New Hampshire still ranks last in state-level share of K-12 education funding

The state's current education funding model
Get N.H. Morning Report
A weekday newsletter delivering the N.H. news you need to know right to your inbox.
Enter Email
Sign Up
Megan Tuttle, president of NEA New Hampshire, said some state lawmakers 'keep failing to adequately fund public education,' and the state's overreliance on local property taxes means students receive differing opportunities based on their ZIP codes.
Advertisement
'For example, students in property poor and lower-income communities often don't get to take AP courses or join extra curricular activities,' she said. 'Differences in funding levels across the state also impact educator salaries, leading to serious recruitment and retention issues that directly harm student learning.'
Advertisement
Whether the current model should be replaced with a system that requires the state to contribute more funding and distribute SWEPT revenues more equally is the subject of a pair of disputes
While the state's share of K-12 public school spending is relatively slim, the overall amount that New Hampshire schools spend per student is higher than most other states. New Hampshire ranked seventh in the US last school year, spending $22,252 per pupil, according to the NEA data. That was slightly more than Maine schools spent per pupil and a few thousands dollars less than Massachusetts schools spent per pupil.
Republican state lawmakers have advocated for caps to limit the growth of school spending at the local level. They have also proposed universal eligibility for the Education Freedom Account program, which would allow all families to take the state's share of education funding and use it for private school or other education expenses. Democrats have advocated for their own legislative proposals to increase education funding at the state level and distribute SWEPT revenues more evenly.
A wide variety of factors, including
In terms of
Advertisement
This article first appeared in Globe NH | Morning Report, our free newsletter focused on the news you need to know about New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles from other places. If you'd like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday,
Steven Porter can be reached at

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Yahoo

an hour ago

• Yahoo

Senate Republicans cannot force US Postal Service to scrap EVs, parliamentarian says

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Republicans cannot force the U.S. Postal Service to scrap thousands of electric vehicles and charging equipment in a massive tax and budget bill, the Senate parliamentarian said late on Sunday. The U.S. Postal Service currently has 7,200 electric vehicles, made up of Ford e-Transit vehicles and specially built Next Generation Delivery Vehicles built by Oshkosh Defense. USPS warned on June 13 that scrapping the electric vehicles would cost it $1.5 billion, including $1 billion to replace its current fleet of EVs and $500 million in EV infrastructure rendered useless and "seriously cripple our ability to replace an aging and obsolete delivery fleet." Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, whose role is to ensure lawmakers follow proper legislative procedure, said a provision to force the sale could not be approved via a simple majority vote in the Republican-controlled chamber and will instead need a 60-vote supermajority, according to Democrats on the Senate Budget Committee. She ruled last week that Republicans cannot use the bill to overturn landmark rules to drastically reduce vehicle emissions and boost EV sales. Senate Republicans have also sought to reclaim more than $1 billion out of $3 billion Congress gave USPS in 2023 as part of a $430 billion climate bill to buy EVs and charging infrastructure - including $1.2 billion for electric vehicles. USPS told Congress "summarily removing all electric vehicles and charging infrastructure would hobble our ability to deliver to the American people, it would directly harm our ability to serve your constituents, and it would waste crucial funds for no reasonable purpose." Replacing the current 7,200 electric vehicles would directly cost the Postal Service at least $450 million and USPS has also spent $540 million on electrical infrastructure upgrades "which is literally buried under parking lots, and there is no market for used charging equipment," the company added. USPS would also face significant costs from Oshkosh for halting EV purchases under its contract. USPS said in December that purchases in 2025 would be around "50-50" EVs and gas-powered. USPS plans to buy some 66,000 electric vehicles by 2028. Senate Republicans argued scrapping EVs would "focus USPS on delivering mail and not achieving the environmental aims pushed by the Biden administration." In March, the White House forced out Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who led efforts to restructure the money-losing U.S. Postal Service for nearly five years. USPS has lost more than $100 billion since 2007. David Steiner, a FedEx board member and former CEO of Waste Management, has been named as incoming postmaster general. President Donald Trump said in February he was considering merging the Postal Service with the Commerce Department, a move Democrats said would violate federal law. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data

