A new report shows disparities in school funding in New Hampshire persist, two decades after a landmark lawsuit targeted the state’s education funding system.
When the town of Claremont sued the state over education funding in the late 90s, the case highlighted huge gaps between how much rich towns and poor towns were spending on their public schools.
Now, some 20 years after a judge ordered the state to provide an adequate education for all students, the level of inequality has hardly budged.
That’s according to new research from the New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies. Steve Norton is Executive Director.
“One of the goals of Claremont was arguably to reduce the disparity in per-pupil expenditure across the state. Basically, if that’s the goal, it doesn’t seem like much has changed.”
The state’s education funding formula has been on the minds of lawmakers as well. Earlier this year, they voted to create a committee to review the current system. They’re due to report back next fall.
