The Wilton-Lyndeborough Cooperative School District’s School Board held an open enrollment public hearing Feb. 10. School Board Vice Chair Brianne Lavallee presented the issue to concerned residents in the Middle School/High School Library.
According to Lavallee, New Hampshire law states an open enrollment public school is any public school providing education to residents while also accepting students from other districts.
“In 2009, the open enrollment law prescribed a tuition formula, no less than 80% of the sending district’s cost per pupil,” she said. “The law also provided for school districts to limit the number of resident pupils who may attend open enrollment schools located inside and outside the school district.”
As an open enrollment example, Lavallee mentioned Alton’s Prospect Mountain High School. She said Prospect Mountain adopted an open enrollment policy approved by voters.
“Prospect Mountain had students from other schools apply from towns like Pittsfield and Epson,” she said, noting that the sending districts had not yet adopted the policy. “They argued that they should not have to pay the 80% tuition to Prospect Mountain.” The case went to the New Hampshire State Supreme Court.
In October 2025 the court ruled sending school districts are required to pay tuition to a receiving open enrollment school in another district, regardless of whether the sending district had adopted open enrollment or not.
Open enrollment falls under Article 4 on the district’s proposed Fiscal Year 2027 budget. The article suggests designating grades one through 12 at Florence Rideout Elementary School and WLC as open enrollment, allowing the district to admit non-resident students to the high school. It also proposes 100% of its eligible resident high school students be permitted to attend the high school, while 0% of resident students in preschool through grade 12 be permitted to attend schools outside the district.
The article also proposes limiting the number of non-resident pupils who may attend WLC to no more than 10% of the district’s current enrollment in grades 1 through 12, as well as allowing the administration to set admission standards, criteria and maximum capacity for each school, grade and program within that total number.
Lavallee explained the outcome of adopting or rejecting Warrant Article 4.
If the district adopts Article 4, WLC can accept 10% of tuition-paying students from grades 1 through 12. That’s roughly 50 to 55 students, she said. The article would also enable the district to limit the number of resident students it sends with tuition to open enrollment schools outside of Wilton-Lyndeborough. Additionally, Lavallee said WLC would be able to select students based on aptitude, academic achievement or need.
If the district rejects the article and a resident parent or guardian chooses to enroll their child at an open enrollment school, WLC must pay the tuition to the receiving district. It would also be unable to place a cap on the number of tuition students leaving the district, nor would it be required to accept students from outside districts. “We would pay approximately $20,000 to another school district for each student,” she said.
Lavallee gave a possible scenario if the district rejects the proposal. “If we have one student from each grade, first through twelfth, leave our district, the cost to our budget with our projected numbers would be about $240,000,” she said. “That would be an additional 1.45% increase on top of the proposed budget that will be coming forth on March 7th.”
Audience member Kelly Gibson of Wilton advocated amending Article 4. “By limiting it to first to twelfth grade, you’re limiting our early intervention learners, our pre-K and kindergarteners,” she said. Gibson was worried the article’s language deprived the pre-K and kindergarten students of privileges that grades one through 12 would receive.
She also highlighted what she said was inequality in the article. “Open enrollment is intended to provide limited structure and flexibility for families when circumstances change, whether due to an academic fit, safety concerns or financial hardship.”
“When families can’t leave through an IEP, manifest hardship, or an out-of-district placement, open enrollment is supposed to be the relief valve,” she said, referring to an Individualized Education Program. She said that setting outgoing enrollment to zero closes that valve, adding that while families with sufficient financial means can still leave the district by paying tuition, those facing financial hardship are not given the same opportunity.
Fran Bujak of Lyndeborough said he supported the article in its current form. “There is no district in the state that is going to accept a student that’s going to cost them one dime,” he said. “To send them full tuition from other school districts is just subsidizing a school district.” Bujak said doing so seems to violate the New Hampshire constitution by requiring the district to pay for the same student twice.
He recommended that if mandatory open enrollment becomes law, the district join whatever lawsuit is filed.
The state Legislature has yet to decide on its Open Enrollment Bill, which would mandate it for all school districts if passed.