It's hard to restrain education spending when increases are 'cuts' - THE JOSIAH BARTLETT CENTER FOR PUBLIC POLICY

It's hard to restrain education spending when increases are 'cuts' - THE JOSIAH BARTLETT CENTER FOR PUBLIC POLICY

K-12 public school spending rises every year, whether enrollment increases or decreases. In this century, K-12 district public school enrollment in New Hampshire has fallen by more than 50,000 students, but spending is up by more than $1 billion, adjusted for inflation.  How does this happen? The short answer is that local voters prefer to spend more on public schools, regardless of enrollment trends, tax rates or anything else. Contributing to …