Earlier today, the Commission to Study School Funding approved its final report to the New Hampshire Legislature and to Governor Chris Sununu. In the main, the substance of the Commission’s work – and, in particular, the research conducted on its behalf by the American Institutes for Research – have set a solid foundation on which to build a more fair and more sustainable system for funding New Hampshire’s public schools.
The November 22 draft report of the Commission to Study School Funding reflects considerable progress toward the fulfillment of the Commission’s statutory responsibilities and, more importantly, toward devising a more equitable and sustainable system for funding New Hampshire’s public schools. Nevertheless, five key changes to the draft report could strengthen it significantly prior to the Commission’s final vote on November 30.
As long as New Hampshire continues to rely upon disparate property tax rates as the chief means of funding public education, meaningful local control will remain out of reach for many school districts.
For Granite Staters struggling in the face of inequitable educational opportunities and disparate property tax rates, the work of the Commission to Study School Funding to date offers reason for hope, but also cause for concern.
In partnership with a number of educational and civic organizations from across New Hampshire, NHSFFP has developed a set of principles to inform the deliberations of the Commission to Study School Funding and to provide a framework for evaluating the recommendations that it offers.
NHSFFP offers its perspective on the critical questions still before the Commission to Study School Funding as its December 1 deadline approaches.
With ever increasing demands on our time, it isn’t always easy to learn more about the issues that are not only important to us personally, but that are critical to New Hampshire’s future as well. With that in mind, NHSFFP has created three short videos to help explain some of the most vital aspects of school funding in New Hampshire.
Learn more about New Hampshire’s responsibility to fund an adequate education, the inequities arising from its reliance on local property taxes, and the tremendous gap between state aid and actual district costs in this 30-minute video.
Members of the public and legislative candidates from Cheshire and Sullivan Counties joined NHSFFP for an online discussion of school funding and property taxes on Thursday, October 8.
On Tuesday, October 6, NHSFFP brought together members of the public and aspiring legislators from Belknap, Merrimack, and Strafford Counties for an online discussion of school funding and property taxes.