Kill this bill
New Hampshire House Bill 1714 proposes the state treasurer issue bonds, potentially exceeding $1 billion, to fund public schools. This proposal directly responds to State Supreme Court rulings, such as Contoocook Valley School District v. New Hampshire, which affirmed that the state’s base adequate education aid ($7,356.01 per student) is unconstitutionally low and that the state is failing its duty to adequately fund education.
HB1714 proposes a 20-year bond issuance at a fixed-rate of 5%. A bond is debt financing — like a mortgage. A mortgage allows you to own a home without paying the full price upfront. The house is collateral and can be repossessed and resold if you can’t make the payments. Debt financing makes sense for tangible investments like a house; it doesn’t make sense for long-term ongoing expenditures like teacher salaries or daily school operations. The NH Treasury Department’s own notes state that, if HB1714 passes, the state’s debt limit could be exceeded. If that happens, the state’s bond rating would fall, making financing for state projects more expensive.
Worse yet, HB1714 arises while the legislature is simultaneously considering other measures, such as expanding Education Freedom Accounts (vouchers) for private and parochial schools, which further upsets the Education Trust Fund’s stability. If passed and enacted, the long-term debt service payments on the $1 billion+ bond (starting with $119 million in FY29) will create pressure on an already frayed state budget, forcing ever higher local property taxes.
Simply capping local spending, as some legislators have suggested, would have immediate and catastrophic results as schools would have to cut staff and programs to stay within the cap. Our legislature has had 33 years to work out a solution and the representatives in Concord have failed because they are hamstrung by a fiscally irresponsible pledge.