I’m Brittni Widdick, and I recommend voting No on Question 2. Here’s why,
in plain English, with a source for every fact and the other side’s best arguments.
It caps the school district’s property-tax levy, not just administration. Question 2
bundles two limits into one vote: central-office administration at 6% of the budget, and the district’s
whole local property-tax levy (minus building-loan payments), which helps pay for teachers, buses, heat, and
special education. The ballot says “these caps” don’t affect classroom instruction, but a co-sponsor, Sen.
Dan Innis, told the Keene Sentinel that sentence covers only the 6% cap.
The law (source, opens in a new window)Keene Sentinel (source, opens in a new window)
Farmington’s own estimate: about $360,000 short in year one. Assuming 3% inflation,
district leaders estimate the cap would let school property taxes grow about $377,500 for 2027–28. Expected
increases in staff pay and health insurance (projected to rise 19%) total about $738,300. That’s before special education,
fuel, and transportation. School Board video (source, opens in a new window)Try other inflation numbers
Starting with the 2027–28 budget, Farmington’s school property-tax levy can grow only by inflation plus new
construction, and going over that takes a 60% vote. Central-office spending is capped at 6% of the budget.
RSA 32:5-i, VIII–XII (source, opens in a new window)
In fairness: supporters’ best case is that property taxes have climbed fast and that caps
elsewhere have slowed tax growth. I think that in Farmington, where total school spending has grown more slowly
than prices (though faster per student, as enrollment fell) and voters already say no when they want to, the risk to students is the bigger concern. Read their arguments
Know someone voting in Farmington? Send them the 1-minute version.
Farmington’s own estimate: about $360,000 short in year one
At the October 19 School Board meeting, district leaders walked through what the cap would mean for the 2027–28
budget, the first one it would cover.
Assuming 3% inflation and little new construction, they estimate the cap would let school property taxes
grow about $377,500. Expected increases for staff contracts, health insurance (projected
to rise 19%), and dental come to about $738,300.
Video, 43:23 (source, opens in a new window)45:17 (source, opens in a new window)
At 3% inflation and no new construction, the cap would allow about $377,523 more in school
property taxes, against $738,287 in expected cost increases: about $360,764 short.
Uses the district’s preliminary figures: a starting school levy of about $12.58 million and $738,287 in
expected increases, before special education, fuel, and transportation. The cap adds inflation and new
construction to last year’s levy; the result is my math. By my estimate, new construction has added under
1% a year in Farmington outside revaluation years. Video (source, opens in a new window)RSA 32:5-i, VIII (source, opens in a new window)
Why so tight?
The 3% applies only to money raised from local property taxes. The rest of Farmington’s $18.1 million school
budget is paid for by state aid, federal grants, and other revenue, which the cap doesn’t touch. So by the
district’s numbers, if that other money stays flat, the cap would let the budget grow about 2%, while expected
costs rise about 4%.
2026–27 budget (source, opens in a new window)
These are the district’s preliminary estimates, and they could move either way. The 2% and 4% are my math from
the district’s figures. Two things aren’t settled. Recent Northeast inflation readings (3.6% in March, 4.2% in
September) are above 3%, which would shrink the gap. BLS Northeast CPI (source, opens in a new window) But the district started from a
tax figure of about $12.6 million, while the state’s tax-rate sheet put Farmington’s local school tax for
2025–26 at about $7.9 million, after state aid. 2025 tax rate sheet (source, opens in a new window) The
2026–27 figure, which the cap would build on, will be set this fall. If it is closer to the state’s figure, 3%
would allow only about $236,000, and the gap would be closer to $500,000 (my math).
“I worry that should this go to the ballot, people will believe that if it’s implemented, it won’t have a
negative impact on students.”
10% less buying power than in 2016
Has Farmington’s spending kept up with inflation?
No. Farmington’s total school spending grew 20.7% from 2016 to 2025, while prices rose 34.1%.
School spending ($16.5 million → $20.0 million)+20.7%
Consumer prices+34.1%
Growth from fiscal 2016 to fiscal 2025 (school years ending in June). Spending is total spending for all purposes, not adjusted for inflation.
