Claremont Voters Reject School Budget Cap, Approve $42.9 Million Spending Plan

A citizen-petitioned article to cap Claremont's annual school budget increases went down in a landslide last week, defeated in all three wards and falling far short of even a simple majority. The final tally stood at 1,345 opposed to 560 in favor, well below the 60% supermajority the measure required to take effect.

SAU 6 interim Business Administrator Matt Angell had warned the School Board that the cap's formula would have forced $9 million in spending cuts. Under the article's language, the budget for the 2027-28 fiscal year could not have exceeded an amount based on per-pupil spending multiplied by daily enrollment for the current school year, with future increases tied to the region's inflation rate.

School Board member Candy Crawford said the margin reflected an informed electorate. "Once they were made aware of the impact, they did not want to support that kind of devastating effect it would have on the schools," Crawford said Tuesday evening at Claremont Middle School, after tallies from Wards I and III had been posted.

Voters who cast ballots at the middle school described their opposition in concrete terms. Lindsay Moore, a 46-year-old commercial loan officer from Ward I, said she voted against the cap to protect extracurricular programs. "I have an interest in keeping sports, which likely would be cut with a cap, and I want to keep the scholastic offerings," Moore said. "These are important to the community." Denise Alexander, a state worker also voting in Ward I, said the cuts would have been unconscionable despite her own financial anxieties. "It would be catastrophic," Alexander said. "I know it is about taxes and I am nearing retirement so I am worried too. But I want the kids to have a fair shake and a good education."

While the cap failed, voters approved a $42.9 million school budget and elected Don Lavalette and Brian Rapp to the Claremont School Board. Turnout across the March 10-11 all-day balloting reached 28%, according to the Valley News.

Voters also authorized the sale of two shuttered properties: Bluff Elementary School and the former Masonic Temple. A separate article restricting Claremont students from enrolling in another open-enrollment school also passed.

Claremont was not alone. Voters in eight other New Hampshire communities, including Brookline, Campton, Plymouth, and Warner, also rejected tax cap warrant articles during town meeting week. Kingston and Lebanon moved in the opposite direction, with Kingston approving a petition cap over selectboard objections and Lebanon passing a budget cap that the city council can override by a two-thirds vote.

The local results arrive as the New Hampshire House passed a bill that would require towns to consider a local school district tax cap every two years, sending the measure to the Senate mostly along party lines. Opponents of the legislation argue it will create financial hardship for budget committees and districts already navigating rising costs.