Latest news with #JosiahBartlettCenterforPublicPolicy
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Study finds higher federal COVID money failed to improve test scores
Since 2001, student enrollments drop while spending shot up This graphic from the latest Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy-requested report analyzes how student enrollment in public schools fell by 21% since 2001 to 2024 while spending went up 45%. A new study from a conservative free market think tank concludes that the hundreds of millions in federal COVID-19 grants for school districts failed to improve test scores in New Hampshire. Entitled 'Falling Students, Rising Spending II,' the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy (JBC) commissioned the report to examine the impact the COVID relief had on public schools. 'The big picture really is that while all that Washington money helped power an enormous increase in spending on public schools, it didn't translate into improvement in student achievement,' said Drew Cline, JBC's president. Benjamin Scafidi of Kennesaw State University authored the report which examined public schools from 2020 through 2024. An earlier report in 2023 from JBC looked at similar trends during the period of 2001 up to 2019 when the pandemic began. 'The conclusions are pretty consistent with the first report, namely that more spending does not equate to better test scores for students,' Cline said. According to the report, spending in public schools went up from $3.3 billion in the 2020 academic year to $4.06 billion. On a per-student basis, the expenditures increased during those four years from $19,947 to $26,347, a 32% increase. Hirings went up The report noted that compared to 2001, public schools in the state served 43,379 fewer students, a 21% decline. Despite that drop in enrollment, Granite State public schools employed 153 more teachers, 898 more administrators and 1,904 more employees performing other roles in 2024 relative to 2001. By percentage, the increase in teachers over that period was only 1% while administrators saw a 78% hiring increase and 'other staff' grew by 15% from 2001-2024. Similarly, total expenditures adjusted for inflation went up by $1.25 billion — or 45% — from 2001-2024, but the average teacher salary increased by only 8% above cost-of-living during that period. Since 2020, enrollment dipped by 6.3% while the number of staff declined by 2.6% over those four years. Also from 2020 to 2024, local property taxes to support schools went up by an average 17%. Josiah Bartlett Center report chronicles higher spending, lower achievement in N.H. schools. Drew Cline, president of the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy, said the latest report it commission confirmed the continuing trend that higher spending on public schools hasn't translated into better student achievement on assessment tests. Over that same period, federal grants went up seven times over the rate of inflation while state spending for public schools went up 19%, just above the 17% cost of living over the four-year period, the report said. On test scores across the four exams, New Hampshire students in 2024 averaged about a half-year less learning in both reading and mathematics in grades 4 and 8 relative to New Hampshire public school students in 2001, the report found. All told, New Hampshire students experienced a cumulative drop of 17 points from 2020 to 2024, which was better than the national drop of 22 points, the report said. 'This was one of the silver linings of the report which showed that by getting our students back into school quicker after COVID started than many other states, this resulted in less learning loss here,' Cline added. klandrigan@
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Social districts, booze in bathrooms, no-food bars: Lawmakers try to make NH more bar friendly
The Barley House in downtown Concord on May 22, 2025. (Photo by William Skipworth/New Hampshire Bulletin) Last time Drew Cline visited family in his hometown of Hickory, North Carolina, he went to his favorite barbecue joint in a downtown area that had been struggling to keep businesses afloat in recent years. 'I always take a walk around downtown to see how it's changed,' he said. 'And there would always be vacant storefronts. Until last time I went and we did our stroll around downtown, and not a single storefront was vacant. And there were people walking around with beer, and I asked, what's going on?' Cline learned from shop owners that the area had become designated a 'social district' where people were allowed to purchase alcohol at bars and restaurants and take it with them outside the bar within this social district. He said before the district was created, the closure of mills and competition from shopping malls and development along a nearby state highway had hurt businesses' ability to stay afloat downtown. 'Now, Hickory won't attribute 100% of its revival to the social district, but they do contribute a pretty large portion of it,' he said. 'And so it's working.' Cline, who now lives in Bedford and works as the executive director at a conservative think tank called the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy, pitched the idea to state Rep. Bill Boyd, a Merrimack Republican. Boyd said he used North Carolina's legislation on social districts as a model to create New Hampshire's House Bill 467, but also saw successful social district programs in Michigan, Georgia, and other states. Cline said officials he spoke with in North Carolina said they hadn't seen increases in public drunkenness or crime. 'Not even trash,' Cline said. 'Which is kind of surprising, but I think that's part of the planning for these downtowns, is that you do plan for more trash receptacles, more recycling bins.' Last week, the New Hampshire Senate approved HB 467, which now heads to Gov. Kelly Ayotte's desk. The bill would allow New Hampshire towns and cities to opt into the program and establish social districts within their borders. The districts would have to be approved by a city council or other municipal body, or during a town meeting, and plans would be submitted to the liquor commission. The bill lays out operational guidelines, including the containers designated for alcohol, signage with information and rules, and time limits set at the discretion of towns and cities. The bill also has backing from the New Hampshire Municipal Association. Brodie Deshaies, the association's legislative advocate, described the bill as 'a great private-public partnership' that towns and cities have been asking for. The bill is one of several that lawmakers are moving through the State House in an attempt to loosen restrictions on bars in the Granite State. House Bill 81, a bipartisan proposal to allow patrons to bring alcohol into the restroom at a bar or restaurant, is also headed to Ayotte's desk. State law currently prohibits people from bringing alcoholic beverages into 'foyers, hallways, kitchens, restrooms, or other areas not approved for service by the commission.' Supporters of the bill, which was sponsored by Bethlehem Democratic Rep. Jared Sullivan, characterize it as an effort to reduce the risk of date rape drugs being placed in drinks. Rep. Erica Layon, a Derry Republican, said during a hearing last month that lawmakers had heard about a woman who left her drink on a table while using the restroom because a sign said it was illegal to take it with her. While she was gone, Layon said, the woman's drink was drugged. 