New Hampshire voters decide 2026 ballot questions on Tuesday, and Question 2 asks whether local school tax growth should be capped for two years in communities that adopt it. The measure needs 60% support to pass, and it would apply only where voters choose it.
Ross Berry, the Weare Republican representative who introduced the bill in the Legislature, said: “We believe that the [annual town meeting] process is inherently broken and is being intentionally manipulated” and that the measure “is what we view as the solution to that manipulation.” Republican lawmakers later put the tax cap on a ballot that will go before voters in every town and city in New Hampshire.
Question 2 in New Hampshire
Question 2 would not set a statewide cap. It would limit increases in local school taxes only in the communities that adopt it, and only for a two-year period. The ballot language says the local property tax levy may not grow beyond the prior year's amount, adjusted for inflation and new construction.
That means the cap controls the pace of tax growth rather than freezing a bill at its current level. The ballot language also says the measure would not lower a person’s property tax bill or prevent it from increasing.
SAU spending limits
The measure adds a second limit on school spending. Under the ballot language, SAU central office spending may not exceed 6 percent of total school district appropriations, and bonded capital costs are excluded from both limits.
The language also says the caps apply only to administrative operations of the SAU central office. It does not affect classroom instruction, school-based services, or other municipal expenditures, so the change reaches the budgeting layer above daily classroom spending rather than the classroom itself.
Homeowners in Londonderry
Republican lawmakers created an online calculator for property owners to estimate savings under the cap. It uses a 3% inflation rate, a community’s existing school tax rate, and an annual 6% increase in school spending.
Under that calculator, the owner of a $687,000 home in Londonderry would save $1,969 in taxes over five years, or $390 annually. The owner of a $304,300 home in Manchester would save $732 over five years, or about $150 a year.
Supporters say the cap would provide property tax relief, while tax cap supporters dispute that it would lead to cuts to staff, extra-curricular activities, or classes that would affect students. They say school districts can trim the superintendent’s administrative budget if budget cuts are necessary to meet a cap.
For homeowners, the immediate issue on Tuesday is whether that two-year limit clears the 60% threshold. If it does, the rule would take effect only in the communities that adopt it, leaving each town or city to decide whether the cap becomes part of its own school budget process.
