After a decade of trying to come up with a constitutional school aid system, New Hampshire House budget writers want more time.
They also want to give school districts more time to start kindergarten programs.
The House Finance Committee voted yesterday — largely along party lines — to recommend giving the 12 districts without kindergarten programs four years to contract with private providers, lease portable classrooms with state help or build new classrooms.
The committee also voted to temporarily cap aid under a school funding bill to buy time to come up with a way to pay for it. The plan establishes a cost of the state’s share of an adequate education beginning in 2010.
The Senate narrowly passed the $971 million school aid plan despite Governor John Lynch’s objections that it would give aid to rich towns. He also said he won’t accept another feature of the proposed plan: requiring rich towns to send money to the state for redistribution to poorer ones.