Yahoo

an hour ago

• Yahoo

Key RFK Jr advisers stand to profit from a new federal health initiative

Federal health officials are seeking to launch a 'bold, edgy' public service campaign to warn Americans of the dangers of ultra-processed foods in social media, transit ads, billboards and even text messages. And they potentially stand to profit off the results. Ultra-processed foods are a fixation for the US health and human services (HHS) secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, a vaccine skeptic who believes the US industrialized food supply is a 'primary culprit' behind many chronic diseases. 'We need to fix our food supply. And that's the number one thing,' Kennedy said at his confirmation hearing. Bringing healthier foods to Americans has proved to be one of the most resonant issues of Kennedy's 'Make America healthy again' (Maha) campaign – and arguably the only one that Democrats and Republicans agree on in principle. Kennedy has spent most of his tenure as health secretary dismantling key components of US vaccine infrastructure, instituting mass firings and defunding chronic disease prevention programs, such as for tobacco use. The secretary has been less successful in reigning in food makers. Food advocates have described voluntary changes between the government and manufacturers 'disappointing'. Kennedy was criticized by congressional Republicans for targeting agricultural pesticides in the 'Maha' report before it was even released – showing the limits of Republicans appetite for regulation, then the report itself was riddled with errors, likely generated by AI. 'The campaign's creative content will turn heads, create viral moments on social media, and – above all else – inspire Americans to take back their health through eating real food,' said a document published by the federal government that described the campaign. The campaign is expected to cost between $10m to $20m, according to documents. Anyone seeking to apply for the award will have a quick turnaround – the deadline is 26 June. 'The purpose of this requirement is to alert Americans to the role of processed foods in fueling the diabetes epidemic and other chronic diseases, inspire people to take personal responsibility for their diets, and drive measurable improvements in diabetes prevention and national health outcomes,' it continued. The new public relations campaign also highlights the Trump administration's unconventional approach to hiring – including its reliance on special government employees. A key adviser to Kennedy, Calley Means, could directly benefit from one of the campaign's stated aims: popularizing 'technology like wearables as cool, modern tools for measuring diet impact and taking control of your own health'. Calley Means is a senior Kennedy adviser, and was hired as a special government employee to focus on food policy, according to Bloomberg. He founded a company that helps Americans get such wearable devices reimbursed tax-free through health savings accounts. Casey Means is Calley's sister. She also runs a healthcare start-up, although hers sells wearable devices such as continuous glucose monitors. She is Kennedy's nominee for US surgeon general, and a healthcare entrepreneur whose business sells continuous glucose monitors – one such wearable device. Calley Means's company also works with Casey's company. Due to Calley Means's status as a special employee, he has not been forced to divest from his private business interests – a situation that has already resulted in an ethics complaint. Consumer advocates, such as the non-profit group Public Citizen, had warned such hiring practices could cause conflicts of interest. HHS did not respond to a request for comment about Calley Means's private business interests, or his role in crafting the publicity campaign. Although the publicity campaign focuses on the ultra-processed foods connection to diabetes, at least one high profile nutritionist was queasy about its focus. 'The ultra-processed foods – some of those include breakfast cereals that are ultra-processed because they are fortified with vitamins,' said Walter Willett, a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. 'Those are good if they're whole grain breakfast cereals and whole grain breads,' he said. Ultra-processed foods are generally recognized as sodas, salty snacks and frozen meals engineered to be shelf-stable, convenient and inexpensive. Such foods are associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes – or insulin resistance. The mechanism by which such foods could increase risk of diabetes is unknown, a problem that extends in part from the 'heterogeneous category' of foods that the ultra-processed category encompasses. The publicity campaign proposal does not venture into defining the category, even as Kennedy has fixated on it 'poisoning the American people'. 'When you say processed foods you don't envision a Coke in your brain, and that's the biggest problem,' said Willett, who added that most public service campaigns are carefully crafted and tested for effectiveness.

Yahoo

an hour ago

• Yahoo

Fetterman offers support for Trump decision to bomb Iran

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) is offering support for President Trump's decision to bomb Iran, standing out from a number of other Democrats who have criticized the military action. 'As I've long maintained, this was the correct move by @POTUS,' Fetterman wrote in a post on X that linked to a statement from Trump announcing the decision. 'Iran is the world's leading sponsor of terrorism and cannot have nuclear capabilities,' Fetterman continued. I'm grateful for and salute the finest military in the world.' Fetterman since Hamas launched an attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 has been a vocal supporter of Israel, and has at times criticized his own party over the Middle East. His remarks in the immediate aftermath of the bombing campaign, as a result, are unsurprising. But they stood apart from other Democrats who criticized Trump's decision as unconstitutional. For example, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) criticized Trump for vowing to bring peace to the Middle East but failing, saying he had 'misled the country about his intensions.' 'The risk of war has now dramatically increased, and I pray for the safety of our troops in the region who have been put in harm's way,' Jeffries wrote in a statement. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) both criticized the strikes as unconstitutional. Fetterman, however, tied himself to Trump by retweeting the president's Truth Social message announcing the attacks on the three nuclear sites in Iran. 'We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,' Trump posted on Truth Social. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.