Connect with us

New Hampshire

State Supreme Court issues a stay over sweeping ConVal school funding decision • New Hampshire Bulletin

Published

on

State Supreme Court issues a stay over sweeping ConVal school funding decision • New Hampshire Bulletin


The New Hampshire Supreme Court granted a stay over a school funding lawsuit decision Wednesday, hitting pause on a sweeping order that would force the state to double its spending on public schools. 

Without comment, all five justices concurred with the stay over the lawsuit, Contoocook Valley School District v State of New Hampshire. The move allows the state time to appeal a November Rockingham County Superior Court decision up to the Supreme Court. 

The November decision, issued by Judge David Ruoff, found that the state was not meeting its constitutional obligation to provide an “adequate education” because the minimum, per pupil amount provided to school districts – about $4,100 per year – is too low. Instead, Ruoff said, the state should spend at least $7,356.01 to account for realistic public school expenses. 

Under New Hampshire’s school funding system, any school costs not covered by the state must be raised by local property taxes. 

Advertisement

Last month, Ruoff denied the state’s motion to reconsider or delay his decision and ordered that the state move ahead immediately. But the Supreme Court’s stay overrides that order. The state has said it will appeal the matter to the Supreme Court, promising what could be a years-long, high-profile court fight.

In its motion to the Supreme Court to stay the ruling, the Department of Justice argued the state would “suffer irreparable harm” if Ruoff’s order were not paused, since the order would require a $537.6 million annual spending increase to the state’s Education Trust, which currently spends just over $1 billion per year.

Republican politicians have criticized Ruoff personally: Senate President Jeb Bradley, of Wolfeboro, accused Ruoff of judicial overreach during a press conference in January. 

And Gov. Chris Sununu has suggested Ruoff should no longer serve as a judge. 

“That judge is a politically activist judge that I think has no place on the bench,” Sununu said at a recent Chamber of Commerce event, in remarks reported by New Hampshire Public Radio. 

Advertisement

“I even voted for the guy when I was on the (Executive) Council,” Sununu continued. “I couldn’t be more disappointed. Because it was all politics.

“… A judge shouldn’t be telling the state a dollar amount. That’s not a judge’s job.”

But advocates in favor of changing the state’s school funding balance say that Ruoff’s ruling acknowledged a reality – that the state does not pay enough for districts to run their schools – and sought to correct that reality by forcing the Legislature’s hand. 

“The track record of the Legislature, as exemplified by decades of inaction, is not one of proactive, meaningful reform to school funding to fulfill the constitutional right of New Hampshire students to an adequate education,” said Zack Sheehan, executive director of the advocacy group New Hampshire School Funding Fairness Project, in December.

The ConVal case is one of two active school funding lawsuits. The second case, Rand v. State of New Hampshire, was brought by taxpayers, who argue the state’s property-tax-driven school funding system is not equitable and disproportionately hurts taxpayers in poorer towns. 

Advertisement

In the Rand case, Ruoff issued a partial summary judgment ruling in November that found that the statewide education property tax (SWEPT) is not constitutional and should be changed to redistribute revenue from wealthier towns to poorer towns. The Supreme Court did not issue a stay over that order Wednesday. 

The Rand case was filed after the ConVal case. Plaintiffs in the Rand case have not yet received a full superior court trial; attorneys for the plaintiffs say they are waiting to see if the Supreme Court will attempt to take up the two cases together or split them and let the Rand case work its way through a trial in Rockingham County Superior Court.  



Source link

Advertisement

New Hampshire

Woman dies in Wilton, NH house fire – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News

Published

on

Woman dies in Wilton, NH house fire – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News


WILTON, N.H. (WHDH) – A woman died in a Wilton, New Hampshire, house fire Wednesday morning, according to the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office.

At 9:08 a.m., Wilton firefighters responded to Burns Hill Road after a caller said their home was filling up with smoke. When they arrived, a single-family home was on fire and they found out two people were still inside on the second floor.

A man and a woman were both taken out of the house by firefighters and taken to Elliott Hospital. The woman was pronounced dead and the man is in serious condition.

Officials have not released the name of the victim at this time.

Advertisement

At this time, investigators are looking into the cause of the fire and are trying to determine if a power outage in the area played a factor. The fire is not currently considered suspicious.

(Copyright (c) 2025 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Join our Newsletter for the latest news right to your inbox



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

New Hampshire

N.H. woman accused of civil rights violation after allegedly shooting at lost man because he was Black

Published

on

N.H. woman accused of civil rights violation after allegedly shooting at lost man because he was Black


Local News

Diane Durgin, 67, is accused of shooting at a Black man who inadvertently drove to her property after a prearranged truck part sale, prosecutors said.

