Rising property taxes, education spending and policy, and the future of energy in New Hampshire were the hot topics at a Francestown candidates forum Wednesday night, featuring candidates for state Senate District 8 and Hillsborough County District 27.
Jim Creighton, a Republican and Army veteran who has served Antrim for six years in the state legislature’s District 30, is running for Senate District 8 against Democratic candidate David Trumble of Weare, an organic farmer and debate coach at St. Anselm College.
For the District 27 seat, Republican incumbent Mary Murphy, a former tech executive, is being challenged by Tim Coffin, a recently retired municipal finance expert who is running as an Independent. Both live in Francestown.
Taxes
While all candidates agreed that New Hampshire needs to lower the ever-increasing property tax burden on residents, they differed on why taxes have risen so high and how to lower the burden on property owners.
When asked what experience candidates would use to manage the state budget, Trumble said New Hampshire is unique among U.S. states for its heavy reliance on property taxes.
“Almost two-thirds of all the state’s revenue comes from property tax. No other state in America gets that much; the national average is 25%. There is no way you can look at New Hampshire having a future and keep funding the state on property taxes. This tax was not built to run an entire state on,” Trumble said. “What’s happening now, with the budget we have, is that every two years, the first thing Republicans do is put in tax cuts for the wealthy, then tax cuts for big business.”
Creighton saw things differently, stating: “Tax cuts for the wealthy is an interesting way to say it. These are tax cuts for people who earned the money, and they invested it. After they invested it, they retired, and they expect that money to carry them through, and they don’t expect the state to come take it from them.”
Both Senate candidates said they would prioritize ways to mitigate New Hampshire’s housing crisis, which affects the state’s economic growth.
Energy
All candidates agreed that renewable energy should be part of New Hampshire’s energy future, but they disagreed on how realistic it is for the state to rely solely on renewables in the near future.
Trumble, a strong advocate of solar power, said New Hampshire is far behind neighboring states and the rest of the world, particularly Europe, in moving away from fossil fuels. Creighton agreed that “solar and wind should be part of the plan,” but also said he supports small nuclear and additional natural gas pipelines in New Hampshire.
Trumble rejected the idea of additional pipelines, pointing out that New Hampshire residents had successfully protested attempts to build new pipelines.
Murphy supports increased reliance on hydropower and microgrids, which reduce dependence on more vulnerable regional grids, and said the state needs more natural gas pipelines. Coffin said the state should “broaden every base with renewables,” noting that Europe now uses 80% renewable energy, including wind, solar, and hydropower.
Education
The candidates and representatives stuck to party lines on the state’s controversial Education Freedom Accounts, which grant funds to parents of any income level who wish to remove their children from public schools.
Coffin, who said he is a fiscal conservative, does not support unlimited EFAs, which the state funds through the Education Trust Fund, a dedicated state treasury account established in 2000 to finance public school adequate education grants, special education aid, charter schools and property tax relief.
Coffin also said he did not support EFAs as the program lacks accountability. Murphy said she would “be open to changes” regarding income-bracket limits for the EFAs.
“As far as EFAs, parents know what is best for their kids,” Murphy said.
Coffin cited an education initiative in several Southern States called the “Southern Surge,” which redirects funds into public education with impressive results, particularly in literacy.
“It’s working, and that’s what we should be doing with this money, not taking $100 million out of the public schools,” Coffin said.
Creighton and Trumble disagreed on EFAs, with Trumble condemning the lack of accountability for $100 million coming out of the Education Trust Fund, while Creighton said the plan “augments public schools.”
“I talked to a working mom in Bennington with four kids, and she said EFAs have been the great thing for her family,” Creighton said.
Trumble responded that the Education Trust fund” is being drained dry.”
When asked whether they support House Bill 1300, which would require every voting district in New Hampshire to include a tax cap question on the general election ballot in November, both Creighton and Murphy said they support it. Creighton, mentioning ConVal’s cost of $33,000 per student, said the tax cap is intended to “stop the bleeding.”
Coffin called HB 1300 “an end run around local control.”
“Towns have brought this to Town Meeting, and it has been shot down,” he said. “It does not solve the underlying issue of the state not adequately funding the schools.”
Both Murphy and Creighton cited “administrative costs” as a factor in rising school budgets.
“We have administrative costs that are going through the roof, and test scores that have remained flat,” Creighton said.
Murphy gave the example that some New Hampshire superintendents “make more than the governor,” saying “administrative costs are out of control.”
Trumble pointed out that the NH Supreme Court has ruled four times that the state is not paying an adequate amount per pupil and instead shifts the burden onto local property owners.
“The issue that has been left out here is downshifting, ” Trumble said. “The state downshifts to you, the local property taxpayer, over a billion dollars a year, forcing you to be the people who pay for that. The state’s contribution to public schools, adjusted for 2020 dollars, has gone down. The state is not living up to its constitutional obligation to fund public schools, and that’s why the local property tax continues to go up. That burden is being paid by you, the local taxpayer, and it keeps getting worse.”
