Berlin joins education funding letter to state

Grenier has testified before legislative committees in support of other bills, he said. He told councilors he will do so later this year, including on education funding.

Of HB 529, it “seems to be the bill that has the most support,” said Grenier.

According to the state's legislative website, gencourt.state.nh.us, the bill establishes two "additional aid grants for schools based on the percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals and municipal fiscal capacity disparity, creates accountability measures for such grants, and allows for one-time exceptions of certain school funding laws for the availability of unanticipated funds to school districts."

Gov. Chris Sununu wants to change the education funding formula, Grenier told councilors. A feature of the current education discussion at the Legislature is that more money for students attending charter schools may be granted.

Those working to change how the state pays for public education include Zach Sheehan of the New Hampshire School Funding Fairness Project. Its website is fairfundingnh.org.

A three-page letter by Sheehan is making its way to the state’s mayors and other elected officials statewide and will be delivered to the House Finance Committee during hearings on the state budget.

Such hearings typically happen in early March. New Hampshire works on a biannual or two-year budget cycle. On Feb. 14, Sununu proposed a two-year $14.9 billion budget that the Legislature will debate and vote on later this spring.

The three-page letter is addressed to Sununu and to the state Legislature. It encapsulates local residents’ concerns of high property taxes in Coos County, including Berlin.

The letter is addressed to the governor and the Legislature:

“Two years ago, a group of over 80 local leaders — including Mayors, City Councilors, Select Board members, and School Board members — requested that the State of New Hampshire make changes to its education funding system in order to address well-known inequities and gaps. Over the past two years, we have worked hard for our schools and communities to provide the best education possible for our students while balancing the economic realities of our taxpayers.

“During that same time, the State continued to avoid its constitutional responsibility to provide adequate education to New Hampshire students. The current state budget — passed in 2021 — continued to downshift costs onto local towns and cities. The budget removed targeted property tax relief directed towards communities with lower property values and high taxes in favor of tax cuts that benefited wealthier communities more than those with higher levels of need. Meanwhile, the State has seen years of record surplus, indicating that additional funds exist to implement these needed changes. Education funding in New Hampshire continues to be inequitable. Lawmakers have allowed for a decrease in education funding year after year, contributing to increases in property taxes across many communities throughout New Hampshire. Currently, lawmakers in Concord are working on the state budget. This is the single most significant vehicle for addressing this problem and we once again call on the New Hampshire Legislature and Governor to act.

“There is a significant gap between the actual cost of education and what the State has determined to be adequate. The average cost to educate one student for a whole year is about $20,000, however the State only provides, on average, approximately $4,700 per student. Local property taxpayers must make up the difference, resulting in large variability in tax rates and the quality of education provided. Communities that struggle to raise money for their schools are the communities that are forced to increase their tax rates the most. Unsurprisingly, in its final report, the Commission to Study School Funding found that the ‘current public school funding system should be reformed to include increased state budget funds that are directed to communities that have greater student needs, which will also result in greater taxpayer equity by reducing disproportionate burdens on poorer towns.’

“As determined by numerous New Hampshire Supreme Court rulings, the State has constitutional duty to fund public education. However, decades of inaction and cost-downshifting onto towns and cities by the State have disproportionately forced local taxpayers to pick up the tab for education. According to data from the U.S Census Bureau, New Hampshire has the lowest percentage of state funding for public education of any state in the country, resulting in local property taxpayers being forced to bear over 70 percent of the total cost of public education, far exceeding the national average of 44.5 percent.”

City Manager Phillip L. Warren Jr. spoke of the pitting of neighbor against neighbor regarding New Hampshire towns that are considered donor towns and those that are receiver towns. More affluent or better fiscally situated municipalities would be donor towns. Warren said he didn’t like to put it this way but the donor-receiver set up “became an issue of the haves versus the have-nots.”

“With this way I think it has a better chance of passing,” Warren said of the proposed legislation.

Grenier agreed.

“The dynamics are right for reformulation of school financing,” Grenier said. “There’s pressure to resolve these issues.”

Councilors reviewed the letter and gave Grenier the go-ahead to sign on to Sheehan’s petition.

Also at the Feb. 21 meeting:

• Councilors voted in support of residential property abatements recommended for approval by City Manager Phillip L. Warren Jr. Regarding property abatements as posted on the city’s website, berlinnh.gov, any property owner considering filing an abatement for 2022 property taxes, needs to “have it in the Assessor's office hands no later than March 1st at 4:30 p.m. If mailed, it must be postmarked by March 1st.”

• Grenier recommended to Berlin property owner Robert Labrecque, a Wentworths Location resident, that he file an abatement and consider filing an appeal to the state Board of Tax and Land Appeals. Labrecque during the council's public comment agenda item spoke again of his difficulty paying property taxes.

In attendance were councilors Robert Theberge, Lucie Remillard, Denise Morgan and Peter Morency. Unable to make the meeting and who let the mayor or City Clerk Shelli Fortin know ahead of time were councilors Diana Berthiaume, Roland Theberge and Peter Higbee. Councilor Mark Eastman did not attend.

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