Public education
Distant Dome:
What Does the State Really Pay for Public Education
--This is a summary of an Op-Ed by Garry Rayno, published on InDepthNH.org, July 25,
New Hampshire state provides 63% more funding for students with Education Freedom Accounts than for students at traditional public schools. It provides three times the funding for students in charter public schools, compared to those in traditional public schools. New Hampshire state government funds three types of education: - Traditional public schools are open to any student who lives in that school district. These schools must follow regulations and meet performance standards defined by the state. (The current Republican-controlled legislature is pushing for open enrollment, which would allow students to enroll in schools outside of their current school district.) - Public charter schools are open to any student who lives in NH, regardless of their school district. Students are required to take standardized tests but otherwise these schools operate independently of state regulations. - Education Freedom Account is a program that subsidizes NH students who are attending private schools or are homeschooled. Like public charter schools, EFA students are required to take standardized tests but otherwise these schools operate independently of state regulations. The public education system is largely funded by local and state property taxes, along with about a 20 percent contribution from the state and less than 8 percent from the federal government. Both the charter school program and EFA program are funded solely by the state through the Education Trust Fund. A percent of state business, rooms and meals, tobacco, and real estate transfer taxes, video lottery terminals and the other category go into the Education Trust Fund, as does all the revenue generated by Lottery Commission, utility property tax and the tobacco settlement money. According to Garry Rayno: - A student at a traditional public school receives $3,047 in state funding. (The remainder is paid by local taxpayers.) - A student with an EFA reeives $4,963 in state funding. - A student in a public charter school receives $9,086 in state funding.
See What Does the State Really Pay for State Education? for more details.
Property Taxpayers Fund More than Seven in Ten Dollars Spent on New Hampshire Public Education
--Ben Reynolds, NHFPI, August 5, 2026
Property taxpayers now fund more than seven out of every ten dollars spent on New Hampshire’s public schools, while New Hampshire ranks last in the nation for the share of public education revenue provided through State funding, according to a new analysis from the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute. NHFPI Senior Policy Analyst Ben Reynolds examined State Fiscal Year 2027 education aid estimates and other publicly available State and federal data to examine how New Hampshire’s education funding formula distributes aid among municipalities. The analysis focuses on the roles of student enrollment, student needs, local property wealth, and the Statewide Education Property Tax, while also examining long-term trends in how public education is financed in New Hampshire.
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