Rand v. New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Supreme Court, on appeal of partial summary judgment, held that a statewide property tax scheme that allows a locality to retain tax revenue in excess of what the district needs to fund an adequate education did not violate a clause requiring education-related taxes to be “uniform in rate.” The court held that the state tax agency’s practice of setting negative local tax rates in unincorporated places with minimal or no education costs to offset the statewide rate, however, did violate that clause.

The state has appealed to the New Hampshire high court a trial court ruling on the plaintiffs’ additional claim, not part of the original partial summary judgment. The lower court found the plaintiffs had demonstrated that the state’s base amount of school funding and aid for special education were constitutionally inadequate, forcing local school districts to fund a portion of this shortfall with local property taxes assessed at varying rates, in violation of the same clause.