Controversial legislation often takes a circuitous route through the Legislature, and such is the case with H.883, the education governance, or school board consolidation bill.
On Tuesday, expectations among members of the House Education Committee were high. They anticipated tweaking the legislation in House Ways and Means and their own committee and then watching the bill get voted out of House Appropriations on its final journey to a floor vote.
But that’s not what happened. When lawmakers brought H.883 to Appropriations they hit a wall.
Rep. Martha Heath, D-Westford, announced that her committee would not be voting the bill out on Tuesday. Instead, they took testimony from Rebecca Holcombe, the secretary of the Agency of Education, on educational outcomes and accountability measures as members from House Ed ringed the room intensely watching the proceedings.
Staring at their colleagues in mute disbelief, it turns out, wasn’t a successful strategy for willing the bill out of committee and onto the floor.
Their frustration was palpable because time is running out, and the one-day delay effectively means it will be a week before the House could get H.883 to the Senate. Even if the bill passes out of House Appropriations on Wednesday, it won’t be in the notice calendar in time for second and third reading on Thursday and Friday this week.
House Speaker Shap Smith, D-Morristown, is determined, however, to take the bill as far as he can before the end of the session “until there is no time left on the clock.”
“The more committees hear about the bill, the more they think it’s the right direction and it builds support,” Smith said.
Even if H.883 doesn’t pass this year, it will be a platform for reforms next year.
H.883 would eliminate 270-plus school districts and create 45-55 supervisory districts that would have unified management of personnel, coordinated best practices for teachers and district wide curriculum. The districts would have one board that would oversee the education of 1,000 to 4,000 students.
Holcombe explained to House Appropriations that in the current school district system elementary school teachers in the same supervisory union use widely different curriculums and education practices. When students from different districts reach middle school or high school they arrive to classrooms at different academic levels.
She also described how school districts in the same supervisory unions have very different course offerings. Poor districts can’t afford language instructors, high level science and math instruction, while wealthier districts can provide students with a wide array of opportunities.
Proponents of H.883 have said creating a system that encourages schools to share resources and teachers will expand academic options for students.
Detractors say the proposal will undermine community support for schools and undermine local oversight of educational spending.
