https://state-ledger.org The State Ledger connects New Hampshire laws, spending, votes and local outcomes so claims can be tested against the evidence. en-us The State Ledger, licensed CC BY 4.0 https://state-ledger.org/research/efa-families-arent-the-problem https://state-ledger.org/research/efa-families-arent-the-problem Fri, 28 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Explainer Aaron Gomo Enrollment growth measures demand. It does not measure whether the money changed anything. Key finding. A family accepting a benefit the Legislature created is not responsible for proving the programme works. The government is. The useful question is not whether you support families who use Education Freedom Accounts, but what New Hampshire purchased with the money and how anyone would know.

]]> https://state-ledger.org/research/follow-the-money-to-concord https://state-ledger.org/research/follow-the-money-to-concord Fri, 28 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Explainer Aaron Gomo A cap on what a district may raise is not a reduction in what it owes. Key finding. HB 1300 creates a budget constraint, not a guaranteed cost reduction. It limits what a district may collect without reducing what a district is legally obliged to spend, so where required costs grow faster than the cap the remaining choices are an override, a deferred expense, or fewer services.

]]> https://state-ledger.org/research/when-the-state-stops-paying https://state-ledger.org/research/when-the-state-stops-paying Fri, 28 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Explainer Aaron Gomo Downshifting is real, documented, and narrower than the argument usually made about it. Key finding. New Hampshire has a documented case of a cost moving from the state to its municipalities and staying there: the state's share of local retirement contributions. HB 197 would have restored part of it at $28 million a year, with an equal $28 million saving to towns and school districts. The House killed it in January 2026, and the obligation is still paid locally.

]]> https://state-ledger.org/research/sullivan-county-efa-dollars https://state-ledger.org/research/sullivan-county-efa-dollars Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Investigation Aaron Gomo New data show where EFA money is being spent, but not whether it creates a new educational opportunity or replaces an expense a family was already paying. Key finding. New Hampshire knows how many students receive Education Freedom Accounts. It does not publicly show how often those accounts create a new educational opportunity, improve a choice the family had already made, or simply transfer an existing private expense to taxpayers.

]]> https://state-ledger.org/research/property-wealth-vs-tax-burden https://state-ledger.org/research/property-wealth-vs-tax-burden Wed, 26 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Explainer Aaron Gomo Property wealth helps a town raise money. It does not help a resident pay the bill. Key finding. Capacity to raise revenue is not the same thing as capacity to pay the resulting bill. Property values determine what a town can raise; affordability depends on the income of the people who receive the bill.

]]> https://state-ledger.org/research/margaret-drye-taxpayer-roi https://state-ledger.org/research/margaret-drye-taxpayer-roi Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Scorecard Aaron Gomo Two votes. Two very different returns for New Hampshire taxpayers. Key finding. One vote rejected $28 million in state spending that carried a measurable, equal offset in local savings. The other supported $51.6 million in state spending whose offsetting local savings have not been demonstrated.

]]> https://state-ledger.org/research/why-spending-alone-does-not-explain-school-taxes https://state-ledger.org/research/why-spending-alone-does-not-explain-school-taxes Mon, 24 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Model Aaron Gomo Moultonborough spends the most per pupil and has the lowest education tax rate of the four towns compared here. Key finding. Moultonborough has about 17 times Claremont's property value per student and spends 53 percent more per pupil, but its education tax rate is about one-sixth as high.

]]> https://state-ledger.org/research/new-hampshire-starter-villages https://state-ledger.org/research/new-hampshire-starter-villages Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Proposal Aaron Gomo Small homes. Strong communities. A costed model for attainable ownership. Key finding. A 20-cottage community on 10 to 15 acres pencils out at $4.675 million, or $233,750 per home, producing an estimated home price of $200,000 to $250,000 with no assumed construction subsidy.

]]> https://state-ledger.org/research/the-great-delay-and-dump https://state-ledger.org/research/the-great-delay-and-dump Tue, 18 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT Commentary Aaron Gomo Savings today. Higher costs tomorrow. Key finding. A cost that is deferred rather than eliminated does not leave the ledger. It is paid later, usually by a different set of people, and usually for more.

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