Superintendent Kimberly Rizzo Saunders and the Conval Regional School District, together with 17 co-plaintiff school districts, share that a New Hampshire court has ruled that the state shortchanges students through an inadequate funding formula.
“Today’s decision reflects what has been apparent for years: that the State of New Hampshire has not lived up to its legal and moral obligation to adequately fund public education,” Superintendent Rizzo Saunders said.
The State is constitutionally required to fund “base adequacy” in education as ordered by the New Hampshire Supreme Court’s Claremont rulings in 1993 and 1997. The State’s current formula excludes significant operational costs such as transportation, school nursing and food services, and all but a small fraction of facilities operations and maintenance costs. In 2022, the average per-pupil cost of education K-12 was $19,399. The State funded “base adequacy” at $3,786. For the 2024-2025 school year, “base adequacy” was set at $4,100.
Superior Court Judge David Ruoff ruled that, based on extensive evidence presented by Conval and the 17 co-plaintiff districts, “base adequacy” must be at least $7,356 per pupil.
“The Court cannot ignore the substantial evidence put forth by the plaintiffs: evidence that amply demonstrates the insufficiency of the existing base adequacy aid figure,” Judge Ruoff wrote.
Conval filed suit against the State and Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut in 2019, arguing that the state neglected its constitutional obligation. Conval was joined in the lawsuit by 17 co-plaintiff districts: Claremont, Derry Co-Operative, Fall Mountain, Grantham, Hillsboro-Deering, Hopkinton, Lebanon, Manchester, Mascenic, Mascoma Valley, Monadnock, Nashua, Newport, Oyster River, Winchester, and Windham. ConVal and the co-plaintiffs educate almost one-quarter of New Hampshire’s public school students.
“The State’s formula places an incredible burden on local communities, and creates inequities that deny all students the best possible education,” Superintendent Rizzo Saunders said. “Students succeed because of dedicated teachers and staff.”
Judge Ruoff began hearing evidence in April.
“We thank Judge Ruoff for his careful, thoughtful consideration of the arguments,” Superintendent Rizzo-Saunders said. “And we welcome the court’s reaffirmation that the state is responsible to its children, and to the communities who have struggled with an unfair financial burden for more than a generation.”
