Residents ask board to seek EFA accountability and income limits in citizen petition

A citizen petition presented Jan. 15 asked the Londonderry School Board to call on state lawmakers to require greater fiscal and educational accountability for the Education Freedom Account (EFA) program and to restore income‑eligibility limits.

Tiffany Gagnon, presenting Article 15, said recent legislative changes removed income caps from EFA eligibility and noted state data for the 2025–26 school year showing about 3.3% of EFA recipients had attended a public school the prior year. Gagnon and other petitioners argued that because EFA funds originate from public dollars, recipients should be subject to transparency and reporting comparable to public schools and that eligibility should target families with documented financial need.

Board and budget committee members discussed whether the budget committee would record a vote on the petition; the board indicated it would move the article to the deliberative session and the board recorded support. The budget committee said it would consider the question at its Jan. 20 meeting and invited petitioners to attend.

Next steps: The article will be on the deliberative session agenda; petitioners and interested budget committee members will meet on Jan. 20 to discuss whether the committee will record a vote.