I am writing this at 5:02 a.m. on the morning of my youngest daughter’s eighth birthday.
Today will be filled with a trip to the Toadstool Bookshop, cheeseburgers, balloons,
cake, presents, and the kind of laughter that makes lasting family memories. But like
most mornings at this time of year, I am not up early thinking about celebration. I am
thinking about her future as a second grader in Rindge, New Hampshire.
And I am worried.
I wish I weren’t writing this. Those who know me understand that I would much rather be
talking about basketball games, Matilda rehearsals, concerts, and the upcoming track
season. I would rather be focused on second-grade reading activities, math problems,
and birthday candles. But the conversation around our schools has become too loud —
and too ugly and distorted — to ignore.
I am worried not only for her and my two older children, but for every child in Rindge,
Jaffrey, and across the Monadnock region — and for the 90 percent of New Hampshire
children and their families who rely on our public schools.
We are being told, over and over, that our public schools are failing. That they are
unsafe. That they are indoctrination centers. That teachers cannot be trusted. That
school boards are vindictive, compromised and clueless. That administrators are corrupt
and greedy. That students are not learning.
As a parent of three children in the Jaffrey-Rindge Cooperative School District, the
husband of a school employee, a middle school coach, and an elected school board member, I am telling you plainly: that narrative does not match what I see in our
classrooms, on our fields, in board meetings, in my conversations with administrators
and parents, and in our community.
Our public schools exist to educate every child who walks through the door. They do not
ask where a student worships, whether they have learning challenges, where their
family comes from, or how much money their parents earn. They educate them all. That
promise — access to a free public education — is guaranteed in the New Hampshire
Constitution.
But the system that funds that promise is broken.
New Hampshire is ranked dead last nationally in state funding for public education. At
the same time, state leaders have increasingly chosen to eliminate or reduce broad-
based taxes, corporate business taxes, and interest and dividends taxes on the wealthiest
residents and rely heavily on local property taxes. The result is predictable: some of the
highest property tax burdens in the country and increasing pressure on local public
schools.
This year alone, Jaffrey will see an 18 percent reduction in state education aid. Across
Jaffrey and Rindge, $857,397 in costs have effectively been shifted from the state to
local taxpayers. That is not overspending by a local school board. That is a funding
decision made by our elected officials in Concord.
Meanwhile, state financial support for less accountable educational alternatives in
Jaffrey and Rindge exceeded $3 million this year and is projected to rise again,
unchecked, next year.
Last year, voters approved significant cuts to our school budget. The board eliminated
positions and programs. Athletics, activities, and preschool were only preserved
because we used one-time emergency funds. I sat in those meetings, scrutinized the
numbers, and agonized over the losses. I heard from families who were scared their
children would lose the only activity that made them feel connected to school. Those
emergency funds were well-spent — but are now gone.
In building this year’s proposed budget, our board kept most of last year’s reductions.
We made hard choices. Our board reduced the administration’s initial proposal by over
$1 million and challenged the administration to pay the $585,196 SchoolCare assessment
without raising taxes. We restored athletics, activities, and preschool because our
community was clear: those programs matter. They are not extras. They are part of
what makes school meaningful for many children and deliver educational, leadership,
and teamwork lessons that cannot be conveyed in the classroom.
The tax impact this year is compounded not by runaway local spending, but by
continued reductions in state support. The burden is being shifted downward — from
the state to towns, from corporations and wealthy investors to property owners, from
policy makers to local families.
At some point, something must give, as it did last year in our district.
The constant drumbeat of misinformation and blame has begun to pit neighbor against
neighbor — seniors against families, taxpayers against teachers, and homeschool and charter school families against public school families. I don’t want our
community permanently defined by that kind of division. I don’t think most of us do.
We cannot fix the state funding formula on March 10. But we can decide whether we will
continue to invest in our own children.
Passing the proposed Jaffrey-Rindge school budget will not solve every problem. It will
not lower property taxes in our towns. It will not end political rhetoric about public
education. But it will preserve essential programs, maintain responsible staffing levels,
and protect opportunities for the children who sit in our classrooms right now, for at least
one more year.
Tonight, my daughter will blow out eight candles. She will not be thinking about state aid
formulas or property tax policy or what may be missing from her school next year. She
will be thinking about her teacher, Mrs. Dean, her classmates, and her new Lego set.
That is exactly how it should be.
Our job as adults is to make sure that when our kids walk into school next year, the
opportunities they have today, opportunities that we all had when we went to school and
took for granted, are still there.
On March 10, please vote to pass the Jaffrey-Rindge Cooperative School District
budget.
Our Jaffrey and Rindge kids cannot wait for Concord to get this right.
Rindge resident Chris Ratcliffe is the Rindge school board representative for SAU47, the Jaffrey-Rindge Cooperative School District. The opinions stated are his own.