School Spending Archives

Flushing money down the toilet - Grok AI image

BANFIELD: Are Taxpayer Resources Being Used Effectively?

October 17, 2026 Ann Marie Banfield

Summary: Seabrook’s elementary and middle schools, part of SAU 21 in New Hampshire, face serious concerns involving bullying, the delivery of special education services, and persistently low proficiency scores in math and English. These issues deserve more than explanations and promises of improvement. They demand accountability, transparency, and a hard look at how the district … Read more

MACDONALD: Public Education Funding Deck Chairs

April 10, 2026April 4, 2026 Steve MacDonald

If you’ve not been following the situation in the Kensingston/East Kingston School District, you can get caught up here, but it involves schools, so the problem is one with which you are likely familiar. It is something and a microcosm of the problem with public education. Spending and cost per student are climbing to or … Read more

SMITH: Will Epsom Truly Comply With The Students First Act?

February 26, 2026 Julie Smith

With town elections less than two weeks away in most communities, it’s a good time to remind everyone of the Students First Act, originally known as SB219 and later codified in HB1265. It was quietly signed by the Damn Emperor two summers ago and is now RSA 189:76. However, like some of those election security reform bills, … Read more

COLQUHOUN: Facts Worth Asking About Nashua’s School Budget

January 22, 2026 Laura Colquhoun

The City of Nashua is designated a “Welcoming City,” and Nashua taxpayers are funding a $191 million school budget, yet there has been very little public discussion about how staffing levels connect to that cost. According to district information, 49 languages are spoken among Nashua students of 9,701, reflecting policies that encourage immigrant and refugee … Read more

open book window reading original Photo by Ioann-Mark Kuznietsov on Unsplash

UNDERWOOD: Groundhog Day (Again)

October 30, 2025October 28, 2025 Ian Underwood

I came across this the other day, and was startled to see that it was written 6 years ago. It could have been written yesterday — which confirms the accuracy of the analysis. With Comrade Volinsky taking another tilt at the ‘fairness’ windmill — slightly ahead of schedule — it seems appropriate to re-publish it … Read more

Recount Win: School Budget Cut, Plus Voters Get Tax Dollars Back!

March 24, 2025March 23, 2025 Steve MacDonald

It has been nearly two weeks since “Town Elections” in New Hampshire, that Tuesday in March when a majority of local elections occur in the Granite State. One in particular that we mentioned was the Timberline Regional School District (TRSD), famous on our pages for its former Superintendent Earl Metzler and contributor Donna Green, who … Read more

So Kids, What Did We Learn From This Week’s House Session (6/13/24)?

June 14, 2024June 14, 2024 Judy Aron

Today, we learned that this was the last day of the House Session until the Fall when we come back for “Veto Day.” Today’s program included three memorials by colleagues who remembered past House Members who passed away this year.

Schools: Seeing problems as opportunities

February 21, 2019 Ian Underwood

In response to this piece at the School Funding Shell Game site, one visitor asked for some specific examples. That makes sense. It’s one thing for people to finally recognize that obsessing over school spending is preventing us from improving student achievement. But that realization leaves a vacuum: If we stop doing that, what should we … Read more

Money can’t buy love. Or education.

December 20, 2024February 2, 2019 Ian Underwood

Our representatives in Concord are currently discussing how much money school districts require, where that money should come from, and how it should be collected.

But three simple graphs are sufficient to demonstrate decisively that money is not the issue.

The first graph shows that since 1970, tripling school spending (in inflation-adjusted dollars) has had no effect on student achievement:

Public Education Money Pit

September 26, 2018April 5, 2012 Steve MacDonald

George Bush 43 doubled the budget at the Department of Education over eight years to roughly $32 billion. Barack Obama more than double it again with the only bloated budget the Democrat congress ever dared to pass.

That first Obama budget increased spending at the Department from Education from $32 billion per year in 2009 to $71,000,000,000.00 (Billion) per year by 2011. That works out to over $400 million more dollars spent per school day nationally (assuming 180 days of school), in addition to all the state or local taxes you also pay for public education. And Obama want’s more. For what you ask?