The district spent about $16.5 million in fiscal 2016 (the school year ending June 2016) and about
$20.0 million in fiscal 2025, according to its annual financial reports to the state. No audit of fiscal 2025
has been published yet. NH DOE, DOE-25 (source, opens in a new window) That total counts spending from every fund, so it isn’t the
same as the operating budget voters approve each March (for 2026–27, the $18.1 million default). Consumer prices rose 34.1% over the same years. BLS CPI (source, opens in a new window)
By my math, buying what $16.5 million bought in 2016 would have taken about $22.2 million in 2025, about
$2.2 million more than the district spent. Census Bureau figures tell the same story: in every year from 2017
through 2024, spending stayed below the 2016 level adjusted for inflation, though in some years it grew
faster than prices. Census, 2016–2024 (source, opens in a new window)
In fairness, enrollment fell about a quarter over the same period, from 991 students to 738.
NCES enrollment (source, opens in a new window) So spending per student rose faster than prices. By the district’s
totals above, it rose about 62% from 2016 to 2025 (my math), while prices rose 34%. Census figures, which count
only day-to-day spending and allow a statewide comparison but stop at 2024, show a 43% rise from 2016 to 2024,
against about 31% for prices and 50% for the statewide average. In 2024 Farmington spent about the state
average per student, and less than about 7 in 10 New Hampshire school districts. (The statewide average is
weighted toward larger districts, which tend to spend less per student.)
Census 2016 (source, opens in a new window)Census 2024 (source, opens in a new window)Census 2016 state table (source, opens in a new window)Census 2024 state table (source, opens in a new window) Many costs don’t shrink when enrollment does, like buildings, bus
routes, and special education.
Spending by category, 2016 to 2024, adjusted for inflation
Farmington school spending by category, fiscal 2016 and 2024
Category
After inflation
2016
2024
Dollar change
Instruction (teachers, aides, classroom costs)
−13%
$8.88M
$10.12M
+14%
Student support (counselors, nurses, therapists)
−24%
$1.38M
$1.37M
−1%
Instructional staff support (curriculum, training, library)
−63%
$748K
$364K
−51%
General administration (school board, superintendent’s office)
−43%
$1.15M
$855K
−26%
School administration (principals’ offices)
−15%
$1.01M
$1.11M
+10%
Business and central services (finance, technology, other support)
+153%
$293K
$967K
+230%
Building operations and maintenance
−7%
$1.44M
$1.76M
+22%
Student transportation
−20%
$529K
$550K
+4%
Food service
−40%
$470K
$371K
−21%
All day-to-day spending
−16%
$15.89M
$17.46M
+10%
“After inflation” is the change in buying power, not necessarily a cut in dollars: a category that grew
less than 30.7%, the rise in consumer prices from 2016 to 2024, buys less than it did. Instruction includes
special education; the Census Bureau doesn’t report it separately. Some shifts may reflect how costs were
recorded rather than real changes: general administration fell while business and central services grew.
The Census Bureau hasn’t published 2025 yet. The total is day-to-day spending; it leaves out construction,
equipment, and debt payments. That’s why it shows a bigger loss of buying power (16%) than the 10% above: it
stops at 2024, before spending jumped in fiscal 2025, and counts only day-to-day costs.
Census 2016 (source, opens in a new window)Census 2024 (source, opens in a new window)BLS CPI (source, opens in a new window)
Spending, property taxes, and state aid are three different numbers. Spending is what the
district spends to run its schools. The school property tax is the part Farmington residents raise
locally. State aid is what the state contributes, which affects how much is left for local taxpayers.
These can move in different directions: property taxes can rise even while spending, adjusted for
inflation, falls, if state aid and other money don’t keep up. In Farmington, Census Bureau figures show
that from 2016 to 2024, school property taxes rose about 30%, roughly in step with prices, while state
money (which in Census figures includes the statewide education property tax) fell about 3% before
inflation, as enrollment fell and most state aid is paid per student. Day-to-day spending, the Census
measure in the table above, rose about 10%. Census 2016 (source, opens in a new window)Census 2024 (source, opens in a new window)RSA 198:40-a (source, opens in a new window) That’s why I don’t think a cap on the local
tax gets at the real problem. It limits what Farmington can raise, but it doesn’t lower what it costs to
educate students, or change how those costs are split between the state and towns.
