Editorial
A true step

School Committee member Ellen Holmes proposed to take a real step forward in the debate of how to get funding for state mandates by proposing the Ashburnham-Westminster Regional School Committee lobby to amend the state constitution.

Holmes drafted a constitutional amendment that she presented Tuesday to the School Committee for their review and asked that they support the potential amendment as the 10 registered voters required to send the draft language to the Attorney General's Office for review, which they voted to do.

Holmes said in the simple English the proposal says to the state "if you mandate it you pay for it."

Now, nobody should get his or her hopes raised too high yet, as there is along process yet to go. The voters will have to approve this proposed amendment after it is approved in two consecutive Constitutional Conventions (at least it only needs 50 votes to pass at the convention). This means the soonest anyone will be able to see the effects of this is 2011.

But it is a step beyond blaming the state for unfounded mandates.

Holmes says this is different then the law passed by legislators because those all include the phrase "subject to appropriation," and the appropriation is usually what is lacking.

It will be interesting to see the reaction and debate to this amendment from state officials. The towns and the school districts may not end up with more money from the state because of this amendment, but they may end up with fewer regulations.

Right now residents can't do too much to support the amendment because the language is being reviewed for legal issues, but after that the School Committee will get another chance to review and amendment and review their support of it. After that, proponents of the amendment will have to collect 67,000 signatures before the first Wednesday in August.

So for those who have suggested the state pay for their requirements both in the schools and in the towns get your pens ready, your signature will be needed.