First, something fun: Mel Allen, former editor of Yankee, will speak in Greenfield on Sunday, Jan. 18, at 2 p.m. at Stephenson Library. If you have not read Mel’s new book, “Here in New England,” I can’t recommend it enough. If you love New England, you will love Mel’s collection of articles drawn from 30 years of his writing in Yankee. From lighthouse keepers to loggers to old Yankee hoarders, Mel finds people with incredible life stories — particularly those who have faced great challenges — and has a rare gift for sharing them. We hope to see you on the 18th!
Budget season is here
Last year, the Greenfield Select Board hosted a budget information session prior to the first official town budget hearing and encouraged everyone in town to attend with feedback and ideas.
The Greenfield Select Board decided to add the informational meeting to their schedule after a contentious 2024 Town Meeting in which a warrant article for the capital reserve fund passed by just 11 votes. Last year’s budget increased by $70,524, or 1.92%.
Former Select Board Chair Mason Parker opened last year’s meeting by explaining the Select Board’s limited role in combating rising property tax bills, which are at the top of everyone’s list of worries.
“This budget, the town budget, does not reflect your whole tax bill,” Parker stated in January 2025. “Our part of the budget reflects 36% of the total tax bill. The rest of your property tax bills are from county, school, state education assessments, which comprise two-thirds of everyone’s property tax bill, and has nothing to do with the Select Board. We have no control over that amount.”
The facts are the same this year. The nine-town ConVal School District is also starting its budget process, with the public hearing scheduled for tonight at 7 p.m. in the SAU conference room. ConVal has reported they have a lean budget this year, with an increase of just 1.38% over last year, and with 75% of the budget comprised of salaries and benefits for staff.
Last year’s budget information session in Greenfield had a great turnout — standing-room only in the Town Office meeting room. The board listened to many suggestions and ideas from town residents, many of whom were former town employees or who had worked for other municipalities, bringing deep experience to the process.
This year’s Greenfield budget information meeting is on Wednesday, Jan. 7, at 6 p.m. in the Town Office meeting room.
Anyone who lives in New Hampshire, particularly in rural New Hampshire, is aware of the increasing burden of property taxes, as local taxpayers pay the bulk of the cost of educating the state’s children.
Every town tax hearing and meeting brings residents who are being crushed by the burden of property taxes — particularly people on fixed income who do not have increasing funds to meet their rising property tax bills each year. At every Town Meeting and budget hearing in the region, residents share horror stories about their increasing property tax bills, and many wonder if they will have to sell their homes to avoid foreclosure once they can’t keep up with their taxes. Some of these residents live in the homes they grew up in, or they have been in the region their entire lives.
In March 2019, former ConVal superintendent Kimberly Rizzo-Saunders filed a lawsuit against the state on behalf of all New Hampshire public school districts, demanding the state meet its constitutional obligation to adequately fund public education.
The ConVal lawsuit, which grew to include 18 other school districts as plaintiffs, continues a battle that dates back to the Claremont school funding lawsuit in the early 1990s. In 1993, the New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled that the state has a constitutional duty to provide an adequate education for every child, regardless of whether the child lives in a wealthy or poor district.
Despite the Claremont ruling, full funding from the state never materialized.
On July 1, 2025, the New Hampshire Supreme Court issued its final ruling on the ConVal case, stating that the State’s base adequacy aid is unconstitutionally low and must to be increased to the “conservative minimum threshold” of at least $7,356.01 per pupil. The state currently pays school districts about $4,100 per student. The rest is assessed to local property owners.
ConVal is now partnered with the New Hampshire Fair Funding Project, which advocates for fair funding in the state’s schools.
While the Supreme Court ruled that the state must fund public schools adequately, the court did not give a deadline for when the funds would be provided, and it is unclear, given New Hampshire’s tax structure, where the funds will come from.
In the meantime, our school districts and towns encourage everyone to get involved and learn more about the budget process as we head toward Town Meetings and school elections in March.
