"The candid citizen must confess that, if the policy of the Government upon vital questions affecting the whole people is to be irrevocably fixed by decisions of the Supreme Court, . . . the people will have ceased to be their own rulers, having to that extent practically resigned their Government into the hands of that eminent tribunal." — A. Lincoln, First Inaugural Address (Mar. 4, 1861). 

This is the final column in a series concerning education funding in New Hampshire. Our previous column explained a response from the legislature to the NH Supreme Court’s flawed Claremont rulings, called House Concurrent Resolution 14, which will be debated and voted on in January when the legislature returns to session. 

After laying out the case against that ruling, including the violations occurring in other parts of our constitution as a result of the court’s decisions, the legislature in passing this resolution will tell the court that its "Claremont I and Claremont II decisions and any and all consequences that flow therefrom do not have the force and effect of law."

Will passage of this HCR 14 create a constitutional crisis? There are many who say that we are already in such a crisis and have been since 1993 when the first Claremont decision was commanded upon us. Many feel that a real challenge to the people’s power to determine their own government policy through their elected representatives exists and a crisis is needed to restrain and reverse a runaway Supreme Court.

Even those who agree with the ultimate Claremont result should look at the method of how it was obtained. The court selectively chose its arguments from those snippets of law and history which supported its preconceived outcome while selectively ignoring anything and everything in both law and history which would prevent that outcome. 

Would the public stand still for a court that used the same method to find an obscure section of the constitution which they interpret to outlaw ALL public education in the state? I would think not! The public would rise up and DEMAND that the legislature refuse to honor that decision and proceed with accepted public policy to continue public education. 

An activist, aberrant court which has no check on its power is not in the interest of freedom for any citizen. Since all legislators have taken an oath to uphold the constitution, the legislature must act.

The first act anticipated after passage of HCR 14 is expected to be the repeal of the Statewide Property Tax (SWPT) which has caused the balkanization of this state by pitting one town against another. In our discussion of the SWPT, we showed how the elimination of that tax would create a mere $29M hole in the $427M distribution of education grants. A hole that size could be filled by the legislature.

If we took our newly gained independence further and targeted the money only to towns with demonstrated need (like Sutton and Warner in this district), the $29M would not be needed. But even without targeting, NO REDUCTION IN GRANT AID to current grant towns would result from the repeal of the SWPT.

As we explain this plan across the state, we pick up more and more supporters every day from both inside and outside the legislature. We are well on our way to having majority legislative support by January.