sen. Donovan Fenton, D-Keene, said the legislation (SB 204) he co-wrote with Sen. Timothy Lang, R-Sanbornton, would create an incentive for school districts to make more meals available to lower-income families. "It is time for a moderate, fiscally responsible approach to help our students and their parents," Fenton told the Senate Education Committee. Presently, the federal government pays the cost of a free school lunch for a family of four that makes up to 135% of the federal poverty level (FPL), which is $43,403. A reduced-price school lunch is available for families that make between 135% and 185% of FPL, the latter level equal to $59,477 for a family of four. There are 449 schools that offer the program; all but 28 of them also offer a free or reduced-cost school breakfast. The bill would make all families eligible for both free meals each day for students of parents that make up to 200% of FPL, which is $64,300 a year. School districts that took the option would have property taxpayers pay 50% of the cost with the state budget picking up the other half. "This is not a mandate; this is an opt-in program that allows school districts to decide what works best for them," Fenton said. "We want to ensure that no child goes hungry in school." The state Department of Education estimates if all schools took the offer, the state share would be more than $2.5 million a year. The bill also would spend up to $600,000 to cover the cost of creating an online application process to make it easier for families to apply for meals. Support is often temporary and life-sustaining Tim Ruehr, chief financial officer for the Keene School District, recalled growing up in a divorced household and getting enrolled in the program for two years during a financially difficult time. "It is not a lifetime commitment," said Ruehr. New Hampshire Healthy Solutions said another 6,000 students could be made eligible for these meals. Executive Director Laura Milliken said the group would prefer local schools not have to provide any matching funds. "This may mean better-funded schools may be able to increase eligibility, but poor schools that have many lower-income families may not be able to do so," Milliken said. Officials with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT-NH) and American Heart Association expressed similar concerns while backing the concept. Aubrey Freeman, a fiscal conservative from Bridgewater, was the bill's only opponent. "This sends the wrong message. Everybody loves freebies but when you have kids, it is your responsibility to provide for them," Freeman said. The Senate panel took testimony on a related bill (SB 205) that would require school breakfasts for those currently eligible under federal law at the 28 schools that don't have the program. Sen. Pat Long, D-Manchester, is the author of the bill, which would also extend a school breakfast mandate to 38 public charter schools that don't currently offer one. Last June, House Speaker Sherman Packard, R-Londonderry, cast the deciding vote to block final passage of a bill (HB 1212) to expand reduced price school lunches to all households making up to 350% of FPL, or $109,200 a year for a family of four. klandrigan@
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Senate approves additional state funding for homeless shelters and services amid rising need
Senate Bill 113 would dedicate the money to the Department of Health and Human Services 'for the purpose of contracting with nonprofits that provide a continuum of services to individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness.' (Photo by) The Senate approved a bill Thursday that would allocate $12 million per year in state funding to nonprofits providing services to homeless people, amid concerns that municipal budgets are strained and shelters are struggling. Senate Bill 113 would dedicate the money to the Department of Health and Human Services 'for the purpose of contracting with nonprofits that provide a continuum of services to individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness.' The bill dedicates an additional $3 million to the housing stabilization fund, which allows DHHS to contract with organizations 'that provide eviction prevention and rehousing services' and allow those organizations to bill Medicaid for those The bill is 'looking to help keep our shelters open while the state is also working on the housing crisis,' said Sen. Regina Birdsell, a Hampstead Republican and the bill's prime sponsor, in an interview. Sen. Donovan Fenton, a Keene Democrat, advocated for the bill, noting that his mother had experienced homelessness when she was a child. 'It wasn't by choice,' he said during discussion on the Senate floor Thursday. 'Her father lost their job, and they had to spend their evenings in their family car under a bridge.' Fenton added, 'This bill is not just about building more shelters. It's about keeping people in their homes, providing support before they find themselves out on the streets.' The Department of Health and Human Services currently provides $8 million per year to homelessness services, and an additional $2 million for cold weather shelters. But shelter operators say that that funding is well short of what they need to operate. The proposed funding comes as New Hampshire's unhoused population has grown dramatically. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's 2024 Homelessness Assessment Report found that New Hampshire's unsheltered homeless population has grown 71% from 2023 to 2024, and 289% since 2019. New Hampshire had the highest percentage increase in homelessness of all 50 states between 2022 and 2023, according to annual point in time estimates. And homeless shelters are coming under strain. Speaking to the Senate Finance Committee in support of SB 113, Maria Devlin, president and CEO of Families in Transition, which operates the largest shelter in the state, said their annual occupancy rate is 97%. Devlin added that state funding has not been sufficient; the organization typically faces a $1 million shortfall each year after its state allocations, which must be made up through philanthropy and municipal grants. Birdsell said her bill's proposed allocation of $12 million wouldn't completely change that dynamic. 'There's always going to have to be some type of philanthropy going on,' she said. 'But this hopefully will increase what they're already getting to keep them lasting a little bit longer, so their philanthropy requirement is a little bit less.' Towns and cities, which are statutorily obligated to take care of unhoused people in their jurisdictions who can't find support, say they are also burdened. Keene Mayor Jay Kahn, a former state senator, testified to the committee that his city had budgeted $300,000 for housing costs last year, and ultimately had to spend $1.2 million. Kahn and other mayors argue the state should step up funding to shelters to address the demand and provide a stronger pathway to housing for struggling residents. 'The burden is significant and extreme,' he said. The bill received a unanimous vote of ought to pass. The Senate then voted to table the bill – a standard maneuver that allows it to be introduced into the budget later in the session. Birdsell said homelessness money is just one step in addressing the homelessness crisis. 'I think obviously the next step is to try and get housing, additional housing,' she said. '… The problem we have in New Hampshire is you have municipalities who, you know, they don't want it to be a mandate from the state. They continue wanting to be able to have local control. So that's a real fine line.'