'She was out at a bar, had one drink, and then woke up in a hotel room the next morning after being raped,' Layon said. 'Hopefully, you share the view that it is more important to empower people to protect themselves from unwanted assaults than it is to micromanage how they manage their drinks.' Henry Veileux, on behalf of the New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Association, said people within the industry were opposed to the bill because of potential for underage drinking and overconsumption. He added that bartenders can hold on to a patron's drink while they use the restroom. Another bill proposed this session takes aim at an old rule for establishments. New Hampshire has long prohibited bars from selling liquor without also selling food, though there's a series of exceptions that the Legislature has carved out for hotels, airport bars, and other establishments over the years. House Bill 276, sponsored by Claremont Republican Rep. Wayne Hemingway, sought to change that and create a new liquor license — 'a tavern license' — in the state that allows bars to sell hard liquor, beer, and wine without serving food. However, that bill was tabled by the state Senate last week, which means senators didn't kill it entirely but they've decided against approving it for now.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ayotte: Budget cuts made with a 'scalpel not a shovel'
Feb. 13—Gov. Kelly Ayotte told the Legislature Thursday her two-year, $16.5 billion state budget cuts $150 million in spending "with a scalpel," while providing more resources to expand school choice, retain veteran first responders, thwart drug traffickers, serve students with special needs and help two-year college students fill the jobs in tomorrow's economy. During her 30-minute address, Ayotte drew an upbeat tone about New Hampshire's future even as she and lawmakers set out to finish writing the tightest and most challenging state budget in a decade. "This adjustment in General Funds was undertaken smartly and thoughtfully, with a scalpel, not a shovel. It does so without across-the-board cuts and prioritizes those who are depending on services provided by the state," Ayotte said. "We cut bloated contracts with out-of-state vendors, took a hard look at how our agencies operate and worked with commissioners to dial in spending, and we also found areas to make responsible adjustments that bring us in line with the times and what other states are doing as well." For example, Ayotte's budget would return Medicaid eligibility to pre-pandemic levels for lower-income adults and would align with neighboring states that require those with means to pay a "nominal co-pay" for their services. Drew Cline, president of the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy, a free-market think tank, said Ayotte was sending a message that she expects this term's bigger Republican majorities in the Legislature to back her call for fiscal restraint. "This tells us that she expects spending restraint from Republicans as well as Democrats and she's willing to push them for more of it," Cline said. Bail reform included Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais praised Ayotte for attaching to the budget trailer bill the repeal of the 2019 bail reform law that he believes has allowed too many violent offenders to get back out on the street. "We cannot wait for another tragedy like the recent stabbing in Manchester to demonstrate why bail reform is needed," Ruais said. "Justice for victims, police, residents and our business community must come first." But House Democratic Leader Alexis Simpson of Exeter said years of work in 2024 produced a package of four bills that altered bail reform. "I think I can say the Democrats in the House would prefer to see how that works before we go ahead and make more changes," Simpson said. The budget trailer is a companion bill that sets up the structures needed to implement the budget. During an interview after her speech, Ayotte said law enforcement leaders across the state told her the bail law needs to go. "Unfortunately, there are people who are being harmed by it, and we can't wait any longer," Ayotte said. "This whole effort from the beginning was a failed social experiment." Education issues During her speech, Education Freedom Account grants to all parents of students in public schools — regardless of income — is an "important step" towards universal access that Ayotte said she still supports. Ayotte called for spending 8% more on the community college system, which will freeze tuition, while cutting state aid to the four-year university system by 4%. "Investing in these opportunities for students to learn a trade or get credentialed in a high-demand field like health care will pay dividends in the long run for our state, by opening new pathways to public-private partnerships, addressing critical gaps in our workforce and putting more Granite Staters on the path to a good-paying career," Ayotte said. Housing, childcare, energy Senate Democratic Leader Rebecca Perkins Kwoka of Portsmouth loved hearing Ayotte call for a 50% increase in special education aid, but said she heard very little about new spending initiatives to tackle the lack of affordable housing and childcare and the rising cost of energy. "I do think there are solutions we can see at the state level," Kwoka said. Ayotte said her budget does renew the Housing Champions program that awards communities that go beyond the usual effort to bring more workforce housing to their cities and towns. Matt Menning, president of the Home Builders Association, said Ayotte is tackling the biggest housing hurdle by setting a 60-day limit for state agencies to respond to all state permit applications. Without action in that timeframe, the petitioner would be free to proceed. "The fragmented permitting process has been slow, costly and failed the people of New Hampshire," Menning said. Ayotte embraced giving charity casinos a year to convert from costly and slower, historic horse racing machines to state-of-the-art slot machines like those found in major casinos like Foxwoods or along the Las Vegas strip. The slot machines would raise an estimated $127 million in additional revenue by June 2027, which Ayotte said would pay for Group II payments to restore retirement benefit cuts made in 2011 for a few thousand public employees and also would provide additional property tax relief. Sen. David Rochefort, R-Littleton, said Ayotte's proposal to block new landfills is welcome news to those who had been fighting one proposed for scenic Forest Lake State Park in Dalton. "Governor Ayotte is a woman of her word," Rochefort said. "When I first brought this landfill issue to her in 2023, she immediately recognized how important it was to the North Country." In her two-year, $202 million capital or public works budget, Ayotte calls for a $20 million upgrade to the Cannon Mountain Tramway, $20 million to renovate three college buildings, $5 million for land on which to provide a new National Guard readiness center in Manchester and an $18.5 million upgrade too the community technical high school for the Jaffrey-Rindge School District. klandrigan@
