CONCORD, N.H.— Today, the New Hampshire Supreme Court released its opinion in Contoocook Valley Sch. Dist. v. State. The Court upheld the original Claremont Decision and upheld the recent ConVal ruling and its funding number given by Judge Ruoff last year, while not enforcing the funding immediately. AFT-NH President Deb Howes released the following statement:
“This decision reaffirms what we already knew. New Hampshire’s funding of our local neighborhood public schools is unconstitutional, and the legislature must work now to fix it. Each year of delay is lost learning time and opportunity for public school students and additional excess tax burden on local property taxpayers. While the Court did not say this must be fixed immediately, it is clear that the legislature must act now to figure out how to properly fund our public schools so by the next budget cycle a solution is in place. New Hampshire public school students have long deserved more from the state then they are getting, and we are grateful to the Courts for acknowledging that fact.
New Hampshire property taxpayers need relief, and our public school students deserve the best education they can receive regardless of their zip code. The legislature now has a new mandate from the Court to our school funding problems and they should act today.”