Croydon School Board's Anti-Tax Cap Flyer Sparks Election Law Complaint

By Michael Graham, NH Journal

Political flyers are par for the course in New Hampshire this time of year, and a mailer telling voters to vote no on a local property tax cap wouldn’t stand out.

But a flyer created and distributed by Croydon’s school board members hoping to influence voters is a step too far, according to an election law complaint filed with the state attorney general Monday.

Thanks to HB 1300, voters will have the chance to cap local property taxes at inflation plus qualifying new property growth. Supporters point out that New Hampshire public school enrollment has plunged, but school districts continue demanding more money to serve fewer students.

Opponents claim that letting taxes rise only with inflation will force schools to make cuts, even if fewer students are in classrooms.

In Plainfield, the school board has posted a public plea on the district website asking voters to reject the cap. In Claremont, where the school board oversaw the mishandling of millions of dollars and created a deficit, board members are asking voters not to limit spending growth.

But Croydon may have crossed a legal line with a school board-created mailer urging voters to say no to limiting spending growth.

During its Sept. 15 meeting, the Croydon School Board unanimously passed a motion by Vice Chair Amanda Leslie to “create a mailing with facts and oppose HB1300 to be sent to residents.”

The resulting flyer tells voters, “An arbitrary and predetermined spending cap would shift budget control from Croydon to Concord and would not support our School Choice model.”

“THE CROYDON SCHOOL BOARD DOES NOT SUPPORT HB 1300,” the flyer adds.

The front reminds residents: “Don’t Forget to Vote on November 3!” Its attribution reads, “PROVIDED BY THE CROYDON SCHOOL BOARD | OCTOBER 2026.”

Rep. Ross Berry, R-Weare, chair of the House Election Law Committee, filed the complaint. He says the opposition language, paired with the voting reminder, makes the flyer political advertising subject to state disclosure requirements.

“The board’s own label for the mailer, or its claim that it only meant to inform, does not control,” he wrote in the complaint.

“It is unsurprising, and ethically questionable, for a school board to use taxpayer resources to advocate for or against any measure on the ballot. Voters deserve neutral, factual information from their public bodies, not a campaign flyer paid for with their own money,” Berry told NHJournal.

“This mailer tells residents how to vote and carries none of the disclosure New Hampshire law requires of political advertising.”

Croydon School Board Chair Aaron McKeon defended the flyer.

“The Board took a position but is not telling people how to vote,” he told NHJournal.

While school board members may not want to cap tax hikes, voters seem to like it.

The September UNH survey found 46% would vote for the cap, compared with 33% against it and 21% undecided. Among independents, support led 48% to 19%.

Republicans who are engaged in retail campaigning tell NHJournal the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

“Of the people I’ve talked to, it (the property tax cap) is the number one issue,” said Rep. Mary Ford, R-Chester. She recounted a recent day of door-knocking when 26 voters were aware of the tax cap vote and 25 supported it.

“Twenty-five to one is a pretty good issue,” she said.

Rep. Jess Edwards, R-Auburn, has had a similar response. “When people talk about the one thing that’s bothering them the most, it’s the property tax. They like that we’ve done something about property taxes, and it’s a better alternative than raising taxes.”

At a roundtable on the tax cap hosted by Americans for Prosperity Monday night, Drew Cline with the Josiah Bartlett Center rolled through the numbers on enrollment and spending in New Hampshire schools.

Greg Moore with Americans for Prosperity hosts a roundtable on property tax caps with Rep. Dan McGuire, R-Epsom, and Drew Cline with the Josiah Bartlett Center.

“From 2001 to 2024, per-pupil spending rose by 96%,” Cline said. “If you just read the news, you wouldn’t know that. Our total spending rose by $1.25 billion over that time, adjusted for inflation, while enrollment fell by 54,000 students. So total spending went up 45%, enrollment fell by 26% and enrollment keeps falling.”

State law generally prohibits covered public employees from electioneering while performing their official duties and prohibits public employees from using government property or equipment for electioneering. Elected school board members are excluded from the employee definition used in the official duties prohibition, making their status different from that of school staff.

“That the Croydon School Board would go this far shows how desperate they are to keep raising property taxes,” Berry said.

“The tax cap question gives voters a direct say over how fast their school property taxes grow. Croydon voters should be free to make that decision without their school board putting a thumb on the scale.”

This story was originally published by the NH Journal, an online news publication dedicated to providing fair, unbiased reporting on, and analysis of, political news of interest to New Hampshire. For more stories from the NH Journal, visit NHJournal.com.