Gov. Kelly Ayotte said state education officials were offering support to Claremont in dealing with a school budget deficit, but she stopped well short this week of endorsing any financial bailout for the cash-starved school district.
Ayotte to Claremont: We’ll assist as we can but no bailout
Gov. Kelly Ayotte told reporters state officials have been helping Claremont deal with a multimillion-dollar school budget deficit, but offered no support for any state bailout of the cash-starved school district.
“Clearly there has been some serious financial mismanagement at the local level,” Ayotte said.
Ayotte made the comments Wednesday after a meeting of the Executive Council and hours before Claremont school officials confirmed that Claremont Savings Bank had agreed to extend a $4 million loan to the school district so that it can begin the school year without further restrictions.
The School Board announced Monday that it was cutting $1.25 million in staff. Officials also plan to reduce costs by canceling all non-required extracurricular activities, including athletics, for the entire school year — unless the community steps forward and covers the costs.
It’s unclear whether the loan will be enough to fully restore all programs.
School administrators also were researching whether the money could not be released before the local school board meets to formally accept it.
School officials said internal auditors are working to come up with a precise estimate of the school’s budget deficit. Estimates of the deficit range from $1 million to $5 million, though it appears likely to be at the high end of that range.
School officials have said auditors determined some of the shortfall occurred because the district failed to properly complete paperwork needed to draw down federal grants, yet still spent the money.
Ayotte said she spoke with leaders of the Community College System of New Hampshire to see whether their staff can help provide assistance to Claremont schools. It provided the city of Franklin with some temporary staff when it struggled with its own budget deficit a few years ago, Ayotte said.
“We understand that kids have to be at the forefront of this, but we need to have a position where there’s good fiscal management of the local dollars,” Ayotte told reporters. “There has been some serious mismanagement, from what I’m hearing.”
Ayotte: As a parent ‘I’d be very angry’ too
The state Department of Education had been working with Claremont for months on the district’s finances not being in sync with federal spending regulations, Ayotte said.
The New Hampshire Journal reported the state sent five letters over a two-year period ending last October warning of “federal programmatic non-compliance.”
Hundreds of parents and students turned out for public meetings about the city’s school budget woes last week.
“For the parents of these kids, I can understand why they’re angry. I mean, I’m a mother, and I’d be very angry at what happened here, too,” the governor said.
New Hampshire House Republicans issued a statement critical of school spending practices.
“Budgets in New Hampshire’s public schools continue to rise, yet too often those dollars are absorbed by bloated administrations rather than directed to academics, student services, sports, and extracurriculars,” said House Education Policy and Admin Vice Chair Kristin Noble, R-Bedford.
Some House GOP members criticized the way the city got the loan given Claremont School Board member Candace Crawford is a former executive and current incorporator at that savings bank.
“‘Secured’ the loan but didn’t take a vote of the town accepting such a loan, failed to disclose interest rates and penalties every taxpayer will be on the hook to pay, and it’s unclear they even took a public discussion and vote as the board. They just unilaterally entered a contract,” said Rep. James Spillane, R-Deerfield.
Democrats dominate seats on the Claremont School Board, yet last November President Donald Trump received 52% of the vote while Ayotte got 53%, defeating their opponents in the city.
Among House members who represent the city, four are Democrats and two are Republicans.