How New Hampshire splits the cost · What else could help
District leaders said Farmington has lost about 11 full-time positions over the last couple of years that
weren’t replaced. The high school has no music teacher of its own (another staff member covers), and one
librarian covers two schools. “I
don’t know how thin we can spread that,” one told the board. “Everyone’s doing extra jobs at this point.”
Video, 1:05:20 (source, opens in a new window)1:06:32 (source, opens in a new window)
Why not special education? Each student’s written plan, called an IEP, “is a legal document and what is
promised in that document has to be delivered,” a district leader said.
Video, 1:09:21 (source, opens in a new window)
This year, at the January deliberative session, the district had to correct its fallback (“default”) budget,
adding $700,000 for health insurance increases it was obligated to pay.
Deliberative session minutes (source, opens in a new window)
5.7% central-office share, about $47,000 under the 6% limit
Would the 6% administration limit help here?
Probably not much, though the margin is thin. By the district’s count, central-office costs
come to about $991,000, about 5.7% of the budget and roughly $47,000 under the 6% limit. The superintendent
said some costs, like the district’s IT administrator and part of its legal bills, could land on either side.
Video, 58:32 (source, opens in a new window) And because the limit is a share of the
budget, it would shrink if the levy cap forced the budget down. For now, the levy cap is the part that would
bite. Video, 59:48 (source, opens in a new window)1:02:29 (source, opens in a new window)
Farmington’s school finances have had real problems, and it’s fair to say so. The district’s 2023 audit came
back without an opinion, meaning the auditors couldn’t say whether the books were accurate, because
“inadequate or no documentation exists to support material account balances and transactions.”
FY2023 audit (source, opens in a new window)
In 2025–26 the district ran short of money. The board chair called the shortfall the year’s “most frustrating
challenge,” said the board had made “significant changes to our business department” to strengthen financial
management, and said those challenges, “coupled with unanticipated healthcare bills,” led to a mid-year
Reduction in Force: the district’s first layoffs in years, along with a spending freeze.
Farmington annual report, pp. 29–30 (source, opens in a new window) The district has taken steps to
address its financial management challenges, including hiring a new business administrator scheduled to begin
in late October 2026. Video, 6:35 (source, opens in a new window)
Cap supporters can fairly point to this as a reason voters want firmer limits. My view: a tax cap didn’t cause
that shortfall, and a cap won’t fix bookkeeping. Under a cap, any rebuilding above the limit would need a 60%
vote.
Hear it from the people who build the budget: the district’s presentation on HB 1300 at the October 19 School
Board meeting runs about 35 minutes, with questions from residents. Watch from 37:21 (source, opens in a new window)
Student outcomes
Farmington students were closing the gap with the state
Farmington worked to narrow the gap between its students and the state average, and between 2021 and 2024 it
closed most of it. In 2026, much of that gap reopened. That progress, and getting it back, matters, especially
in a community facing real economic challenges.
I believe keeping that progress takes steady support. In spring 2026, after a school year with a spending
freeze and the district’s first layoffs in years, results fell: reading went from 49% to 41% of students
scoring proficient or better, math from 33% to 31%, and science from 45% to 26%, while state averages held
steady or rose. SDGA-NH data (source, opens in a new window)Keene Sentinel (source, opens in a new window)Farmington annual report, pp. 29–30 (source, opens in a new window) Math had already slipped a year
earlier, from 39% to 33% in spring 2025, before the freeze and layoffs. That doesn’t show the layoffs caused
the drop: in 2026 Farmington tested only about 320 students in math and reading and about 140 in science, each
year tests different students, and many things affect scores. But the decline deserves a close look before
new limits on school funding.
Choose a subject to see Farmington and New Hampshire side by side. Each point is the share of students scoring
proficient or better on that spring’s state tests: math and reading in grades 3–8 plus the grade 11 SAT, and
science in grades 5, 8, and 11. There were no state tests in 2020, and the grade 11 SAT changed format in 2024.
Results for each grade and test are below the chart.
