Edith Perkins is a public school educator of more than 25 years. She lives in Bow.

As a public school educator in New Hampshire for over 25 years, I have seen how insufficient school funding can devastate programs, individual students, teachers and staff, making unattainable the job that needs to be done.

I have worked in three different school districts in New Hampshire and have seen these funding issues play out in unique ways in each district.

In one district, the textbooks were so old, the children found their parents’ names on the inside front cover. In that same district, my classroom walls were so dirty that I asked if they could be painted. I was told that, if I wanted them painted, I would have to do it myself. So I did.

Ironically, while our state ranks among the highest in academic performance in the nation, it also ranks as one of the very lowest for funding to our public schools. I am trying to determine how best to support my local school district given the following sequence of events.

On Nov. 15, 2024, the state Department of Education reduced funding for Special Education services by an astronomical amount under the guidance of Frank Edleblut, the Commissioner of Education. As of the date I’m writing this piece, the State will pay 67.5% of what was allocated for special education funding in a previously approved budget for 2025. In my small town, that meant a reduction of $122,000.

Edleblut’s announcement, made in November, came long after teacher and staff contracts had been signed, long after vendors had been contracted and long after IEPs and 504 documents had been signed. It left school districts with little recourse to recoup this significant amount of money. IEPs and 504s are legal special education documents that outline the accommodations a student will receive. Districts are obligated to follow these documents and cannot legally decide to cut or refuse to supply services to a student because of a lack of funds. Because of the inequitable funding of public schools in New Hampshire, this deficit will need to be made up by local school districts.

School boards will need to cut programming, raise taxes, or both.

First, came funding cuts. Now, the Department of Education is pushing to expand Education Funding Accounts by removing income limits on EFA eligibility. Families who opt to send their children to non-public schools can receive $5,200 per child, while school districts receive approximately $4,000 per student.

According to Reaching Higher NH, the majority of students currently receiving these EFAs were already enrolled in private schools to begin with. EFA’s are effectively paying for private or religious school education. This is a travesty. Public tax dollars are subsidizing personal choices some families have already made. Options available to EFA recipients include piano lessons, martial arts classes, gymnastics, one religious school after another and ski passes, to name a few. In addition, providers, students and their families are not scrutinized to the same standard — or any standard — as public schools, who are annually evaluated for academic progress and financial responsibility.

Lastly, a bill has been presented to the New Hampshire legislature, House Bill 283, suggesting that an adequate education does not need to include courses such as history, civics, technology education, music, art or foreign language. Over 30,000 New Hampshire residents opposed the bill, a clear indicator that New Hampshire overwhelmingly supports public education. On Feb. 12, thanks to the thousands of people who opposed it, this bill was determined to be inexpedient to legislate.

The fate of HB 283 shows what public opinion can do. We must continue in our efforts.

We cannot sit by and let our public schools be destroyed, defunded and disgraced. It is abominable that our public education system in New Hampshire is not supported by the Department of Education, and as a result, we may yet face the demise of public education in our state.

Local school boards and town officials are caught between a “Skylla and a Charybdis” in trying to figure out how to fund their schools without sacrificing academics and programing while keeping tax bills to a “minimum.”

We need to stand up to our elected officials, as well as those who are appointed, and demand that public education be a top priority. Our children, who are our future leaders, depend on us to do so.