John F. Paster: Statistics demonstrating the quality of Moultonborough schools

To The Daily Sun,

Everyone, whether full-time or part-time residents of Moultonborough, should have a keen interest in school quality and students success. Sadly, statistics — as well as anecdotal experiences of local parents and students — indicate schools are not performing to expectations. Rest assured, the problems with Moultonborough schools have nothing to do with funding. Enrollment has been decreasing for years, even as funding has increased substantially. Following are statistics to indicate the town must make tough decisions regarding school staffing, budgeting, curricula, and utilization of school facilities.

Demographics: The latest student enrollment for the three schools is 488 children. Moultonborough Central has 242 pupils in PK-5; middle school has 101 in grades 6-8; and Moultonborough Academy has 142 enrolled in grades 9-12. The total staff to educate those students number 135 people (60 teachers and 75 administrators). The ratio of students to teachers is a generous 8:1. Taking total staff — teachers plus administrators — the ratio is less than 4:1.

Funding: Contrary to negative claims by self-interested parties, Moultonborough has provided far above average funding. The total cost for the district is 41% higher than the average of all New Hampshire school districts. Revenue dedicated to Moultonborough schools total $17.1 million for the current year. The school budget represents about 70% of the town budget. The cost to educate a single student has now reached an implausible $32,880 per school year. (Average annual cost per NH student is $20,323.)

School budgets: Salaries plus benefits constitute about 69% of the budget. The average teacher salary is $83,564. Yet, the school system is plagued with high teacher turnover and poor morale according to many reports.

District rating: Among 189 statewide school districts, Moultonborough is rated slightly below average. Nevertheless, one must ask: If funding of Moultonborough education is 41% higher than the average of all state school districts, why is our system at or below average in statewide rankings?

Student performance: Critically important, math and reading skills for students in Moultonborough have decayed substantially over the past 10 years. In 2014, 65% of students were proficient in math; in 2024, that proficiency dropped to 37%. In 2014, nearly 90% of students were proficient in reading; in 2024 proficiency declined to 55%. The steep declines in math and reading scores over 10 years is alarming.

To local citizens, voters, and taxpayers, following are pertinent questions: Are we getting reasonable value from the generous funding provided to our school system? Does that generous funding result in verified educational expectations? Are we currently providing the education students need to be successful? Do we have too many administrative employees given the size of our system and relative to the teacher/administrative ratio? As enrollment continues to decrease as currently predicted, what consolidations and actions are being taken to adjust? How is the selectboard reacting to this most serious problem? What specific actions are being contemplated?

The overriding emphasis is to provide the best education possible for local children. That can be achieved with proper school management, deliberate oversight by the selectboard, and within reasonable budget constraints.

John F. Paster

Moultonborough