© 2025 New Hampshire Public Radio

Persons with disabilities who need assistance accessing NHPR's FCC public files, please contact us at publicfile@nhpr.org.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Support essential local news and protect public media with a donation today!

NH GOP lawmakers move ahead with push to control local school spending

Weare School District voters defeated a cap on school spending. Lawmakers want to make it harder for communities to say no.
Dan Tuohy
/
NHPR
Weare School District voters defeated a cap on school spending. Lawmakers want to make it harder for communities to say no.

The state would take significant control of local school spending under a bill Republicans passed in the New Hampshire House Thursday.

The legislation would automatically cap local school budgets and allow increases only for inflation and rising enrollment. Voters would need a two-thirds majority to override a spending cap, a threshold opponents said is virtually unreachable.

Thursday’s vote came two days after at least seven communities considered an optional version of that spending cap that lawmakers put in place last year. All seven rejected it.

Rep. Hope Damon, a Croydon Democrat, reminded House members of that Thursday, telling them voters were watching and would hold them accountable.

“House Bill 675 is an arbitrary sledgehammer that attacks local control without any flexibility, reason, or fairness,” Damon said. “It completely violates New Hampshire's longtime respect for local control by overriding school districts.”

Damon also noted that the legislation does not include an adjustment for special education costs which can be unpredictable but must be paid under federal law. That would lead to cuts in other educational programs, she said.

The bill’s backers include Republican Rep. Dan McGuire of Epsom, who saw his proposed school budget cap fail in that district Tuesday, 289-579. McGuire told House members the state needs to step in because local spending is burdening taxpayers without clear benefits to students.

“There is no correlation between spending and outcomes,” McGuire said. “What we do know is that there is a huge correlation between spending and property taxes.”

The bill heads next to the House Finance Committee.

I write about youth and education in New Hampshire. I believe the experts for a news story are the people living the issue you are writing about, so I’m eager to learn how students and their families are navigating challenges in their daily lives — including childcare, bullying, academic demands and more. I’m also interested in exploring how changes in technology and funding are affecting education in New Hampshire, as well as what young Granite Staters are thinking about their experiences in school and life after graduation.

You make NHPR possible.

NHPR is nonprofit and independent. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. Your support makes this news available to everyone.

Give today. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference.