SAU 90 Article 4: Sacred Heart School – $52,521

What it means: Sacred Heart School is a private school in Hampton. Hampton students attend Sacred Heart as opposed to attending the Hampton public schools. This Article asks for an offset for child benefit services in lieu of the taxpayers paying for the students to attend public school. There are 47 Hampton students who are in attendance at Sacred Heart School in the current academic year (out of about 240 total attendance in grades Pre-K through 8). The amount sought is 9% less than the amount requested in 2023, due to enrollment changes. The dollar amount is $1,117 per student. Around 30% of the funding goes toward nursing, and the balance is used for items such as for technology or health-related items.

Those in favor say:  Articles in support of a local private school are very common throughout NH. So long as the funds appropriated are used for the child benefit services listed in the statutes, they may be expended for those purposes. The use of the funding by Sacred Heart School falls within the allowed purposes.

Those opposed say: Some people have expressed concerns about supporting a religious organization, even if the funds are not specifically used for religious purposes. Others feel that any funds raised by such an Article should be shared by any private school in the Town (there are only a few other private schools in town, and they are Pre-K, or special ed).  Some question whether this support still benefits the Town.  At one point, the support was deemed reasonable because Hampton schools were overcrowded, which is not currently the case.

Fiscal Impact: A Hampton home valued at $400,000 would bear a tax cost of $5.20 in 2024, less than last year, meaning no increase versus your last tax bill if this Article passes. Take your property valuation divided by 1000 and multiplied by .013 to get your cost. This decision is for the current year only.