New Hampshire
Why is public education in New Hampshire so expensive? – The Boston Globe
Enrollment has been going down for more than two decades due to long-term demographic changes. New Hampshire’s population has been aging, and the number of school-aged children has been declining. That’s in line with trends of diminishing enrollment from around the country, according to the state Department of Education. At the start of the 2024 school year, there were about 162,660 students enrolled in public schools, according to state data.
Having fewer students can drive up the cost per student, when the same costs of operating a school building and paying teachers are spread among fewer students. But beyond that, costs are also going up.
Compared to other states and Washington, D.C., spending in New Hampshire is relatively high — in fiscal year 2022, it ranked 7th highest for school spending per student, according to the US Census Bureau.
New York topped the list at $29,873 per student, with neighboring Vermont at number four ($24,608), followed by Connecticut ($24,453), and Massachusetts ($21,906). Rhode Island ranked ninth highest, at $19,962 per student. Nationally, average spending per pupil in 2022 was $15,663, according to the Census Bureau data.
It’s no surprise that high spending is clustered in New England and the Northeast, more broadly, where the cost of living is relatively high, according to Christina Pretorius, policy director at Reaching Higher NH, a nonprofit education think tank.
“It’s just the nature of living in a New England state,” she said. “I was in Oklahoma, and gas was a drastically different price than it was here, as were groceries.”
Education spending in Oklahoma was significantly lower; at $10,890 per pupil, it ranked 48 in the Census Bureau data.
A lower cost of living can translate to lower costs for running a school building or lower educator pay. Plus, Pretorius said, other states have to adhere to different educational standards, with varying requirements, such as the ratio of teachers to students, for example.
New Hampshire is also a relatively rural state, where education costs are spread among fewer students. That’s especially noticeable in some of the most rural parts of the state, such as in Pittsburg, the northernmost town in the state which abuts the Canadian border. Pittsburg’s cost per pupil was the highest in the state, at nearly $44,500, according to the Department of Education.
And there’s a lot of local control in New Hampshire — where local voters get to make budgetary decisions about things like staffing levels.
But the education commissioner said the numbers indicate it may be time for change.
“The persistent trend of declining student enrollment combined with rising costs creates substantial financial strain on school districts, taxpayers and communities, necessitating new and creative approaches to educating our children in a system that can be sustained over the long term,” Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut said in a press release.
An analysis from Reaching Higher found that from 2014 to 2024 overall spending went up by 7.4 percent, growing from $3.5 billion to $3.8 billion after adjusting for inflation. The actual cost in 2014 was about $2.8 billion.
There were a few specific programs contributing to the increase.
Spending on special education, bilingual, and gifted and talented programs has gone up by about 10 percent after adjusting for inflation. In 2024, this made up about 20 percent of total spending.
Other instructional programs such as school-sponsored co-curricular activities, sports, and summer school went up by 15 percent in the past decade, but it’s a relatively small slice of overall spending, at less than 2 percent.
Student support services also went up significantly, rising 18 percent in the past decade, to fund social work, guidance, health, psychological services, and speech pathology. That now accounts for just over 8 percent of total spending.
General administration and business expenses increased by about 21 percent, and account for about 4.5 percent of overall spending.
Operating school buildings went up by almost 17 percent in the past decade, and at $350 million, it accounts for about 9.3 percent of overall spending.
Pretorius said just looking at the cost per pupil is a myopic view of school funding issues. In the past 10 years, student needs have changed, she said, pointing to mental health needs during and after the pandemic, as one example.
“Cost per pupil is just one measure,” she said, “but it’s certainly not the whole picture.”
In her view, the cost of operating a school has actually remained relatively flat over the past 10 years. And she warned that lowering the cost per pupil might entail cuts that could harm student learning — like firing a teacher, reducing programs, or decreasing support available to students.
Andrew Cline, president of the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy, a free market think tank, said education costs are so high in New Hampshire because local voters choose to spend money on public schools, even if it means raising taxes.
“People like their public schools and want to spend more money on them,” he said. “That’s what’s mostly driving the overall spending increase and the per pupil increases.”
A 2023 study from his think tank found education spending increased 40 percent from 2001 through 2019, with a large portion of spending dedicated to hiring new staff.
The study found that many of the new hires were administrative staff, noting a 57 percent increase in district administrators. Support staff grew 31 percent, paraprofessionals and aides grew 40 percent, while teachers only grew about 2 percent.
Amanda Gokee can be reached at amanda.gokee@globe.com. Follow her @amanda_gokee.
Sara Doherty
Franklin, NH – Sara Jane (Sanford) Doherty, 79, of Franklin, New Hampshire, passed away peacefully at her home on June 11, 2026. A beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend, Sara was born on June 5, 1947, in Hanover, New Hampshire, to Harold and Sadie (Pettengill) Sanford.
As the daughter of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers employee, Sara spent her childhood moving throughout New England, living in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. She graduated from high school in Hudson, Massachusetts, and later returned to New Hampshire, eventually settling in Franklin, where she made her home for more than forty years.
