| Procedural History Of The Claremont Lawsuit | Page 8 |
Procedural History Of The Claremont Lawsuit
1. June 12, 1991 - The school districts of Claremont, Allenstown, Pittsfield, Franklin and Lisbon filed a six count Petition for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief against the State of New Hampshire in the Merrimack County Superior Court. Claremont School District, et. al. v. Governor et al..
The school districts maintain in their suit that the New Hampshire Constitution imposes a duty on the state to support public education and that the state's system of funding public education fails in that duty in violation of the New Hampshire Constitution.
2. August 13, 1992 - The Merrimack Superior Court granted the state's Motion to Dismiss the lawsuit. The Court agreed with the state that the New Hampshire Constitution imposes no duty on the state to support the public schools. The school districts appealed to the New Hampshire Supreme Court.
3. December 30, 1993 - The New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled that, "We hold that part II, article 83 imposes a duty on the State to provide a constitutionally adequate education to every educable child in the public schools in New Hampshire and to guarantee adequate funding."
The New Hampshire Supreme Court remanded the case to the Superior Court.
4. May 12, 1996 to June 20, 1996 - A seven-week trial is held in Merrimack Superior Court on Count I (Adequacy of Education), Count II (Adequacy of Funding), Count III (Denial of Equal Protection) and Count VI (School Taxes are Unreasonable and Not Proportional) of the school districts' Petition for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief. Counts IV and V were voluntarily dismissed.
5. December 12, 1996 - The Superior Court issued its decision. The Superior Court ruled in favor of the state on all four Counts of the Petitioner School Districts' Petition for Declaratory Judgment.
The school districts appealed the Superior Court's 12/6/96 decision to the New Hampshire Supreme Court. The school districts, in their Notice of Appeal, raise 64 errors of law and fact made by the Superior Court in its 12/6/96 decision. Their Appeal is accepted by the New Hampshire Supreme Court.
6. September 17, 1997 - Oral arguments in the case were presented to the New Hampshire Supreme Court.
7. December 17, 1997 - The New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled in favor of the school districts. The Court held that the present system of financing public education is unconstitutional and that every educable child in New Hampshire has a fundamental right to a state funded, constitutionally adequate public education.
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