HB 751

"Open enrollment" sounds like freedom. In practice, it's a mechanism that accelerates inequality between wealthy and poor school districts. Sen. Tim Lang (R-Sanbornton) sponsored this bill, which allows any NH student to attend any public school district regardless of where they live.

The funding formula is the key: when a student leaves their home district, 80% of the per-pupil cost follows them to the receiving district. But the sending district's costs don't drop by 80% — they still have to heat the same buildings, run the same bus routes, and maintain the same minimum staffing levels. Losing 10 students doesn't mean you need one fewer teacher; it means your remaining classes are slightly smaller but your budget just took a six-figure hit.

Meanwhile, receiving districts control their own capacity. This means high-performing, well-funded districts in wealthy towns can set strict enrollment limits, accepting only as many transfer students as they choose. There's nothing stopping them from being selective about which students they accept. Students with expensive special education needs? Districts aren't exactly going to roll out the welcome mat.

The predictable result: a handful of well-funded districts become magnets, small rural districts bleed students and funding until they can no longer sustain themselves, and the legislature gets to point to the resulting failures as proof that public schools don't work. It's the charter school strategy applied to the entire public school system.