Sara built a successful career in the textile industry. She worked as a seamstress at Howland Originals before joining Star Specialty Knitting, where she began as a stitcher and, through hard work and determination, advanced to Plant Manager. She retired in 2003, and one of the greatest joys of her retirement was caring for several of her grandchildren, whom she adored.
Sara was a remarkably talented and creative artisan. She sewed clothing for her children when they were young and later created outfits for her grandchildren and their dolls. She was a gifted painter and artist whose extraordinary drawings and paintings brought joy to those around her. An accomplished seamstress, knitter, crocheter, cake decorator, and musician, Sara had an exceptional ability to create beauty in many forms. Her handmade gifts and treasured creations will be cherished by her family for generations to come.
Her talent for cake decorating blossomed into a successful side business that spanned more than thirty years. Sara created hundreds of stunning and imaginative cakes, including wedding and birthday cakes for her own children and grandchildren. Her passion for baking was so well known that for many years her license plate proudly read “CAKES+.”
Sara also had a remarkable gift for bringing people together. She hosted countless family reunions, each one more creative than the last. With elaborate themes, games, prizes, delicious food, and endless laughter, she created memories that her family will treasure forever. She was also known for her generous holiday gatherings, often welcoming more than thirty family members and friends into her home for Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations. Summers brought cherished Fourth of July cookouts by Webster Lake, where Sara delighted in decorating the waterfront and gathering loved ones to enjoy the annual boat parade.
Sara’s love of giraffes was known by all who knew her. She spent years collecting hundreds of them, giving each a special “G” name. Before her passing, she shared one of her favorites, “Geebri,” with her granddaughter Sydni, who is expecting Sara’s first great-grandchild.
Her warmth, creativity, generosity, and love of family touched everyone who knew her. To say she will be missed is a vast understatement. She was truly the heart of her family.
Sara leaves behind her devoted husband of 43 years, Joel Doherty; her sons, Todd (Michelle) Chapman of Sanbornton, New Hampshire, and Paul (Cheryl) Chapman of Northfield, New Hampshire; her stepdaughters, Ali (Oliver) Frates of Amherst, New Hampshire, and Kate Hodge of Durham, New Hampshire; and her beloved grandchildren, Shelby, Sydni, Morgan, Owen, Duncan, Calum, Macy, and Elyse, and Step-grandchildren, Matthew, Jennifer, Eric, & Kevin.
Sara was predeceased by her parents.
Sara’s family would like to express their heartfelt thanks to Franklin VNA for their rapid and seamless response in setting up hospice, and to The Payson Center for their dedication and care, which gave us more precious time with her.
A graveside service will be held on Tuesday, June 30, 2026 at 11:00 AM in Franklin Cemetery, Thompson Park in Franklin.
For more information or to leave the family an online condolence, please visit www.smartmemorialhome.com.
Click here to sign the guest book or honor their memory with flowers, donations, or other heartfelt tributes
A staple of many New Hampshire town fairs, the pig scramble may soon look a little different.
A bill signed into law by Gov. Kelly Ayotte last week requires the commissioner of the state Department of Agriculture to create best practices for any event in which people compete to capture a pig. Those guidelines will be published before the 2027 fair season, so they won’t be in place for any fairs with pig scrambles this year, such as the upcoming Deerfield Fair in the fall.
Generally, a pig scramble involves people of the same age competing to capture pigs that have been let loose in a large pen. Contestants have to catch the pig in a drawstring bag, and the first one to do so can take the pig home.
Rep. Cathryn Harvey, a Democrat from Spofford, is the prime sponsor of the bill. She said each fair has different rules for their pig scrambles, meaning some can be more humane than others. One aspect of the events she hopes will change is the bags pigs are captured in.
“They’re putting an animal in a plastic bag on a hot summer day,” Harvey said. “It isn’t a great idea.”
Although some fairs already use more breathable bags out of burlap, Joan O’Brien, president of the New Hampshire Animal Rights League, said she’s also seen pigs being kept in plastic bags for long periods of time after the event. Not only would a burlap bag improve the pig’s ability to breathe in the heat, she said, but she also wants fairs to require participants to bring an animal carrier for the trip home. Her organization was ultimately in favor of the legislation.
“If you don’t have a carrier, you should not be allowed to leave your pig lying in a bag,” O’Brien said, adding that some fairs already ask contestants to bring carriers. “You should be taking them right home.”
The Deerfield Fair has implemented another rule that O’Brien and Harvey hope becomes part of statewide best practices — having parents supervise their child in the pen. O’Brien once witnessed a child hang a pig upside down by its legs and then lower it headfirst into the bag.
“In the heat of the moment, the kids get excited and they just do whatever it takes to get the pig in the bag,” O’Brien said. She said parents should work with the event referee to make sure their kid is handling the pig humanely.
Harvey’s bill originally called for pig scrambles to be banned around the state, but both she and O’Brien feel that universal guidelines for fairs would still make the experience better for the animals. Even seemingly small things, Harvey said, like giving the pigs water after the scramble, would be an improvement to the current situation for them.
“I think that the bill will embolden people to speak up at these events,” O’Brien said. “If they think a pig is being mistreated, they’ll be able to say to themselves, ‘I know that there’s supposed to be a rule, so I’m going to say something.’ So I think that would be a good outcome.”
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