Carmen Lorentz: Ask candidates about Claremont school funding decisions

To The Daily Sun,

I read with interest and concern the article, “Citing fall of Roe, Republicans ask for Claremont school funding decisions to be overturned” in the Sept. 18, 2024, edition of the New Hampshire Bulletin. A group of lawmakers, including several from the Lakes Region, filed an amicus brief with the state Supreme Court seeking to reverse the court decisions from the 1990s that required the state to provide adequacy aid to local public schools. According to the article:

"The ask is dramatic. Should the court overturn the Claremont cases, the state would no longer be required to fund the adequacy formula, the structure that gives assistance to towns that cannot raise enough for their schools through the statewide education property tax (SWEPT) alone. That would allow lawmakers to significantly reduce or eliminate state spending on education, if desired."

Local lawmakers who signed the amicus brief making this request are: Harry Bean of Gilford; Juliet Harvey-Bolia of Tilton; Gregory Hill of Northfield; Katy Peternel of Wolfeboro; John Sellers of Bristol; and state Sen. Tim Lang of Sanbornton.

I hope voters will ask these candidates about this critical issue. If the court overturns the Claremont decisions, our local schools might lose significant state funding, which would increase local property taxes and decrease the quality of education our towns can provide.

Carmen Lorentz

Belmont