Karen Yeaton is happy to talk about Education Freedom Accounts. Just not on the floor at Town Meeting. 

To her, it’s an inappropriate conversation for the annual gathering of town residents to approve the town budget. Frankly, it’s a waste of time, she said. 

“This process creates unnecessary confusion and division within our community over an issue that is already being debated by our elected officials in Concord,” said Yeaton.  

Yeaton, the chair of the Pembroke select board, vehemently opposed a citizen’s petition that is circling local ballots across the state – which asks towns to take a stand against the expansion of Education Freedom Accounts, New Hampshire’s school choice program, until there is more accountability as to how the money is spent. 

“The town meeting purview is to focus on local government’s governance, and not serve as a platform for external political interests,” said Yeaton. 

To petitioner Mary Stratton, school funding is an inherently local issue. 

“State taxpayer dollars are being diverted to private religious schools, leaving you, the locals, to have to cover public education through higher property taxes,” she said. “Even more disturbing is that there's no accountability as to how the money is being used.”

While residents ultimately went against the select board’s suggestion, approving the petition, the vote launched an impassioned conversation about parental rights, support for students and school funding at an otherwise tame Town Meeting. 

Residents approved a $11.6 million budget, essentially the same as the 2024 budget. With a revenue decrease, town taxes will still increase by 12.3 percent – an additional $968 annually for a house valued at $400,000. 

Peter Mehegan isn’t shy about his support for school choice. 

As a state representative for Pembroke, the Republican legislator voted in favor of universal vouchers on the House floor last week. 

Mehegan’s eight children loved music in school. If Education Freedom Accounts, which were introduced in 2021, were available when his kids were in school, he would have sent them to the Concord School of Music, he said. 

“We’re not stealing from taxpayers’ money but from a family’s money who has looked at what is offered and has said one size does not fit all,” he said. “They cut music to a family of eight musicians and they did not offer us an appropriate education.” 

Education funding was contentious in Pembroke last year, after residents at the annual school meeting voted to slash the proposed budget by 10 percent. The move left the district scrambling, with over 40 teachers departing from Pembroke schools – 20 voluntarily, and 27 due to the cuts. Budget cuts continued at last year’s Town Meeting, too. Residents eliminated half of the capital reserves fund – money set aside each year for big-ticket purchases like fire trucks.

Yeaton admits the select board was not prepared. This year, she wanted to change that. 

“These funds are critical,” she said. “These are the bones, in my opinion, of the town’s ability to honor the obligations that we have to provide services in town.” 

In a stark reversal from the previous year, residents approved the capital reserves fund with little fuss and also voted to amend the select board’s proposed budget – adding back $150,000 – to match what the budget committee proposed. 

Suzanne Walsh has watched the impact of a ballooning budget in Pembroke both as a resident and real estate agent. She’s heard from neighbors looking to sell their house, stating they can’t keep up with property taxes. 

This year, she knows the budget committee and select board listened to residents’ concerns about rising costs. The flat budget proposal is a testament to that. 

‘Thank you all very much for all the hard work to actually come in below what we were last year,” she said. “You very much had to nitpick in order to do that.”