O P I N I O N
THE SOAPBOX
Stand up. Speak up. It’s your turn.
When Governor Kelly Ayotte says New Hampshire is “number one across the board,” the line travels faster than fact. It looks great in national talking points — but it doesn’t match what families, teachers, and taxpayers feel every day in Manchester, Nashua, and communities across our state. Here, the gap between headline and reality is not abstract. It shows up in school budgets, tax bills, and choices families are forced to make.
It is true that New Hampshire’s per-pupil spending ranks near the top nationally. But what the Governor leaves out is the most important part: New Hampshire provides the smallest percentage of school funding of any state. More than 60% of the burden is pushed onto local property taxes. That means cities like Manchester and Nashua — with large student populations, aging school buildings, and significant socioeconomic diversity — are left trying to do more with less.
This funding system guarantees inequality. A town with high property values can keep tax rates low while offering robust programming. But in Manchester and Nashua — where thousands of children rely on public schools not just to learn, but to eat breakfast and lunch, receive counseling, find stability, and feel seen — there simply isn’t enough local tax capacity to match the needs. Parents in Manchester’s North End and Nashua’s South End don’t experience the same reality as families in neighborhoods where housing values struggle. Yet the system pretends they should all make do equally — while ignoring the math.
More than 70% of New Hampshire’s students live in communities with below-average property wealth per pupil. That means most children — including tens of thousands in Manchester and Nashua — are placed at a structural disadvantage before the school day even begins.
Our Supreme Court recognized this problem. In Contoocook Valley v. State of New Hampshire the justices ruled that the state is failing its constitutional duty to fund an adequate education. Instead of treating that ruling as a charge to lead, the Governor shrugged it off. But constitutional obligations don’t disappear because a slogan says otherwise. Manchester families would never accept a school saying, “We’re number one,” while turning off heat in winter or cutting teachers. We should expect the same honesty from Concord.
Meanwhile, the issues facing students extend far beyond the classroom walls. New Hampshire ranks among the lowest states in access to affordable health care and child care. Families in Manchester and Nashua know this better than anyone. Try to find a child care slot near downtown that doesn’t cost more than rent. Try to schedule a doctor’s appointment without taking unpaid time off or driving 45 minutes. When parents are forced to juggle impossible economics, their children carry that stress into the classroom.
The Governor often points to bail reform or cell phones in schools as core issues shaping outcomes. But no cell phone policy is going to fix a school roof in Nashua. No bail reform bill is going to lower property taxes in Manchester or pay a single para-educator. Those talking points distract from the real work: addressing systems that have gone untouched for decades.
Leadership requires a plan — not a slogan.
Manchester and Nashua deserve:
- A funding model that doesn’t punish large school districts simply for having more children.
- A meaningful increase in the state’s share of education funding so property taxes aren’t asked to do the impossible.
- Investment in affordable child care and health care, so families aren’t forced to choose between income and caregiving, or between medical care and groceries.
- Policy shaped by listening to teachers, paraprofessionals, families, and students — not by national political playbooks.
New Hampshire is full of pride — and grit. Our teachers show up. Our children show promise. Our families fight hard. But we do them no favors by pretending everything is already fine.
If we want to say we’re number one, let’s earn it — in Manchester classrooms, Nashua playgrounds, and in every community where a child waits for someone in Concord to finally hear them.
Are you listening, Governor Ayotte?
David Preece is a New Hampshire State Representative, urban planner, playwright, author, and community advocate living in Manchester.
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