FarmingtonNew HampshireMath: percent of students proficient or better, spring of each yearFarmingtonNew HampshireReading: percent of students proficient or better, spring of each yearFarmingtonNew HampshireScience: percent of students proficient or better, spring of each year
All the numbers, and what they cover
Percent of students proficient or better (Farmington / state)
Results by grade and test, 2024 to 2026 (Farmington / state)
Percent of students proficient or better, by grade (Farmington / state)
Grade
Test
2026
2025
2024
Math
3
NH SAS
42% / 54%
47% / 53%
27% / 53%
4
NH SAS
33% / 52%
45% / 52%
55% / 49%
5
NH SAS
32% / 43%
31% / 40%
48% / 40%
6
NH SAS
31% / 43%
43% / 41%
45% / 41%
7
NH SAS
40% / 44%
20% / 41%
40% / 40%
8
NH SAS
25% / 40%
40% / 38%
49% / 37%
11
SAT
13% / 30%
under 10% / 31%
10% / 30%
Reading
3
NH SAS
42% / 51%
39% / 49%
41% / 50%
4
NH SAS
40% / 52%
47% / 53%
51% / 50%
5
NH SAS
38% / 58%
55% / 57%
60% / 56%
6
NH SAS
50% / 52%
52% / 53%
33% / 52%
7
NH SAS
47% / 57%
44% / 55%
56% / 54%
8
NH SAS
27% / 51%
51% / 52%
53% / 49%
11
SAT
48% / 62%
57% / 66%
43% / 63%
Science
5
NH SAS
16% / 38%
29% / 38%
41% / 36%
8
NH SAS
29% / 37%
64% / 37%
45% / 34%
11
NH SAS
35% / 40%
38% / 39%
17% / 39%
Grades 3–8 take the state’s NH SAS test. In grade 11, students take the SAT in math and reading and the NH
SAS in science. Only about 40 to 65 Farmington students are tested in each grade, so one grade’s results can
swing a lot from year to year, and each year’s 5th graders are different children from the year before.
SDGA-NH data (source, opens in a new window)
Families and taxpayers
Farmington families have less room to absorb rising costs
$66,943
median household income in Farmington, about two-thirds of the state’s $99,031
I believe a good public education is one of the most important tools a community has to expand opportunity
and break the cycle of poverty, and the research backs that up. A major study of school-finance reforms found
that 10% more spending per student throughout a child’s school years led to more years of school, higher
adult wages, and less adult poverty. For children from low-income families, it cut the chance of being poor in
a given adult year by about 6 percentage points. Jackson, Johnson & Persico (2016) (source, opens in a new window) A review of U.S. studies of school
spending found that
$1,000 more per student for four years raised test scores and college-going, especially for students from
lower-income families. Jackson & Mackevicius (2024) (source, opens in a new window) And when school budgets were cut during the Great
Recession, test scores and college-going fell, and gaps by income and race widened.
Jackson, Wigger & Xiong (2021) (source, opens in a new window)
That’s why I worry that limiting what schools can offer, in a community already facing economic hardship,
risks deepening those gaps. In fairness, how money is spent matters, and some economists argue that more
resources alone have done little. Hanushek (2003) (source, opens in a new window) A 2021 re-analysis of the Great Recession study,
not peer-reviewed, also questioned how much those cuts lowered test scores and college-going.
Goldstein & McGee (2021) (source, opens in a new window)
Property taxes are a real burden, too
New Hampshire relies on property taxes more than any other state: they make up about 60% of state and local
tax revenue, and the effective tax rate on homes is the 5th highest in the country.
Tax Foundation (source, opens in a new window) That weighs on residents with fixed incomes. Statewide, about 3 in 10
homeowners 65 and older spend 30% or more of their income on housing costs, including property taxes.
Census: NH homeowners (source, opens in a new window) With Farmington’s lower incomes, tax increases hit harder here, and that’s a
real reason some neighbors support a cap. What else could help
Read it closely
What the ballot says vs. what the law does
Here is Question 2 exactly as it appears on the back of Farmington’s ballot. Look at the highlighted sentence.
Statutory question required by HB 1300, Chapter 324, 2026
2. “Shall the Town of FARMINGTON limit property tax growth for FARMINGTON SCHOOL DISTRICT (SAU #61) under RSA 32:5-i? If adopted for a two-year period: (1) the local property tax levy may not grow beyond the prior year’s amount, adjusted for inflation and new construction; (2) SAU central office spending may not exceed 6 percent of total school district appropriations; and (3) bonded capital costs are excluded from both limits. Highlighted sentence: These caps apply only to administrative operations of the SAU central office and do not affect classroom instruction, school-based services, or other municipal expenditures. (end of highlight) These limits may be overridden as provided in RSA 32:5-i. Adoption requires a three-fifths (3/5) majority vote.”
