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In New Release, State School Funding Aid Hits Record High as NH Enrollment Declines Again

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CONCORD, NH - New Hampshire’s public-school enrollment continued its long downward slide this fall, even as the state prepares to send a record level of funding to local districts for the next budget year.


The Department of Education released its annual enrollment count and adequacy-aid estimates this week, the first full set of numbers under Education Commissioner Caitlin Davis, who took office earlier this year on how much state support districts can expect when they finalize budgets this winter. The numbers tell a familiar story: fewer students, more state dollars per student, and a growing gap between enrollment trends and local spending patterns.


The statewide Oct. 1 count shows 160,323 students enrolled in public and public-charter schools, which is about 2,300 fewer than last year and more than 44,000 fewer than in 2005. The drop remains steady and statewide, reflecting the state’s continued decline in school-age population. Birth rates have fallen for more than a decade, and more parents are seeking education outside the public school system, with most regions now seeing smaller kindergarten classes replacing larger graduating cohorts.


This year’s release comes as local officials begin shaping their 2026–27 budgets ahead of March town meetings, where voters will decide school spending. And while student counts continue to shrink, the state’s financial commitment to public education has never been higher.


According to the Department, average adequacy aid will reach $7,132 per pupil next year, the highest in New Hampshire history and more than a 30 percent increase in the last decade. Special education aid is also climbing to an unprecedented $49.9 million, more than double the state’s support from 10 years ago.


Granite Eagle recently reported on this trend in Local School Spending Outpaces State Aid as Enrollment Drops in New Hampshire, noting that despite these historic state investments, local budgets often continue to rise faster than both enrollment and inflation. The latest numbers reinforce that dynamic. State support has jumped significantly, but most cost drivers like staffing, facilities, and contracts, remain local.


The adequacy formula, updated in 2023 and expanded again this year under a Republican-controlled Legislature, provides a base grant for every student as well as additional funding for students with disabilities, those eligible for free and reduced lunch, and English language learners. Districts with low property values receive further support through fiscal disparity grants.


Berlin is projected to receive $14,469 per pupil, the highest in the state. Newport, Claremont, Franklin, and Manchester will also receive some of the largest per-student aid amounts. These communities continue to show long-term enrollment declines, yet they are also among the most heavily supported by the state formula.


The enrollment data released Friday underscores how broad the decline has become. Manchester enrolls 11,712 students, far below its peak in the early 2000s, while Nashua stands at 9,501. Concord, at 3,755 students, is hundreds below where it stood a decade ago. Laconia (1,763), Merrimack (3,375), and Goffstown (2,764) also continue a gradual downward trend.


Rural districts continue to face the steepest long-term losses. Several now serve fewer than 100 students, including Pittsburg (75), Landaff (15), and Waterville Valley (34). Even areas once considered growth communities, such as parts of the Lakes Region and the western Monadnock Region, are now seeing enrollment level off.


Charter schools now enroll 6,336 students across the state, roughly 4 percent of public-school enrollment. Several continue to grow, including Founders Academy (435 students), VLACS (539 students), and Windham Academy (351 students).


Despite the falling numbers, total state education funding will rise again next year because the Legislature built higher per-pupil grants into the current two-year budget. That means New Hampshire taxpayers are sending more money into a system with steadily fewer students, a structural reality that is becoming a central point of discussion in a statewide debate on property taxes, with some high profile Democrats advocating for an income or sales tax.


The challenge for local officials, and the taxpayers who will vote in March, is how to reconcile the reality of declining enrollment with an electorate that is growing ever more impatient with higher property taxes yet continues to vote for increased spending as communities shape the future of their schools.


This situation begs a question. How is it possible for school funding to hit a record high, when student enrolment continues to decline? If companies operated this way, they'd be out of business. It's time to start managing NH like a company and make fiscally responsible decisions when it comes to school funding.



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