Statement by State Senator Mary E. Brown |
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When the initial Supreme Court ruling in Claremont II came down in December 1997, there was a moment of opportunity to simply amend our constitution and avoid the court-imposed tax policy. We missed that moment of opportunity. Once the legislature passed HB 117 and established a statewide property tax, accompanied by a state liability of $825 million, we could never return to the "old system" Why? There is no way to undo the obligation of state funding. The votes will never be there. What legislator will vote to send less money back to their communities and schools? It won't happen. That fact, coupled with the destructiveness of a state-controlled property tax has limited our options for a Claremont solution. Our constitution has been amended more than 140 times.
It will most likely require at least one amendment to resolve
our school-funding dilemma. What language will be required depends
on what solution we decide will work here in NH. One thing for
sure, we haven't seen that final school funding program yet.
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