YesNo
Replica of Question 2 as printed on Farmington’s ballot, with the classroom sentence highlighted. Wording from
the Town of Farmington sample ballot (source, opens in a new window). State law sets
the same wording for every town. RSA 32:5-i, V (source, opens in a new window) Key: SAU = the superintendent’s
office · appropriations = what voters approve to spend · bonded capital costs = loan payments on school
buildings · overridden = voted over · three-fifths = 60%.
The ballot says one thing. Check it against the law.
The ballot says
“These caps apply only to administrative operations of the SAU central office and do not affect classroom instruction, school-based services…”
The law itself says
Only the 6% administration cap excludes classroom instruction. The other cap is on the district’s whole
property-tax levy, “the estimated amount of local taxes to be raised for the fiscal year attributable to the
school district,” which helps pay for the entire school budget. If a budget would need more tax money than
the cap allows, the state “shall not approve any tax rate that exceeds the certified limit” unless 60% of
voters approve going over it. The law doesn’t say which parts of the budget would be cut.
RSA 32:5-i, VIII, IX, XI & XV (source, opens in a new window)
The ballot says
“limit property tax growth”
The law itself says
It limits only the school district’s share. It doesn’t limit town, county, or state education taxes, so
your own tax bill can still go up. NHPR (source, opens in a new window)
Tax cap or school cap?
It does cap a tax: the total the school district can raise in property taxes. But both of its limits apply
only to the school district, and it is not a cap on your tax bill or your tax rate. It
doesn’t cut anyone’s current bill. At most it slows how fast the school portion can grow, and it still lets
the school levy grow with inflation and new construction. Even NH Journal, a right-leaning news site, wrote
that it “would not guarantee a particular limit on an individual homeowner’s bill.”
NH Journal (source, opens in a new window)RSA 32:5-i, XV (source, opens in a new window)
If Question 2 passes in Farmington, any school budget that would need property taxes above the limit must win
60% “yes” on the ballot. A simple majority isn’t enough.
RSA 32:5-i, X(a) (source, opens in a new window)
A school budget that needs taxes above the cap. yes no
The other side
What supporters say, and what to weigh
People backing Question 2 have real concerns about the cost of living. Here are their strongest arguments,
stated fairly, and the facts I think belong next to them.
True, and it hurts. But New Hampshire’s state government pays a smaller share of school costs than any
other state, so more of each increase lands on local property taxes. Question 2 doesn’t change that. It
only limits the local share. NH Bulletin (source, opens in a new window)
Supporters say
It isn’t a cut.
The levy can still grow every year with inflation plus new construction.
Rep. Ross Berry: “I would love to know how a 3.9% property tax increase results in them having to cut
anything.” Valley News (source, opens in a new window)
Worth weighing
In Farmington, property taxes pay only part of the school budget. By my math from the district’s
figures, even a 3.9% levy increase (about $490,000) works out to under 3% budget growth, short of the
roughly $738,000 (about 4%) in expected cost increases, mostly contracts and a projected 19%
health-insurance increase. School Board video (source, opens in a new window)
AFT-NH, the teachers union, notes that schools still have fixed costs like running buses and heating
classrooms, and that it’s hard to cut staff when fewer students are spread across many grades.
Keene Sentinel (source, opens in a new window) In Farmington, total school spending grew more slowly than
prices. Per student it rose 43%, faster than prices but slower than the state’s 50%.
See Farmington’s numbers
That’s a fair point. But once a cap is in place, every vote to go over it happens at Farmington’s regular
March school election, not in November. RSA 32:5-i, X(a) (source, opens in a new window)
After New York capped school levies, average school tax
increases fell to 1.9% a year in 2012–2018, from 6.6% in 2004–2008 and 3.1% in the recession years
just before the cap took effect. More than 95% of school budgets still passed each year. Rockefeller Institute (source, opens in a new window)
Worth weighing
That’s the trade-off. A study of New York’s cap found that each $1,000 per student a district lost to it
lowered test scores, driven by cuts to instruction, teacher hiring, and support staff.
Sorensen, Kim & Hwang (2021) (source, opens in a new window)
Supporters say
Most states limit property taxes, and Massachusetts has had a tougher cap since 1980.
