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Barnstead School District Mandatory Report to Voters

Prospect Mountain Schools

March 3, 2026

Barnstead School District Mandatory Report to Voters

These charts are required to be made available to the public per RSA 189:76. The three charts contained in this report show inflation-adjusted spending information for the past ten years: first, the average cost per pupil of the Barnstead School District; second, the average teacher salary at Barnstead Elementary School, and third, the cost of administrator salaries for the Barnstead School District.

Each of these charts shows that Barnstead has been spending less (in inflation-adjusted dollars) each year since around 2020. This is due to a combination of factors:

  1. Since significant turnover during the two years immediately following the Coronavirus pandemic, the school is rebuilding with a new group of earlier-career educators. These teachers, on average, are placed lower on the school's salary scale and earn lower salaries than some previous employees, even though teacher pay in general has become more competitive under the latest teacher contract.

  2. Per pupil spending has been controlled, and the school's operating budget has been set conservatively. Last year, Barnstead had the twelfth-lowest per pupil spending in New Hampshire.

  3. Since 2020, central office have been shared with Alton, reducing both districts' cost of administration. Redundant positions have been eliminated. Chart three shows the savings in administrator salaries compared to 2016-2020, a period when Barnstead had its own Superintendent, Business Administrator, Special Education Director, Food Service and Facilities Managers. At a time when many other school districts have been splitting apart and adding more administrator expenses, Barnstead and Alton have done the opposite, becoming more efficient and saving on costs.

The three charts are followed by a table showing the schools' four highest-paid administrators' salaries and an estimate the share of those salaries paid by the Alton School District.

This information is on display in hard copy form at Prospect Mountain High School and Barnstead Elementary School.