The New Hampshire Department of Education then issued a corrected news release Thursday that said participating in a state voucher. Accounts for freedom of education program grew up”about 12 percent” from last school year.

This figure was based on faulty arithmetic. Enrollment increased from 4,663 to 5,321 students, up 658, according to the release. That would be a 14 percent increase, not 12 percent.

Whoever made the error seems to have divided the difference (658) by the ending number instead of the starting number. (It’s like seeing gas prices go from $2 to $3 a gallon, then falsely claiming they’ve gone up 33 percent.)

The department corrected its news release after The Boston Globe asked about the error, but even the corrected version doesn’t exactly compare apples to apples.

The release could have compared EFA enrollment at the start of the 2024-2025 school year with the same figure from a previous year. Instead, the publication compared the latest point data to a number representing “full-time equivalent students” enrolled in the program during the 2023-2024 academic year, a department spokesman said.

While this comparison may be useful in some contexts, it does not fully reflect the rate at which the program is growing year-over-year.

There were 4,211 students enrolled in the program at the beginning of last school year and 5,321 students at the beginning of this school year. That’s a year-over-year increase of 1,110 students, or 26 percent, according to Globe analysis of the underlying data.

Hundreds of students typically enroll in the EFA program after the start of each school year, so if this pattern continues, enrollment in the program could increase by another 10 percent or more by the end of this school year.

Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut said the latest EFA data clearly shows demand for educational options is growing.

“The Education Freedom Account program gives lower-income families assistance in choosing whatever school or learning environment best meets their child’s needs,” he said. “New Hampshire continues to provide families with high-quality educational pathways and the Education Freedom Account program at a fraction of the cost to taxpayers of a traditional education.”

The program, now in its fourth year, allows families earning up to 350 percent of the federal poverty level — about $109,000 for a family of four — to use money the state would have spent on public education of their children to cover them. costs associated with private school or home schooling. That translates to an average of about $5,200 per student this year.

While proponents of the EFA program argue that it saves taxpayers money and empowers families to pursue educational opportunities that are most appropriate for their children, opponents argue that it inappropriately diverts resources from public schools.

Republicans have historically proposed expanding the EFA program by raising the income cap and a pending request for legislative service suggests that some lawmakers may pursue universal eligibility for the program in the upcoming legislative term.

This story first appeared in the Globe NH | Morning Report, our free newsletter focused on must-know New Hampshire news, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles elsewhere. If you would like to receive it by email Monday through Friday, you can register here.

Steven Porter can be reached at [email protected]. Follow L @reporterporter.