SALEM, N.H. – Deputy House Majority Leader Joe Sweeney (R-Salem) issued the following statement after the Salem School Board following their recent emergency vote to immediately spend $747,333 in unassigned taxpayer funds.
“What we witnessed from the Salem School Board is a perfect example of why the system is broken and why the taxpayers of New Hampshire demanded action. They are frantically burning through nearly $745,000 of hard-earned local property tax dollars simply to ensure it never leaves their hands.”
“When school board members brag about ‘managing the tax rate’ by hiding a massive surplus, let’s call it what it actually is: an admission of guilt. They are knowingly taking steps to keep property taxes artificially high and actively choosing to hike tax rates year after year rather than providing the tax relief Granite Staters desperately need.”
“It is entirely predictable that highly compensated bureaucrats are angry that their power is being put in check. But that power ultimately belongs to the voters. Taxpayers are incredibly generous when it comes to funding our schools, but they deserve a say in how those dollars are used. HB 1610 brings transparency back to local budgets. If the school board has a good case for keeping your extra cash, let them make it to you on the ballot.”
Background:
Currently, school boards can exploit a loophole to keep leftover taxpayer money year after year without voter consent, using those surpluses to create permanent, ongoing spending obligations.
HB 1610 slams that backdoor shut in three simple ways:
Requires Annual Voter Approval: It strips school boards of the power to hold onto surplus cash indefinitely. If they want to carry leftover money over to the next year, they must now ask voters for permission on the ballot every single year via a separate warrant article.
Lowers the Cushion Cap: It drops the maximum amount of surplus cash a school district can legally sit on from 5% to 3%.
Protects True Emergencies: It forces districts to use standard emergency procedures (RSA 32:11) to spend leftover funds. This ensures schools can still instantly fix a broken boiler or cover a crisis, but stops them from “panic spending” on non-essentials just to hide the cash from taxpayers.