In January 2026, 22 House Republicans joined Democrats to narrow a statewide school budget cap bill (HB 675)
to administrative spending only. Backing that change, Republican Rep. Kristine Perez said a study in her town
had convinced her that a tax cap is not an ideal way to restrain spending. The changed bill was then killed.
NH Bulletin (source, opens in a new window) Local votes are mixed: in March 2026, voters in nine communities rejected tax-cap
articles, while Kingston and Lebanon adopted caps. NHPR (source, opens in a new window)
What about alternatives?
Property taxes are a real burden. A cap doesn’t fix the cause.
Farmington faces a difficult reality. Our schools need enough money to educate children, but much of that cost
falls on local property taxpayers. For families struggling to make ends meet and older residents on fixed
incomes, that burden can be substantial.
We shouldn’t have to choose between a good education for our children and letting longtime residents stay in
their homes.
In the short term, our schools need the money to meet their responsibilities. In the long term, New Hampshire
needs to change how it pays for public education.
Why so much falls on property taxes
New Hampshire leans on local money for its schools more than any other state. In fiscal 2024, 63% of public
school revenue came from local sources, the highest share of any state, and 28% came from the state, the
lowest. Local property taxes alone supplied about half. Census, FY2024 tables (source, opens in a new window)
So a town’s property wealth matters a lot. In 2023–24, Farmington had about $1.33 million of taxable property
for each student, about two-thirds of the state average of $2.08 million; some towns have many times more.
The state’s formula makes up part of the difference: in 2025–26, Farmington was estimated to get about
$10,740 per student in state adequacy aid (including the state education tax it raises and keeps), against a
statewide average of $7,109. That helps keep Farmington’s local school tax rate, once
differences in how towns assess property are evened out, close to the state average ($7.45 per $1,000 in
2023, vs. $7.31). NH DOE finance data (source, opens in a new window) So the challenge here isn’t an unusually high rate. It’s
that an average rate weighs more heavily on lower incomes. See Farmington’s families
There are possible solutions worth examining, including changes to state education funding, shared
administration, and targeted property-tax relief for residents on fixed incomes. Each has tradeoffs.
The tradeoff: that money has to come from somewhere. NH Business Review called the
commission’s plan for a statewide property tax to pay for state aid its most controversial idea.
NH Business Review (source, opens in a new window)
Share administration
Combining administrative work, or even districts, deserves a look. That doesn’t have to mean merging school
buildings or putting students in settings that aren’t right for their ages. State law already lets school
administrative units (SAUs) merge their central offices, and pays $200 per student for two years for
mergers completed by July 1, 2030. RSA 194-C:2 (source, opens in a new window) A state commission on SAU efficiency is due to
report by Nov. 1, 2026. RSA 194-C:13 (source, opens in a new window) Farmington’s SAU 61 has served only Farmington since
2016, after Middleton left. FY2016 audit (source, opens in a new window)
Farmington already offers an elderly exemption: $155,000 off a home’s assessed value at ages 65–74,
$183,000 at 75–79, and $225,000 at 80 and older, for incomes up to $40,000 (single) or $80,000 (married) and
assets up to $75,000, not counting the home. At the 2025 rate that’s worth roughly $2,400 to $3,500 a year
(my math). Applications are due April 15. Farmington elderly exemption (source, opens in a new window)2025 Town Report (source, opens in a new window)
Residents 65 and older or with disabilities can also ask the town to defer property taxes if paying would
cause undue hardship. Deferred taxes (up to 85% of the home’s equity) build up 5% interest and come due when
the home is sold or transferred, or after the owner’s death. RSA 72:38-a (source, opens in a new window)
These are complicated issues, and reasonable people will disagree about the best answers. Our state
representatives have a role in building approaches that protect both students and taxpayers.
What we can’t do is assume that limiting a school’s ability to raise money will solve the underlying problem.
It may reduce the money available without reducing what it costs to give our children the education they
need.
Few people know much about this yet. In a September UNH poll, 46% of likely voters statewide said
they’d vote yes, 33% no, and 21% weren’t sure. Only 8% of Granite Staters said they had heard a lot about it.
If this page helped you, share it with a neighbor. UNH poll (source, opens in a new window)
That’s the short version. Below: how New Hampshire compares with other states, the math behind
the cap, what happened in other New Hampshire cities with caps, open questions, an FAQ, and every source.
