I love living in Rindge. What I do not love is the disproportionate school taxes paid by the Rindge residents over that of the Jaffrey residents. Whenever I ask why the school taxes are so much higher in Rindge than Jaffrey, I’m told that there is an empirical formula that takes into consideration a series of conditions. Once the conditions are applied to the formula a factor is created. This factor is then applied to the assessed value of your home, which determines your school tax. For the residents of Rindge this empirically derived factor increases their school taxes over those in Jeffrey by no small amount. In addition, the new assessed values of the homes in the two towns were done by two different assessment firms. What does this mean to the homeowners of Rindge?
Let’s say two brothers built identical houses on identical lots, one in Rindge and the other in Jaffrey. The brothers are neighbors. The brother whose home is in Rindge will pay more in school taxes than his sibling living in Jaffrey even though both houses and lots are identical.
This condition is unconstitutional because it is contrary to the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Jaffrey/Rindge school district must treat all its taxpayers from both towns the same. Maybe it’s time for the Town of Rindge to withdraw from this one-sided agreement. Maybe it is time for the people of Rindge to have their own school? Why not? We have our own elementary school, police and fire departments, municipal work force and we do quite well. I would not be averse to paying higher school taxes as long as the students of Rindge received full benefit from those taxes.
Alfred L’Eplattenier
Rindge