Every ballot in New Hampshire this election will have a question for voters: Do they want to cap their local school taxes and superintendent's administrative costs, such as salaries for curriculum directors, payroll and purchasing expenses, and legal fees?
Only, the question’s wording, and the potential outcomes, aren’t so simple.
The question on the ballot says:
If adopted, “(1) the local property tax levy may not grow beyond the prior year’s amount, adjusted for inflation and new construction; (2) SAU central office spending may not exceed 6 percent of total school district appropriations; and (3) bonded capital costs are excluded from both limits.”
It goes on to say that the cap would not affect classroom instruction or school services. Two taxpayers challenged that statement in a lawsuit against the state, saying there is no guarantee classroom instruction and student services would be protected from budget cuts.
Here’s what you need to know.
What would a “yes” vote mean for my taxes?
The local school portion of your property tax bill could not increase faster than the rate of inflation, which currently sits at about 3.9%. That’s a smaller increase than many New Hampshire communities saw in 2025.
For example, Belmont’s school tax rate increased 9.5% last year. Barrington’s went up 11.67%. Under the cap, residents in those communities would have seen a smaller increase in their local school taxes.
The cap, if passed, would not limit increases in your municipal, county, or state education taxes.
A “no” vote means the school budgeting process would remain the same. The school board would propose a budget, and voters would decide whether to pass it or reduce it. The size of the final budget will determine the school portion of your tax rate. It could go up, down, or stay the same.
What would a “yes" vote mean for my local schools?
Your school budget could not increase faster than the rate of inflation. The impact of that change is hard to predict.
If budget cuts are necessary to meet the cap, the ballot question requires school boards to first limit the superintendent office’s administrative costs to 6% of the overall budget.
If further cuts are necessary to meet the cap, the school board would have to look at making cuts to staffing, extra-curricular activities, classroom supplies, or other discretionary costs they are not required to cover.
Cuts to those costs would be more likely if your district sees the kinds of big increases in expenses it must pay. In recent years, school districts have seen unexpected spikes in health insurance premiums and legally mandated special education services. Fluctuations in gas and diesel prices are impossible to predict.
If your town passes a budget cap in November, it would take effect July 1, 2028 and be in place for two years. Voters would have to pass the cap again to continue it.
I have several towns in my school district. What happens if we vote differently?
Here’s where it gets tricky.
If there are multiple towns in your school district, the towns that pass a tax cap would see the cap apply to only the schools in their town. To cap the superintendent's budget, three-fifths of voters in all those towns would have to pass the tax cap.
Where did this ballot question come from?
New Hampshire’s towns and cities can already enact caps on their property taxes and about a dozen do.
In recent years, Republican lawmakers have sought to give voters more ways to cap property taxes.
Their solution? Have a tax cap question appear on every ballot, in every community, automatically, during a statewide election. They say that gives more voters a chance to weigh in because elections draw more voters than communities’ annual meetings. (View the legislative history of the ballot question.)
Democrats and public school advocates largely oppose it. They say the cap could lead to devastating budget cuts that could require staff layoffs or elimination of extra-curricular activities.
The school tax cap question must appear on the ballot in every town and city this November and again in 2028. Voters will have to pass the cap every two years to keep it in place, otherwise it will automatically be repealed.
