Rye, wealthy towns win fight against paying millions for NH schools. For now.
CONCORD — The New Hampshire legislature backed away Tuesday from an amendment that would’ve increased the amount of money wealthy towns pay to the state for funding public education.
The amendment, sponsored by Rep. Tracy Emerick, R-Hampton, was added in early March when the legislature was under court order to increase education adequacy funds and to return excess statewide education property tax (SWEPT) money to the state. Both decisions, referred to as ConVal and Rand respectively, were made by Judge David Ruoff of Rockingham County Superior Court last fall.
Rye Town Administrator Matt Scruton wrote a letter stating the town would be obligated to send about $5.8 million back to the state and pushed back against the plan. Other towns and cities that would have been heavily affected include Portsmouth, which would owe about $6.7 million to the state, and Moultonborough, which would have been required to send almost $12 million.
“Not only will this amendment affect our present, but it also lays the groundwork for an increasing number of donor towns in the future, perpetuating a cycle of tax increases,” Scruton wrote in his letter sent to the House Finance Committee. “To maintain the quality of education in our schools, Rye would likely be forced to raise taxes again, placing a heavy burden on residents.”
He added this could be seen as “taxation without representation,” as Rye would receive nothing in return.
In 2011, the state decided to allow wealthier towns like Rye to retain excess SWEPT money they collected. But in November, Ruoff ruled this was unconstitutional and the extra money should be distributed to poorer towns to increase educational adequacy throughout the state.
Rye is part of “the Coalition,” a group of wealthier cities and towns that oppose redistributing the excess SWEPT funds. Other Seacoast communities in this group include Newington, Hampton, New Castle and Portsmouth.
But on March 15, the New Hampshire Supreme Court issued a stay on the ConVal decision by Ruoff, meaning what happens next is unknown.
Emerick withdrew his amendment during the House Finance Committee's session.
“What the amendment did was kind of do a wraparound on ConVal and Rand in order to please the wishes of the court,” said Emerick. “Subsequently, there have been stays on both of those judgments. So, the amendment is not necessary at this time.”
Scruton said Rye "is very pleased" with the outcome Tuesday. However, wealthy communities like Rye are not in the clear yet. Members of the committee said the issue will probably have to be addressed eventually.
“I appreciate with ConVal and Rand hanging over us that you had the courage to put something forward. It's very hard to put forward a bill that would increase public education by $500 million a year. I do agree with you that we don't need it at this time,” said Rep. Jerry Stringham, D-Lincoln. “But the issues that that you brought up in your bill eventually have to be addressed by the legislature. Parts of our state have been suffering from outright depression for 30 years, and the education funding formula is a big part of that.”
The amendment had been added to HB 1583, which would increase the base annual cost for adequate education per pupil. That bill, which would increase aid to poorer towns by $132 million over the next two years, passed 18-7 without Emerick's amendment.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Rye gets win against paying millions for NH schools as donor town
