SAVE OUR SCHOOLS
SAVE OUR CHILDREN

Because our children deserve better!

  • More than half of New Hampshire’s students are falling below grade-level standards in reading, writing, and math.
  • Property taxes keep skyrocketing while classroom results decline.
  • Families and taxpayers are being asked to pay more than ever for a system that is failing.

    • Before you pay your next property tax bill, keep reading to see how we’re fighting back.

    HOW CAN I HELP?


Source: Edunomics Lab

Our Goal

We do NOT seek to defund schools. We wish to fix them by empowering New Hampshire residents to have a voice that ensures our education system delivers real results for our children.

  • Return authority to parents, towns and communities.
  • Stop Out-Of-Control unconstitutional education taxation.
  • Rebuild our schools with a focus on academics, excellence, and accountability.

How We Reach Our Goals

By empowering New Hampshire residents to file RSA 76:16 abatements that challenge rising property taxes and provide a push for real change.

Ways You Can Help

File an Abatement

We provide simple step-by-step instructions, so you know exactly what to do. Please remember to deliver your abatement application to your town by March 1.

HOW TO GET STARTED

Spread the Word

Share this information with your friends, family, and neighbors in New Hampshire. When more people understand their rights and learn how to take action, our movement grows stronger.

SHARE THIS LINK

Donate to the Cause

Your donation helps keep this citizen-led movement going. Contributions support outreach, education, and the resources needed to help more New Hampshire taxpayers understand their rights.

I WANT TO HELP

File the Abatement

This abatement process is all about the children, restoring an education system that is accountable, transparent, and truly focused on student success. By correcting unconstitutional and inefficient funding practices, we can redirect resources where they matter most, by improving classroom outcomes, empowering families, and building a stronger, more effective education system for the next generation.

Download both forms below and watch the video for detailed guidance on how to complete the process.

Download Abatement Form Download Attachment A
  1. Print your tax bill.
    1. Locate the Local Education and State Education (SWEPT) line items.
    2. Write down both amounts. You will challenge both.
  2. Download and complete the RSA 76:16 Abatement Form (DRA form) and Attachment A – Constitutional Grounds for Abatement for your town.
    1. Fill in your: Name, Address, Map/Lot, Amounts of SWEPT and local education taxes.
    2. Sign and date these forms.
  3. Deliver these completed forms to your town offices by March 1 by hand, mail, or email (if digital submissions are accepted).

Your town must reply to your submission by July 1. If denied, you are legally entitled to appeal to the NH Board of Tax & Land Appeals or Superior Court. If needed, you can also appeal to the NH Supreme Court.

Why Do We Care?

Because our children deserve an education that will empower them to compete on the world stage - and succeed!

For 30 years, New Hampshire has operated under an education funding system created not by the people but by the courts. Save Our Schools NH is a citizen-led movement working to restore Academic Excellence, local control, and strengthen New Hampshire schools.

The Claremont ruling (1993-1997) created a state obligation and taxing structure that removed the incentives for our education system to deliver academic excellence for our children. As a result, our communities have faced:

  • Declining student performance.
  • Loss of local control.
  • A growing and costly bureaucracy.
  • DEI/CRT-driven mission creep.
  • Administrative expansion without clear academic benefit.
  • Teachers pushed into non-teaching roles.
  • A statewide tax system that does not deliver academic excellence to our children

We exist to protect New Hampshire’s schools and restore a constitutional, community-driven system of education that is free of judicial overreach and rooted in the consent of the people.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this legal?

Yes. RSA 76:16 is the lawful method for any citizen to challenge any illegal or unconstitutional tax. Courts have ruled for decades that unconstitutional taxes may and must be contested.

What makes the NH education tax unconstitutional?

The New Hampshire Constitution states that taxes must be raised with the consent of the people. In 1968, an amendment took away the town’s authority to raise taxes on education, but no amendment ever gave that authority to the state.

The Claremont decision created this tax through judicial usurpation, not through the lawful amendment process.

What is judicial usurpation?

Judicial usurpation means that a court has created new powers not found in the Constitution, which means that instead of interpreting the law, they are stepping into the role of lawmakers.

In Ford v. Manchester Housing Authority (1964), the NH Supreme Court ruled that any act beyond constitutional delegation is void ab initio, or void from the beginning.

Will I get money back?

Potentially, but the primary goal is to correct the constitution, not seek refunds. Still, if enough abatements are granted or the system is overturned, taxpayers may receive relief.

Can the towns or the state retaliate?

No. Abatements are protected by law. Filing is your legal right.

Will this dismantle public education?

No, it will restore it. The current system is failing, and we want what parents want: real education, not bureaucracy.