School Funding Study

The Carsey School & The Commission To Study School Funding

Carsey is supporting the Commission to Study School Funding in its efforts to address the state's method of funding New Hampshire’s public schools in a way that is a) fair to the taxpayers who support those schools, b) assures a quality education for the students who attend them, and c) meets the Constitutional requirement to provide an adequate education regardless of the community a student lives in has been a long-standing public policy issue. Over many years, the NH General Court has attempted to address this challenge, often in response to court decisions that have found that our system of funding public schools falls short of meeting Constitutional muster. As the population of our students has become more diverse, as federal and state mandates have been implemented, and as schools have responded to the growing and complex social needs of students, pressure on the General Court has increased to find a long-term, sustainable policy solution.

At the end of the 2019 session of the General Court, the Commission to Study School Funding was established. The Commission was appropriated $500,000 to support comprehensive research and public engagement processes that will result in policy recommendations for consideration in the 2021 legislative session. The Commission was created by HB 551 and became RSA 193-E:2-e.

The Commission is partnering with UNH’s Carsey School of Public Policy and its public engagement program, NH Listens, in this important effort. The Carsey School will support research, engagement, communications, and logistic needs of the Commission in collaboration with state agencies, state and national education experts, and local school administrators, teachers, parents, and students.