Plainfield/Cornish School Districts
SAU 32 & SAU 100
Newsletter From
Interim Superintendent David W. Baker
November 2026
Dear Cornish and Plainfield Parents, Staff and Communities:
I continue to enjoy the work in both Plainfield and Cornish. What a beautiful part of the state! As I write this newsletter we are in the middle of one of the best weather weeks that I have seen in the Upper Valley. I am putting this email together a little early so it can go out in early November. There are a few things that are very worthy of community attention. It is a very busy time on several fronts. We are entering the budget season for our school districts. We continue to do the work on the potential Cooperative between Plainfield and Cornish. We are negotiating two contracts (Teacher and Support Staff) in Plainfield. And we are facing a challenge with the upcoming vote on HB 1300 on November 3rd. No matter where you stand on this proposal, it does present a timeline issue for any school district that is trying to prepare a budget. A vote up or down on the Tax Cap legislation will seriously impact our budgeting process. That is why I would like to lead off with some additional information about the upcoming vote. I have mentioned the importance of HB 1300 in past newsletters. But I feel an update is critical.
HB 1300 Ballot Question #2
To summarize the HB 1300 it is sufficient to say that a vote in the affirmative will require communities to cap their expenditures for the upcoming years (2027-28 and 2028-29). If approved local property tax levies for school districts cannot grow beyond the prior year's amount, adjusted for inflation and new construction. Also SAU central office spending will be restricted to a maximum of 6 percent of total school district appropriations. These provisions would be in effect for FY 28 and FY 29 and then would reappear again on the ballot in November of 2028. Passing the cap requires a three-fifths (60%) supermajority vote on the general election ballot in November. As we get closer, we will produce more information. Both the Cornish and Plainfield School Boards passed resolutions that oppose the cap., You can read the Cornish statement here and the Plainfield statement here. The boards want to provide a quality education at an affordable price, but they are well aware of many fixed costs that impact the budget (e.g. health insurance, transportation, high school tuition). Health insurance alone has risen at an average of 5.6% over the last 10 years, but in this current year the increase was 19.5%. These fixed increases have well exceeded the inflation rate. A cap could force our local boards to cut into the local K-8 budgets to meet the demands of those preset fixed costs. This is exactly why they took a position in opposition to the November 3rd Ballot Question #2 The boards simply want the electorate to go to the voting booth informed. The ballot question #2 will be on every ballot throughout the state. Please be informed and please vote.
The Cooperative Committee
The Cooperative Committee continues to meet. This committee hopes to have a final report to the respective boards by November meetings. It will most likely come in the form of a joint meeting of both boards. It will be warned and the public is always welcome. The report will only include Phase I decisions, but will recommend a Warning for vote this March and draft of Articles of Agreement that will govern the new cooperative if approved by the voters. There will also be a request for an appropriation to support the final Phase II work. In order to bring a final proposal to voters the following year (March 2028) there has to be money available to hire professionals to do specific work on specific building needs and formal educational specification for an academic design. We have some of this work conceptually in Phase I, but it will need to be much more exact for voters to approve a Cooperative model. Over the next several months we will be providing more information about the Phase I work if the boards approve the report, establish draft Articles, and decide to put a Warning forward for this March. Stay tuned.
Artificial Intelligence
The Cornish and Plainfield schools are not exempt from dealing with Artificial Intelligence (AI). While it is more concentrated at high schools, our PK-8 environments do encounter some problems especially in middle school. Anytime we develop technologies that are intended to perform tasks that require human-like intelligence, we have to proceed with caution. It is becoming more and more evident that these technologies are becoming limitless without any attention to a miral or ethical code. We have to keep in mind that AI does not have an ethical core and it only provides the integrity that humans allow. The Lebanon District has done some work around this topic. You can find their policies and associated procedures here. The Plainfield School will use that policy as a template to create a draft for the boards’ perusal. Once we have a draft I will share it in a future newsletter.
General Announcements
We continue to be in need of Substitute Teachers in both Cornish and Plainfield. This is a great opportunity to serve the community and get to know your schools even better. If you are interested in Cornish contact Brandon Hill at brandon.hill@sau100.nh.gov and if you are interested in Plainfield contact Audra Bucklin at abucklin@sau32.nh.gov.
Winter is fast approaching. Be prepared for school closing announcements. In general we will use WMUR and WPTZ to publicly announce. We will also use the Alma system to notify staff and parents. We will try to make a decision the night before, but that is difficult given the changing weather patterns in the Upper Valley. If we have to make a call in the morning we will have an announcement out by 6:00 AM at the latest. I remember a superintendent in Minnesota said at a conference that the job he would miss the least when he retires is cancelling school. You never make everyone happy. We have a good system from what I can see and we use our road commissioners and the bus company to help with the final decision.
I think that’s it for now. I continue to enjoy my work in these two districts. As I said before, good staff, families, students, communities and boards are the perfect formula for ongoing success. Never hesitate to reach out to me by email (dbaker@sau32.nh.gov or david.baker@sau100.nh.gov). Enjoy the beautiful fall season.
Dr. David Baker
Interim Superintendent
Plainfield/Cornish