Maureen F. Prohl lives in Elkins.

This year’s annual KRSD Deliberative Session held on Jan. 4, will hopefully serve as a warning, as the proverbial canary in the coal mine, that public education is under attack.

Hopefully, it will serve as a wake-up call that all residents in the KRSD need to understand how public education is funded in our state, and how escalating property taxes is not sustainable. At the core of the problem is the way we fund public education.

The anger and frustration about the school taxes should not be directed at our community schools. The State of New Hampshire is 50th in the nation for the percentage of state support of public education. The state cannot have it both ways: cutting revenue from taxes like the Interest and Dividends tax, the Business Profit tax, and the Rooms and Meals tax, and then pleading that they can’t fund education adequately.

As we speak, the state is back in court appealing the court decision that they increase the adequacy funding from $4,182 to $7,356, when in fact the average per pupil cost of education is $20,323. Who pays that difference? We do. Let’s see if the legislature continues to kick this can down the road, effectively ignoring the courts.

In 2013 the State of New Hampshire cut contributions to the NH Retirement System (police, fire, teachers) to zero, from the 35%- 30% it had contributed since 1977-2010 respectively; municipalities and school districts had to make up this difference. We’ll see if they return to the “one-time” contribution of 7.5% made in 2023.

Over the past four years, the State of New Hampshire has sent $72.6 million out the door for school vouchers; 5,321 NH students received EFAs this year, 80% of whom were already enrolled in private schools.

It has capped school building aid for educational infrastructure over the last year at $86 million; and most recently proposed that local districts make up the shortfall in the state’s funding of special education costs, rather than requesting emergency funding from the legislature.

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Who pays for this downshifting of educational costs? You do! Educational issues are going to be front and center in this legislative session, as they have been over the past three years. All New Hampshire voters should heed the warning raised at the KRSD Deliberative Session. Pay attention to what’s going on at the state level, and the national level as well.

Speak to your governor and your legislators. Better yet, elect legislators who respect and support public education, and appoint an education commissioner who does so as well.

The attack on public schools is a nationwide endeavor, and it’s being done by a thousand cuts. Let’s not allow this to continue in New Hampshire.