KEENE, N.H. (MyKeeneNow) Andru Volinsky, attorney and one of New Hampshire’s most prominent voices on school funding, joined WKBK Radio’s Good Morning with Dan Mitchell Tuesday to react to the New Hampshire Supreme Court’s recent ruling that the state’s education funding formula fails to meet constitutional standards.

During the interview, Volinsky called the court’s decision both long overdue and clear in its findings: the state’s current level of financial support for public education is inadequate, and the burden placed on local taxpayers creates deep inequities between wealthy and poorer school districts. The court stopped short of mandating immediate financial remedies, instead directing lawmakers and the governor to devise a constitutionally sound plan.

Volinsky, who also authored “The Last Bake Sale,” a book chronicling the multi-decade legal fight over school funding in New Hampshire, warned that further delay by state leadership would prolong harm to students, particularly in underfunded districts like Claremont, Newport, and parts of the Monadnock Region. He said he believes the fix should be in place no later than April 1, 2026, aligning with the start of the property tax year.

While acknowledging the court’s split decision—upholding a minimum funding level of $7,356 per student but reversing the lower court’s order for immediate payment—Volinsky raised concerns about the direction of the judiciary. He criticized the court’s refusal to enforce the funding obligation, characterizing the majority’s deference to legislative authority as a missed opportunity to secure educational rights.

He also sharply criticized responses from Governor Kelly Ayotte and State Board of Education Chairman Drew Cline. Volinsky accused them of misrepresenting the court’s findings and sidestepping the state’s core obligation to fund public education fairly. He said public officials’ framing of New Hampshire’s education spending as being among the nation’s highest ignores the disproportionate reliance on local property taxes and leaves the state last in the nation in terms of state-level contributions.

With the Legislature now on summer break and the state budget already passed, Volinsky said the governor should consider calling a special session this fall to begin serious work on a solution. Otherwise, he warned, the constitutional violation—and the inequities it creates—will persist.

The Supreme Court’s decision came in response to a years-long lawsuit led by the Contoocook Valley School District, which had argued that the state’s base adequacy aid of $4,182 per pupil fell far short of covering actual costs. The court agreed, though it left the responsibility for corrective action in the hands of elected officials.

The ruling reaffirms the constitutional principles established in the 1990s Claremont decisions, which recognized every child’s right to a state-funded, adequate education. Yet, more than three decades later, Volinsky said the core issue remains unresolved—and pressure is once again building for the state to act.

Listen to the full interview: