Edelblut praises signing of school infrastructure fund legislation

CONCORD - New Hampshire Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut today thanked Gov. Chris Sununu for signing HB 357 into law. The bill, which was a top priority for the Department, will allow New Hampshire school districts to use the remaining $19.1 million allocated through the Public School Infrastructure Commission past the June 30^th deadline under the previous statute. These grants target school security and other life safety infrastructure projects.

"Schools across New Hampshire are benefitting from these school infrastructure grants, but not every district was able to put those funds to use before the June 30^th deadline," Edelblut explained. "In some cases, schools aren't able to start construction until the students go home for the summer. I want to thank the Governor and Legislature for solving the 'use it or lose it' problem that districts faced."

The Public School Infrastructure Commission has allocated $28.8 million, but $19.1 million would have expired without passage of HB 357. The bill gives school districts until December 2020 to complete the approved projects. HB 357 was sponsored by Rep. Rick Ladd (R-Haverhill) and received broad bipartisan support in the both the House and Senate.

For more information, visit the Public School Infrastructure Fund including a complete list of approved projects.