CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – The New Hampshire Legislature has approved partial funding for full-day kindergarten and the use of the keno lottery game to pay for it.
Nearly 75 percent of New Hampshire communities already offer full-day kindergarten, but the state only pays half the standard per-student amount for those pupils, or about $1,800.
Under a bill approved by the House and Senate Thursday, the state will provide $1,100 per full-day kindergarten student. Some opponents complained that the plan doesn’t provide the full standard amount per pupil, while others objected to keno, saying it will take money from those who can least afford it.
Supporters called it a solid step toward fully funding all-day kindergarten and suggested that keno could be repealed in the future.
It passed the House 251-111 and the Senate 15-8.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press.
