ConVal’s lawsuit against the state in pursuit of more education funding was remanded by the state Supreme Court, more school districts joined as plaintiffs and the case shifted venues.
The lawsuit against the New Hampshire Department of Education, initially filed in March 2019 by ConVal, argues that the state is not fulfilling its constitutional obligation to fund an adequate education. At the time of the filing, base adequacy was $3,636 per student — not enough, according to ConVal and its co-plaintiffs.
In June of 2019, then-Cheshire County Superior Court Judge David Ruoff ruled that transportation costs should be paid by the state, and that the legislature must fix the problem of underfunding.
The state appealed this decision in June 2020, and in March, the New Hampshire Supreme Court sent the case back to the Superior Court for further testimony. The court took issue with how the previous ruling was reached, stating that the case proceeded too quickly and should have allowed for more evidence and witness testimony. The ruling also rejected the state’s request to dismiss the case.
March’s ruling also clarified that the courts, not the Legislature, were responsible for considering the costs and components of an adequate education.
The districts involved in the case were optimistic about this ruling, releasing a joint statement that said it “allows the district and its co-plaintiffs to present factual evidence that the State of New Hampshire is not providing adequate education funding.”
“For nearly 30 years, the State of New Hampshire has ignored the spirit of the original Claremont funding decision,” stated ConVal Superintendent Kimberly Rizzo Saunders at the time. “As a result it has shifted its responsibility to local communities, creating funding inequities across the state.”
In April, Ruoff allowed other districts across the state 30 days to join the case and become co-plaintiffs alongside ConVal, Monadnock, Mascenic and Winchester. Over that time period, 12 districts joined the case, bring the total number of plaintiffs up to 16. Together, the districts make up almost one-quarter of New Hampshire’s public school students for the 2021-2022 school year.
Other developments in the case included a ruling from Ruoff that the state could hire private, out-of-state lawyers in its defense, over objections from the plaintiffs that the state should defend itself and use its resources to provide education funding. According to this ruling, the lawyers might have to work for free should the state run into funding difficulties.
The case also changed venues due to an order in July, moving from Cheshire County Superior Court to Rockingham County Superior Court in Brentwood in an effort to keep the case under the purview of Ruoff, who had switched court assignments. ConVal attorney Michael Tierney said the decision was “neutral” given that plaintiffs draw from all across the state.
The full list of districts involved in the lawsuit are Claremont, ConVal, Derry Cooperative, Fall Mountain, Grantham, Hillsboro-Deering, Hopkinton, Lebanon, Manchester, Mascenic, Mascoma Valley, Monadnock, Nashua, Newport, Oyster River Cooperative and Winchester.
The trial is currently scheduled to begin Jan. 9, 2023.