House committee passes bill that would place budget cap on school districts

CONCORD, NH – The Education Funding Committee on March 13 voted (190-185) to pass HB 675, a bill limiting the authority of school districts to make certain appropriations.

The bill establishes a tax cap for local school districts, based on the average appropriations of the past five years, adjusted by an enrollment percentage and an inflation factor. School districts can override the cap with a ⅔ majority vote.

Those in support of the bill feel it is an effort to lower property taxes.

Representative Jason Osborne, R-Auburn – who sponsored the bill along with prime sponsor Joe Sweeney – said that property taxes are “out of control,” and that this bill is “probably the most important one that we have all year, maybe to protect our tax payers.”

Those who opposed the bill felt that it would take local control away from school districts and – according to Rep.Hope Damon, D-Croydon – perpetuate spending inequity per school districts.

Osborne countered that the bill would take away local control, saying that property taxes are decided by local elections, and that voter turnout in local elections is less than 15 percent.

“When 7.5 percent of my neighbors all get together and take my house, that is not ‘local control,’ that is a tyranny of fringe special interests,” he said.

In reaction, Megan Tuttle, president of the National Education Association (NEA-NH) said that while they understand and feel the frustration of the rise in property taxes, this is not the way to “address a funding crisis created by the state’s failure to fully fund an adequate education.”

She said, as amended, the bill would “place an arbitrary cap on school district budgets based on inflation and enrollment trends—regardless of real costs like teacher salaries, special education services, or rising utility bills.”

Tuttle also noted that New Hampshire ranks last in the nation when it comes to the amount of state education funding received, and therefore the burden is passed on to property taxpayers.

She said the bill would have “catastrophic” consequences for public schools and students, as it would “slash local budgets,” resulting in larger class sizes and less support for students.

“In every single community where spending caps have been considered this year, voters have overwhelmingly rejected them,” Tuttle said. “Today’s House vote is an offense to the will of voters and completely disregards the majority of Granite Staters who support their local public schools and believe every student deserves access to a quality education, regardless of their zip code.”

Added Tuttle, “Make no mistake about it, instead of fixing our state’s broken public education funding system, HB 675 will lock in the existing disparities around our state and make it very difficult for districts that are already underfunded to make up ground.”

During Friday’s House Finance Committee meeting, the possibility of retaining HB 675 and inserting it into the state budget (HB 2) was discussed.