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Franklin Passes School Budget, Some Parents Think Of Leaving

After a vote to break the tax cap, and then a reversal of that decision, the Franklin City Council Wednesday night finalized a school budget for the next year. But it still falls short of what the school board requested.

Steve Bunker's been in Franklin for fourteen years. His three kids go to the city's public schools.

He wanted the tax cap broken. In that scenario, the school district would have received most of the money it had asked for. But without that, Bunker says these budget shortfalls mean layoffs and staff turnover, which in turn, means his kids aren’t sure which teacher they’ll have the following school year.

"I feel so defeated,” Bunker said. “I feel like I failed my children by moving to Franklin. That's why a lot of people are bailing."

Maybe even Bunker and his family. He's considering Concord or even farther south.

"I'm willing to pay the property taxes that I need to pay to give my kids a good education. A good solid start in life," he said.

Bunker's planning on having a realtor come look at his house in the next few days. 

I help guide NHPR’s bilingual journalism and our climate/environment journalism in an effort to fill these reporting gaps in New Hampshire. I work with our journalists to tell stories that inform, celebrate and empower Latino/a/x community members in the state through our WhatsApp news service ¿Que Hay de Nuevo, New Hampshire? as well as NHPR’s digital platforms in Spanish and English. For our By Degrees climate coverage, I work with reporters and producers to tell stories that take audience members to the places and people grappling with and responding to climate change, while explaining the forces both driving and limiting New Hampshire’s efforts to respond to this crisis.
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