Public school funding in New Hampshire is like a Hunger Games struggle. While there’s barely a fight in the state Legislature for funding for unaccountable school vouchers, there’s a constant struggle for public schools to obtain the necessary funding they need to educate all their students properly and equitably.
But last week, finally, there was a glint of success when a group of 22 brave Republicans joined Democrats and put the needs of students and their communities ahead of the Republican leadership’s priority bill — setting budget caps on school districts.
Rigid budget caps don’t help students or property taxpayers, who end up contributing to school districts a lot more because the state’s share is too small. Setting local school district budgets should be a local, not a state, decision. Voters currently can approve tax caps for their individual school districts, if they so choose. School funding decisions should reflect local needs and not be punitive decisions made by anti-public school crusaders in Concord.
This, of course, raises the omnipresent question as to why the state refuses to meet its constitutional duty to fully fund public education and thus puts 70% of the cost of public education on the shoulders of local property taxpayers.
But even in our divided political times, common sense won the day in this early stage of the legislative session. The 22 Republicans joined Democrats to eliminate the cap while limiting the percentage of a school’s budget spent on superintendent and central office salaries. That did it — the GOP leadership showed its true stripes and was no longer concerned about rising local property taxes. The entire bill was soundly defeated at the leadership’s urging. The outcome showed there’s bipartisan interest in maintaining public schools that function for their own students.
But that’s just one vote. There’s plenty of work to be done to make sure our public schools and their students are supported fairly. One example: The state legislature is setting up a Darwinian competition between school districts with a bill to allow open enrollment. If this passes, a lot of families could flock to public schools in wealthier districts that have, say, a great band, arts, STEM or robotics program. This could leave poorer districts devoid of students and resources, turning our school system into haves and have-nots on steroids.
Wouldn’t it make sense for every school to offer these kinds of programs that students obviously want? New Hampshire should provide a fair, equitable and strong public education to all students, no matter where they live.
We are now at the beginning of the 2026 legislative session, which has a lot of consequential education bills on tap. Lawmakers should evaluate each with a keen eye on whether it helps or harms public school students across the state, whether it helps or harms property taxpayers and whether it begins to put New Hampshire on the map as a defender of public education or on a mission to destroy it.
Deb Howes, from Hudson, is president of the American Federation of Teachers New Hampshire union.