New Hampshire education in context
High spending, high costs, and the smallest state share
New Hampshire is often criticized for spending more per student than most states. That criticism deserves
context.
14th
most expensive state to live in, about 8.5% above the U.S. average
High per-student spending doesn’t automatically mean a district is overspending, and a statewide average
doesn’t describe every district. Farmington spent about the state average per student in 2024, and less than
about 7 in 10 New Hampshire districts. (The statewide average is weighted toward larger districts, which tend
to spend less per student.) Census FY2024 (source, opens in a new window) The question
isn’t simply how much New Hampshire spends on education. It’s how those costs are shared, whether communities
can afford their part, and whether students get comparable opportunities wherever they live.
About these figures: per-student spending covers day-to-day operating costs and isn’t adjusted for prices.
Counting the District of Columbia, New Hampshire’s spending ranks 7th. NEA 2026 (source, opens in a new window) WalletHub
is a private company that combines 32 measures into its own index. MERIC’s cost-of-living figure averages the
New Hampshire cities that take part in its survey, not Farmington. And how the statewide education property tax
is counted changes the state’s share; one analysis puts it at about 19%. Either way, New Hampshire’s is the
smallest. InDepthNH (source, opens in a new window)
The math
A limit tied to prices, not to school costs
The formula in the law is short:
Next year’s limit = last year’s school tax levy × (1 + inflation + new construction)
“Inflation” means the 12-month change in consumer prices in the Northeast, measured in
March. The most recent figure, March 2025 to March 2026, was about 3.6%. If the first capped year uses March
2027, as the law’s wording suggests, that figure isn’t out yet (see What nobody knows
yet). BLS Northeast CPI (source, opens in a new window)
“New construction” means new homes, additions, and other physical changes. Rising home
values don’t count, and neither do town-wide revaluations (when the town reassesses every property).
RSA 32:5-i, VIII(c) (source, opens in a new window)
What the state’s own analysis says. While lawmakers weighed the bill, the NH Department of
Education and the state tax agency told the Legislature’s budget office that where districts adopt the cap,
“local school district revenue and school district expenditures could decrease.”
Fiscal note (source, opens in a new window)
The costs schools can’t control
Health insurance
SchoolCare, which insures nearly 100 New Hampshire school districts and towns, raised rates an average of
17.4% for July 2026. In Lebanon, for example, plans are written into union contracts, so the district can’t
easily switch. Valley News (source, opens in a new window)
The yardstick swings. The cap uses one March inflation number from the year before. In March
2021 that number was 2.1%, and over the next 12 months Northeast prices rose 7.3%. The next year it ran the
other way: 7.3%, followed by a 4.3% rise. A single month’s snapshot makes budgets hard to plan.
BLS Northeast CPI (source, opens in a new window)
In fairness, one cost is set to dip: the pension contribution rate districts must pay for teachers falls
slightly, from 19.23% to 18.26% of pay, in the first two years a cap would apply. NHRS (source, opens in a new window)
Caps in other NH cities
What happened in New Hampshire cities with caps
Several New Hampshire cities, including Farmington’s Strafford County neighbors Rochester, Somersworth, and Dover,
have had tax caps for years. In years when school costs jumped, their records show position cuts, proposed cuts,
or votes to go over the cap. In other years, the caps didn’t bind.
Rochester
In 2026, Rochester cut 22 positions from its school budget. The city’s finance director blamed less state and
federal money, which the minutes record as an “inherent structural deficit in the School Department budget due
to the reduction of State and Federal funding.” Rochester minutes (source, opens in a new window)
For 2025–26, keeping the same school services meant about a 6% ($2 million) increase. About half was union
contracts the city approved to stay competitive; the rest included a 14.4% jump in health insurance and
required special education. Staying within the cap would have meant falling about $1.3 million short, “leading to
position cuts and possibly a Career Technical Center program cut.” Somersworth minutes (source, opens in a new window)
Franklin
Franklin’s cap-limited budget for 2026–27 would eliminate more than 16 positions, including an art teacher, a
music teacher, and a computer teacher. The district faced $500,000 more for health insurance, a teachers’
contract costing over $600,000, nearly $1 million more for special education, and close to $500,000 less in
state aid. Concord Monitor (source, opens in a new window)
Dover
Dover’s council went over its cap in 9 of the 18 budget years from fiscal 2009 to 2026, almost entirely for
schools. In fiscal 2011, a state Supreme Court ruling had set caps aside. And the 2026 overage was mostly loan
payments on a new athletic complex, a kind of building debt HB 1300 would likely leave out.
