The facts and figures emerging from the expanded voucher program the Republicans have championed over the past few years, show that wealthy families are far more likely to take advantage of vouchers than middle class or poorer families.
That means more money will be taken from the Educational Trust Fund to subsidize private and parochial education and reduce the money available for public education. The number of Hampshire families who are taking vouchers doubled since the new law went into effect in July and we are now on track to see the number grow to 12,500. The average grant per student is $4,800 totaling $48 million in taxpayer money
“Universal vouchers benefit the wealthy at the expense of the nearly 90 percent of New Hampshire students who attend public schools,” according to the National Eeuation Association—NH president Megan Tuttle. “We know what it takes to improve student outcomes: smaller class sizes; and more one-on-one attention; and competititve compensation packages that help recruit and retain high quality professionals.
Tuttle adds that, “educators cannot do that when the state is taking more money out of public schools to subsicize private schools . New Hampshire voter and taxpayers who overwhelminghly support their community public schools must make our priorities clear by holding the politicians who refuse to fix this broken system accountable.”
This means higher property taxes for NH homeowners and businesses since there will be less money available to the Education Trust Fund.