HB 1300 would provide fiscal accountability for everyone in New Hampshire
As taxpayers watch officials and finance committees coordinate email blasts warning against House Bill 1300, we must ask a fundamental question: If public administrators are spending responsibly, why fight a law designed to ensure fiscal accountability?
School boards resist the sensible 6% SAU administrative cap because it threatens a status quo of chronic overspending. Other states limit total annual property tax levy increases to 2% (New Jersey) or 2.5% (Massachusetts) for all municipal and school services combined. Yet opponents claim a generous 6% cap solely on administrative overhead will harm our schools. That argument collapses under basic math. Schools in states with strict caps haven’t gone downhill; rather, caps force administrative discipline instead of treating taxpayers like an endless ATM.
Furthermore, HB 1300 protects true local control. Right now, unsustainable school budgets often pass by narrow margins at annual meetings attended by a tiny fraction of residents, while the majority of taxpayers — many elderly on fixed incomes or working families — are unrepresented. Caps ensure decisions reflect the entire tax base, backed by transparent safeguards.
Voters should not be fooled by coordinated efforts to keep people in the dark. A good law doesn’t hurt a well-managed district; it protects taxpayers from runaway spending and demands the fiscal discipline our community deserves.