City of Dover (source, opens in a new window)
One big difference: in these cities, the elected city council can vote to go over the cap.
Under HB 1300, going over Farmington’s cap would take 60% of voters at the ballot box.
RSA 32:5-i, X(a) (source, opens in a new window)
At the Oct. 19 School Board meeting, district leaders told residents that if you don’t turn your ballot over,
you’re “not counted in the 60%”: a blank wouldn’t count for or against the cap.
Video, 39:32 (source, opens in a new window) That’s one reading of the law. The law
says the cap takes effect if “a 3/5 majority of the voters voting” in the district approve it.
RSA 32:5-i, VI(a) (source, opens in a new window) But unlike the older local tax-cap law, and this law’s own
rule for overriding a cap, it doesn’t say that only Yes and No votes count.
RSA 32:5-c, I (source, opens in a new window)RSA 32:5-i, X(a) (source, opens in a new window) Under another
reading, NHPR reported, a voter who skips the question would in effect count as a No, because Yes would need
60% of everyone who voted. In mid-October, NHPR reported this was unlikely to be settled until the Attorney
General’s office issued guidance; as of Oct. 21, I hadn’t found any. NHPR (source, opens in a new window) To be sure your vote counts the way you mean, fill in Yes or
No.
The law doesn’t say which parts of a budget must shrink to fit under the cap. That would fall mainly to
Farmington’s school board, with voters weighing in at the deliberative session and on the ballot.
RSA 32:5-i, XI (source, opens in a new window)Valley News (source, opens in a new window) Some costs can’t simply be cut,
like the services in special-education plans and the state’s minimum standards for schools, so cuts would
land mostly on what the district provides above those minimums. What’s required
What if Farmington’s schools need more than the cap allows?
Voters would have to approve going over the cap by 60%. If that vote fails, the state won’t approve a school
tax rate above the cap. The property taxes raised have to fit under it, which usually means cuts unless other
money fills the gap. RSA 32:5-i, X & XI (source, opens in a new window)
Would the 6% administration cap save Farmington money?
Not right away. HB 1300 doesn’t include a way to repeal a cap early. News outlets read the law as ending a 2026 cap after two
school years (through June 2029). NH Bulletin (source, opens in a new window) The law itself sets only a final end date of
January 1, 2032, and it doesn’t say what a 2028 vote does to a cap already in place.
RSA 32:5-i, XVII (source, opens in a new window)
Don’t see your question?
It answers from this page and its sources, and links to each one.
Plain-English glossary
Levy
The total amount of money the school district raises from property taxes in a year.
Appropriation
The amount voters approve the district to spend.
Default budget
The fallback budget that takes effect when voters reject the proposed one: generally last year’s budget plus required increases.
SAU
School Administrative Unit: the superintendent’s central office. Farmington’s is SAU 61.
Override
A vote to go over the cap. Under HB 1300 it needs 60% “yes.”
Inflation (CPI)
How much everyday prices went up. HB 1300 uses the Northeast Consumer Price Index, measured in March.
New construction
Value added by new buildings and additions. Rising prices of existing homes don’t count.
Bonded capital costs
Loan payments for school buildings, if the state certifies them. These are left out of the cap.
IEP
Individualized Education Program: the written, legally binding plan for a special-education student.
Deliberative session
The first part of Farmington’s annual school meeting, in late January or early February, where residents can debate and amend
the warrant articles before the March ballot vote.
Adequacy aid
The state’s main school aid: a set amount per student, plus extra for students with greater needs. It
includes the statewide education property tax each town collects and keeps.
DRA
The NH Department of Revenue Administration, the state tax agency that approves tax rates and would enforce the cap.
RSA
Revised Statutes Annotated: New Hampshire’s state laws. HB 1300 created RSA 32:5-i.
Check my work
Sources
Every fact on this page links to where it came from. I relied first on the law itself, government data, court
records, and Farmington’s own documents, then on news reporting. Where I cite groups that take a side, they’re
labeled so you can weigh them. Numbers I calculated myself are marked as my math.