That’s what the State says it costs to educate one student for one year.
In the State Budget signed into law in June, the State set its “base adequacy” payment at $4,100 per student. That is the amount of money the State will send to school districts for every student for the purpose of funding an “adequate” education.
But, the actual cost of educating NH students is much higher than that. On average, it was $20,060 per student for the 2021-2022 school year. Even Manchester, which has the lowest per pupil costs in the State, spent $15,476 per student that year.
During the 2021-2022 school year, the State sent districts an average of $4,725 per pupil in adequacy payments. On top of base adequacy, there are a few categories of differentiated aid that provide additional funds for students receiving special education services, English Language Learners, and students eligible for free or reduced price lunch.
But even with differentiated aid, in every school district around New Hampshire, adequacy falls far short of what it actually costs to educate students.
Why Does This Matter?
The State of New Hampshire pays the smallest share of education costs of any state in the country, with local property tax payers responsible for the vast majority of school funding.
That wouldn’t be a problem if students and property value were evenly distributed around the state, but they aren’t. That means that closing the gap between what the State pays in adequacy, and what it actually costs to educate students, is much more expensive in communities with lower property values. If a town has less property value it can tax, it needs to have higher tax rates to raise the same amount of money as a community with higher property values.
On top of that, our current system violates the NH State Constitution, which guarantees the right to a state funded, adequate education, and fair taxation to fund that education.
Learn More
There are 2 ongoing funding lawsuits being litigated against the State. Click on the buttons below to learn more about these legal challenges.
ConVal v. State of New Hampshire Rand v. State of New Hampshire
Take a look at some legislation that we will be watching this winter that could have major impacts on school funding and property taxes.
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