PLAINFIELD — On Nov. 3, voters in every New Hampshire town will decide whether to cap how much their school district can raise in property taxes. For districts in the middle of budget season and contract talks, that vote is already shaping their plans.
In Plainfield, where the school board has begun negotiating new contracts with teachers and support staff, interim Superintendent David Baker said neither side expects to finalize a deal until after the vote.
“I think everybody on both sides understands that until that tax cap vote on November 3 … neither side will ratify before that,” Baker said in an interview Monday.
Plainfield and Cornish are also studying whether to merge into a single school district. “The cap probably has more of an impact to some degree on negotiations than the co-op (merger),” he said.
Tax cap on the ballot
The question comes from a new state law, HB 1300, which Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed in July. It requires every town to vote on a single question that sets two limits:
- A district’s school property tax levy could not grow faster than the prior year’s amount plus inflation and new construction.
- Spending by the school administrative unit’s central office could not exceed 6% of total district appropriations.
Bond payments for building projects would not count toward either limit.
The question needs a 60% supermajority to pass. If it passes, the cap would apply to the 2027-28 and 2028-29 budget years. The question returns to the ballot in November 2028.
Towns can already adopt school tax caps at their annual meetings. The new law puts the question on the general election ballot, where turnout is typically much higher.
In contrast to New Hampshire’s tax cap proposal, Vermont penalizes school districts whose per-pupil spending exceeds a set threshold, which lawmakers lowered this year.
‘Two budgets ready to go’
School boards usually finish their budgets by November or early December, Baker said. With the vote landing on Nov. 3, he expects many districts to prepare for both outcomes.
“I bet what most districts are going to do is they’re going to sort of have two budgets ready to go,” Baker said. “One that honors the cap and one that doesn’t have a cap.”
Baker, who said he is new to New Hampshire, said the question looks simpler than it is.
“This is an example of where you’re going to send people into a voting booth to vote on a cap, which appears simple on the surface, but there’s so much behind it,” he said.
He also raised a concern about neighboring towns voting differently. Plainfield and Cornish share a superintendent and are considering a merger.
“Suppose Plainfield institutes a cap or votes for a cap, and Cornish doesn’t, or vice versa,” Baker said. “Where’s the equity there?”
“I’m new to New Hampshire, but it seems like a very bizarre law to me,” he said
What it all means for contract talks
Plainfield School Board Chair Jordan Greene confirmed the start of negotiations in a phone interview Monday.
“The only thing I can say right now is we have entered negotiations; they are non-public negotiations by law,” Greene said. He added that “the school board looks forward to the negotiations.”
Teachers are represented by the Plainfield Education Association. The Plainfield Support Staff Association represents paraeducators, custodians, the administrative assistant and a registered behavior therapist, according to a 2024 state labor board order. Both are affiliated with NEA-New Hampshire, the statewide teachers union. The current contracts run through 2027, according to state labor board records.
Karen Ladd, the NEA-New Hampshire staff member who works with Plainfield’s unions, was out of the office Monday and could not be reached for comment. The Valley News contacted the Plainfield Education Association on Monday and did not receive a response.
Baker said state labor law requires both sides to bargain in good faith. That means the district can’t make its offers depend on how the cap vote turns out.
“There’s no such thing as conditional bargaining,” Baker said. “So we can’t condition the bargaining on the fact that there’s going to be a possible cap or there’s going to be a possible co-op.”
Once the two sides reach a tentative agreement, both must ratify it. The contract’s costs then go to voters at the annual school meeting in March. If voters reject those costs, either side can reopen negotiations on the whole agreement.
In a letter to residents, the school board said it wants pay that is competitive in the region while “respecting the taxpayers.” The board said competitive pay has made it easier for Plainfield to fill open positions than some neighboring districts.
The merger can wait
The Plainfield-Cornish cooperative committee has met for about three years. On Sept. 15, it voted to continue studying a merged district in which all kindergarten through eighth-grade students would attend the Plainfield school on Bonner Road, according to draft minutes from the meeting.
A budget model presented at that meeting combined the two districts’ budgets, about $14 million, and included union contracts for a new district, according to the minutes.
Baker said the committee would like to bring a plan to voters by March. Even if voters approve it, he said, a merger is still years off.
“The co-op won’t happen for another two or three years anyhow,” Baker said. The current contract being negotiated “will just see its way out” by then.
If the districts do merge, Baker said, the districts’ lawyers would advise them on renegotiating contracts.
Baker also said a merger would not necessarily mean closing Cornish’s building. Students would likely be taught in the Plainfield school, he said, but Cornish Elementary School has a preschool, a kitchen and a gymnasium.
“We don’t want to lose any of those assets,” Baker said. “I think we’ll probably be able to use both buildings in some capacity.”
Supporters and opponents
Supporters say the tax cap law would give taxpayers more control over rising property taxes. In a statement after the bill was signed, state Rep. Ross Berry, R-Weare, chair of the House Election Law Committee, called it a “significant step to protect New Hampshire property taxpayers.”
Teachers unions, the New Hampshire School Boards Association and the New Hampshire School Administrators Association oppose the law. In a statement after the bill was signed, NEA-New Hampshire President Megan Tuttle said the law “locks in existing funding disparities” between communities. She said the union would work to make sure voters know how the measure would affect their local schools before November.
The Grantham School District is partnering with the New Hampshire School Funding Fairness Project to hold school funding presentations for Sullivan County and Upper Valley communities this fall, according to Baker’s October newsletter to families.
Baker said voters across the region should “know what’s going on before November 3rd.”