School Finance on the Edge — From Claremont to IEPs to Forest Classrooms

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What happens when a school district runs out of money just days before the first bell? In Claremont, NH, families are finding out the hard way. Facing a $1–5 million deficit, the school board cut 19 newly hired teachers and paraprofessionals before they even started, saving $1.8 million but leaving educators and students reeling.

And Claremont isn’t alone. Pittsfield overspent its budget by $1.9 million. Timberlane and Merrimack Valley slashed millions more. Behind these headlines lies a deeper story: the rising cost of special education and a broken funding model that leans too heavily on local property taxes.

In this episode of Off the Gravel Road, we explore:

• Why IEP numbers are climbing — with more kids being identified for autism, ADHD, and other needs than ever before.
• The cost difference: IEP students average $31,000 per year in services compared to $18,700 for non-IEP students, with the state covering only 17%.
• A clear message: we’re not anti-IEP. Every child deserves support. The challenge is giving schools the resources without breaking everything else.
• How property-poor towns like Claremont, Pittsfield, and Berlin face the hardest trade-offs.

But it’s not all crisis. We highlight solutions already happening here in New Hampshire:

• Forest school models that are spreading across the U.S., helping kids focus, cooperate, and thrive outdoors.
• Local programs like SOAR After-School, NH Farm Kids Daycare, Barn in the Woods, and the OWL Program at Barnstead Elementary, giving students hands-on learning rooted in community and land.
• And we hear from youth voices. Will, one of our own, explains adaptive grazing in plain English — showing how cattle, soil, and kids can all grow stronger together.

We close with Will’s reminder:

“Healthy soil makes everything else healthier — the plants, the animals, and us. It cleanses our air, our water, and our environment. When we grow from healthy soil, food tastes better, grows stronger, and nourishes us more. Making soil healthier should be a goal for everyone.”

🎧 Stay tuned for a future episode where you’ll hear directly from Charlie and Eleanor, two local kids who spent their summer outdoors at TL Storer.

 LorrenJoyce Farm is a family farm dedicated to producing quality products that are grown with compassion, integrity and pride. We specialize in pasture raised beef, jersey cow raw milk and farm fresh eggs. We are focused around the health and well-being of our animals, in order to create the best product possible!
LorrenJoyce Farm was started in December of 2013 by Amy & Brian Matarozzo. The farm began operating at its first location in Londonderry, New Hampshire . As the farm operati