A New Hampshire woman is accused of violating the state’s Civil Rights Act four times after she allegedly shot at a man because he was Black, prosecutors said.

Diane Durgin, 67, of Weare, N.H. could face up to a $5,000 fine for each violation she is found to have committed, the office of New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said in a press release Tuesday.

Advertisement

Durgin is also charged with criminal threatening against a person with a deadly weapon and attempted first degree assault with a deadly weapon, Michael Garrity, a media representative for the New Hampshire Attorney General, said in an emailed statement to Boston.com.

Durgin had a final pre-trial conference last week, Garrity said.

In a civil complaint filed Tuesday, Durgin is accused of threatening physical force against the victim, the AG said. Prosecutors asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction barring Durgin from repeating her alleged behavior and from contacting the victim and his family.

During the morning hours of Oct. 20, 2024, the victim claims, he “mistakenly” drove to Durgin’s home after a prearranged purchase of a truck part with a seller online, prosecutors wrote as part of their request for an injunction.

When the man — whom prosecutors identified in court documents as X.G. — arrived, Durgin allegedly stepped out of her home and approached his car with a gun “holstered by her waist,” prosecutors wrote. 

Advertisement

Upon noticing that X.G. was Black, Durgin allegedly “removed her gun and pointed it at X.G.,” prosecutors said in the injunction request.

While X.G. explained that he was lost, Durgin called the victim a “Black mother[expletive],” and threatened to “kill him,” prosecutors allege.

As the victim attempted to drive away, Durgin allegedly took her gun and fired two shots at the fleeing man’s car, missing both times, the AG’s office said.

While on the phone with a dispatcher, Durgin allegedly said she shot the man’s car because the victim is Black, the AG said.

“The guy is Black. And he, he…he says he’s meeting someone here and I think he’s coming here to steal,” Durgin allegedly said.

Advertisement

Police located X.G. and brought him to the Weare Police Department, stopping along the way at the correct seller’s home to complete the truck part purchase, prosecutors wrote in court documents.

To prove a violation of the New Hampshire Civil Rights Act, the AG must show that Durgin “interfered or attempted to interfere with the rights of the victim to engage in lawful activities by threatening to engage in or actually engage in physical force or violence, when such actual or threatening conduct was motivated by race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability,” prosecutors said.

Sign up for the Today newsletter

Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.

Advertisement





Source link

Continue Reading

New Hampshire

Up to 4 inches of snow expected in NH tonight. See latest forecast

Published

on

Up to 4 inches of snow expected in NH tonight. See latest forecast


play

It may be March, but winter in New Hampshire is far from over. Just one week after a blizzard tore through the state with heavy snow and high winds, the state is getting another round of snowfall.

The state will get three to five inches during the evening and night of Tuesday, March 3, says the National Weather Service (NWS) of Gray, Maine. While the accumulation will not be significant, the snowfall may cause dangerous road conditions and a layer of ice on the ground in certain parts of the state.

Advertisement

Here’s what to know before tonight’s snow in New Hampshire, including snow totals and timing.

When will it snow in NH tonight?

According to the NWS, it will start snowing in New Hampshire during mid-afternoon or early evening and continue through the night. Specifically, snow will arrive to the southern part of the state around 2-3 p.m., spreading northwards through the rest of New Hampshire by 5 p.m.

Rain or freezing rain will mix in later this evening across southern New Hampshire, creating a wintry mix. All precipitation should move out of the state by midnight.

Due to the timing of today’s snowfall, the Tuesday evening commute will be affected, with the NWS warning to slow down and exercise caution while driving.

Advertisement

How much snow will NH get tonight?

New Hampshire will get one to four inches of snow tonight, with one to two inches in northern New Hampshire, two to three inches in southern New Hampshire and three to four inches in the center of the state, with the possibility for five inches in localized areas.

In the Seacoast specifically, Portsmouth, Rye, Hampton and York are expected to get between two to three inches of snow, while Dover, Exeter and Rochester may get up to four.

Advertisement

The wintry mix may also cause a light glaze of ice across southern New Hampshire.

NH weather watches and warnings

The NWS has issued a winter weather advisory for the state of New Hampshire, in effect from 1 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3 through 4 a.m. on Wednesday, March 4.

Sign up for weather SMS alerts



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending