New data presented to the Commission to Study School funding – working in collaboration with the Carsey School of Public Policy – shows that New Hampshire's existing school funding system produces inequities for the state’s students and taxpayers.
The independent commission, which was created by the New Hampshire General Court in the winter of 2019, received an initial analysis of disparities found in local school district expenditures and their effect on student outcomes during its most recent meeting on Aug. 10. This information was provided by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) as part of its contract with the commission to analyze fiscal and educational inequities across all public school districts in the state.
“The release of this preliminary data helps the commission and public to see the differences in opportunities for an adequate education across New Hampshire school districts," said Bruce Mallory, who serves as project manager for the Carsey School on this initiative. "And it shows how the highly variable property tax rates used to raise local funds for schools can affect school budgets. In the end, the data demonstrate that students with greater educational needs who live in communities with relatively low school spending have poorer outcomes than their peers. The commission will be recommending policy solutions that can reduce those inequities and assure that all students have the chance to achieve their potential regardless of where they live.”
