Rick DeMark: Public education funding headed to NH Supreme Court

To The Daily Sun,

The Republican/Libertarian controlled New Hampshire Legislature has proved extremely harmful to public education, communities and families. Aided by Gov. Chris Sununu and Education Commissioner Edelblut, the NH Legislature cut support to public education (FY 2022-23) by a third and failed to restore any funding this year; it permitted unnecessary expansion of the voucher program that siphons public tax dollars (unaccountably) for private schooling and passed a “divisive concepts” law (fortunately struck down in federal court) that severely disrupted the education process. The anti-public education objectives of Project 2025 are already happening here.

The next battleground over public education is the NH Supreme Court. This month it will hear appeals to the critical cases of ConVal and Rand. 

In ConVal, the Superior Court ruled the state must increase the amount NH contributes to “adequately” educate each child (K-12) to at least $7,356.01 from the current $4,100. The NH attorney general, for the state, is appealing this ruling but not on the grounds that $7,356 is too much. He knows it isn’t. He will argue it’s the Legislature’s responsibility to determine and legislate adequacy not the court. The state’s position ignores the NH Constitution and the Claremont Decision and would send the question back to the Legislature which has consistently ignored there is an education funding problem.

In Rand, the Superior Court ruled that the Statewide Education Property Tax (SWEPT) is unconstitutional because the state administers SWEPT unequally. Since 2011 some property rich communities have been allowed to retain “excess” (local SWEPT funds that exceed the amount of “adequacy aid paid by the state) allowing them to use SWEPT funds for other purposes. Also, some communities have been allowed to set “negative” local tax rates to offset their payments to the SWEPT. Both of these tactics were previously ruled unconstitutional by the NH Supreme Court. The NH attorney general and the coalition communities (26 communities including Center Harbor, Holderness, Meredith, Tuftonboro, Wolfeboro, Sandwich, Bridgewater and Moultonborough) will appeal that they shouldn’t have to pay their full burden of the SWEPT because their property is more valuable.

So, pending these cases, Gov. Sununu and the current Legislature will likely ignore the fact that NH’s contribution to public education is not nearly close to the actual cost to “adequately” educate our children and places our state last in state support to public education. And while NH continues to rely primarily on property taxes, costs will be passed down to school districts and towns causing strife within communities and animosity between property rich and property poor communities.

Voters can educate themselves at the NH School Fairness Funding Project at fairfundingnh.org. Consider asking the school board to request assistance from the NHSFFP. Be the first in Belknap County to get that help.

As an election year, question the candidates. Ask them: Where do you stand on these cases and NH’s reliance on property taxes? Are you satisfied with NH being last in the nation in support of education? If not, what will they do about it?

Rick DeMark

Meredith