The Portsmouth School Department has a long history of academic excellence among New Hampshire school systems. Its pupil/teacher ratios are among the lowest in its national cohort group. Portsmouth High School, for example, enjoys a ratio of only 10 students for every teacher, on average. The Portsmouth School Department is known in New Hampshire as a "donor district," meaning it sends dollars back to the state to assist in the operation of less affluent school systems.
The school department has experienced declining enrollment principally through the closing of Pease Air Force Base in the early 1990’s. For example, secondary school enrollment has dropped by nearly half.
The Portsmouth School Department depends upon the approval of the Portsmouth City Council as its principal source of funding. Schools are funded almost exclusively by property taxes.
At the time of the site visit, only 88 of the 290 certificated teachers resided within the geographic boundaries of the school department. This has been attributed, in part, to the higher cost of living and lack of available housing in Portsmouth when compared to some of the surrounding communities. This could obviously have an adverse effect on the recruitment of teachers.
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