The Pittsfield School Board recently reached out to Executive Councilor Andru Volinsky, a lead attorney in the Claremont cases, to learn more about the state system and about the Claremont lawsuits. Attorney Volinsky will present a workshop on school funding in New Hampshire at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday evening, June 13, at the Pittsfield Middle High School Lecture Hall.
From John Freeman, Superintendent of Pittsfield School District:
Like students and taxpayers in other property poor towns, our Pittsfield students and taxpayers are disadvantaged when compared with towns with greater real estate value. Of course, the Claremont lawsuits that challenged the state’s funding mechanism back in the 1990’s and early 2000’s were supposed to remedy the inequities built into the system. As we know, the inequities remain.
Although the New Hampshire Supreme Court has ruled that the responsibility for public education rests with the state, the related issues of equity in school spending for students and of equity in bearing the tax burden to support public schools still disadvantages students and taxpayers from towns like Pittsfield.
In fact, the current state funding system allows for “children in school districts with more valuable real estate [to] benefit from higher per-pupil spending, while their parents pay property taxes at much lower rates,” according to Attorney John Tobin.
Executive Councilor Andru Volinsky, also a lead attorney in the Claremont lawsuits, will present a workshop on New Hampshire school funding at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 13, at PMHS. All Pittsfield residents are invited and urged to participate in this opportunity.
The Pittsfield School Board is considering steps to address this inequity. Bring your voice into this important conversation: 6:00 p.m. June 13.
Learn more about the school funding formula in the state, its effect on student outcomes, and more:
- Webinar Recording: NH Public Education Funding A-Z
- NH ranks 46th in school funding equity, according to national study
- RHNH Exec Dir. Evelyn Aissa Speaks to Contrasting Ed Outcomes in NH
- Reliance on property taxes for funding means large differences in experiences and outcomes in New Hampshire schools
- Education funding formula could lead to lawsuit
- Concord Monitor: Current education funding model subsidizes wealthy communities
- More Education Funding News
