E24: NH's Watershed Moment in Public Education?

What would you do if a bill going through your state legislature had the potential to be the most harmful piece of public policy in your state in a generation?If you're my two guests today, you'd build a statewide coalition to do something about it in a matter of weeks. My guests today are a pair of local leaders who are impressively organizing a statewide coalition opposed to HB751 - a bill that would create arguably America's most expansive (and expensive) open enrollment system. Micaela Demeter, a member of the Dover School Board, and Lil Maughan, the Chair of the Lebanon School Board, are two of the three originators (along with ConVal School Board members Curtis Hamilton) of an open letter laying out the concerns with HB751, including dozens of questions they have with the bill's potential consequences. You can read the letter, as well as a partial list of the questions raised by the signatories, here.New Hampshire's public education system is regularly ranked in the top 10 nationally. though it is also among the more expensive per-pupil, as well. NH relies far more on local property taxes to pay for education than any state in the nation - barely 20% of the cost is covered by state government!The pressure this is putting on some of America's highest property taxes is reaching a breaking point, and the GOP-dominated legislature is passing increasingly provocative legislation in response. In 2025, it was a universal voucher program; this year, it was an attempt to mandate a state cap on local per pupil spending (which narrowly failed when 22 House Republicans broke from party leadership to effectively kill it). Now, it is HB751 - universal open enrollment. And, if enacted, it threatens to be the most impactful law passed in New Hampshire on any policy area in at least a generation.