By Associated Press - Friday, December 13, 2019

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - A New Hampshire legislative committee voted Friday against accepting the first round of funding from a $46 million federal grant to expand the number of charter schools in the state, saying it would have jeopardized the health of public traditional schools and existing charter schools. Gov. Chris Sununu said he was “sickened” by the vote.

The committee voted against the first installment, $10 million, on Friday.

Rep. Mary Jane Wallner, a Democrat from Concord who is chair of the Joint Fiscal Committee, said in a statement that New Hampshire needs to support its existing traditional public schools and existing charter schools. “New Hampshire charter schools are still working to recruit students and build their financial stability and our state as a whole is struggling to adequately fund public education - this is not the time to divert funds from those existing educational facilities,” she said.

Democratic Sen. Lou D’ Állesandro from Manchester, a committee member, said state law requires the Department of Education to seek every federal grant possible, “but that doesn’t equate need or prudence.”

“This federal grant would have cost the state of New Hampshire millions of dollars and jeopardized the future health and vitality of current traditional public schools and public charter schools,” he said in a statement.

The Democratic-majority committee had tabled the grant earlier this year. That was met with criticism from Sununu and Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut, both Republicans. New Hampshire was awarded the largest grant nationally for the charter schools.

“”I am sickened by today’s vote,” Sununu said in a statement. He said Democrats “must explain to every single student” why they rejected the grant.

Sununu noted there are currently over 1,300 New Hampshire students on waiting lists to get into public charter schools.

Edelblut said he was disappointed. “Students choose public charter schools because they are going ‘to’ something, or are moving ‘from’ something,” he said in a statement. “When they go to something, it is because they want to pursue an interest, such as STEM, or the arts, or project-based learning. When they come from something, they are leaving an environment where they have not seen success, or they have been bullied.”

He said the grant was meant to give economically disadvantaged students and at-risk students the same choices as families of means.

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