Residents of New Hampshire town rouse from civic slumber, reverse local libertarians' efforts to halve school budget

Croydon, N.H., in Sullivan County
(Wikipedia map)

New Hampshire has long been known as a haven for libertarians, especially since the Free State Project encouraged them to move there and made it even more limited-government refuge that reflects the Granite State's "Live free or die" motto. But a recent flap in Croydon, a town of 800, has served as a wake-up call for locals about the need to remain engaged in local government.

"Croydon’s experience resonated well beyond its borders, receiving substantial regional news coverage. It became a cautionary tale for these times — or, perhaps, a reflection of them," Dan Barry reports for The New York Times. "People here have just experienced a fractious come-to-Jefferson moment that has left many with a renewed appreciation for something they had taken for granted: democracy."

It started at the annual town meeting in March when one of the three selectmen, Free Stater Ian Underwood, proposed slashing the school's proposed budget in half, from $1.7 million to $800,000. The budget "covers the colonial-era schoolhouse (kindergarten to fourth grade) and the cost of sending older students to nearby schools of their choice, public or private," Barry explains. 

Underwood "argued that taxes for education had climbed while student achievement had not, and that based in part on the much lower tuition for some local private schools, about $10,000 for each of the town’s 80 or so students was sufficient — though well short of, say, the nearly $18,000 that public schools in nearby Newport charged for pupils from Croydon," Barry reports. "In pamphlets he brought to the meeting, Mr. Underwood asserted that sports, music instruction and other typical school activities were not necessary to participate intelligently in a free government, and that using taxes to pay for them 'crosses the boundary between public benefit and private charity'."

His wife, Jody Underwood, the school-board chair with a doctorate in education, spoke in support of the measure, after having endorsed the proposed budget, and the cut passed easily at the lightly attended town meeting, 20 to 14. "The shocking budget cut meant that the school board suddenly had to craft a new financial plan, while many parents suddenly had to come up with thousands of dollars to keep their children in public schools," Barry reports. The Underwoods, who do not have children, moved to New Hampshire from Pennsylvania in 2007.

"I was practically kicking myself in the ass for not being there," Ed Spiker, who has two sons in public schools, told Barry. "I guess I assumed our town would take care of it."

"Many Croydon residents were livid. But they were also chastened. They hadn’t attended the town meeting. They hadn’t fulfilled their democratic obligation. They hadn’t kept informed about the Free State movement. To some observers, they had gotten what they deserved," Barry writes. "The moment revealed a democracy mired in indifference. Turnout at town meetings has been low for years. The town’s websites are barely rudimentary, with school-board minutes posted online sporadically. The select board’s minutes are found at the town hall — open three afternoons a week — or the general store, beside chocolate bars being sold to benefit the local humane society."

Local citizens banded together and overcame the procedural obstacles to call a special town meeting, at which the budget cut was overturned 377-2. But the incident still reverberates. One Croydon resident Barry interviewed wants to serve on the school board again; another has begun working on political campaigns; and Spiker bought a camera and microphone so he can record and post online all meetings of the school board and select board. There's an effort to oust Dr. Underwood and another school-board member, reports Patrick Adrian, a correspondent for the Valley News in nearby West Lebanon.

"As citizens we have many rights, but we also have obligations," Wayne Lesperance, a political-science professor at New England College, in Henniker, told Barry. "And when we don’t fulfill our obligations, we often end up with results we don’t like."