LONDONDERRY | The New Hampshire School Board Association voted 47 to 4 against a constitutional amendment to support educational funding at its annual meeting on Saturday, Jan. 19.

Steve Young, the Londonderry School Board representative at the meeting, said this vote gives a clear direction to the School Board Association to lobby against an amendment.

Young is president of New Hampshire Communities for Adequate Funding of Education, or NHcafe, the group of 18 communities that has been challenging the Legislature's education funding formula.

NHcafe is demanding that the state define the cost of an adequate education and fund it by June 2008.

In August, NHcafe agreed to drop its court case so long as the Legislature continued to determine the cost of an education and how to fund it.

But a month later, the group resumed its court fight after the attorney general, Senate president and House speaker filed court paperwork, saying they were unwilling to cost out an adequate education, fund it and provide an accountability system.

During the 2008 State of the State Address on Wednesday, Gov. John Lynch proposed a constitutional amendment so that he could better distribute money for educational funding.

"We met our responsibility to define an adequate education," Lynch said.

"I believe we must pass a constitutional amendment to allow us to direct more aid to communities with greater needs," he continued. "Now we must come together to develop an amendment that lets us do the right thing for our kids. And we must not let unreasonable demands or partisan politics interfere with that goal."

Young said that the governor doesn't need an amendment to distribute funds.

"We do not want to provide funding from the state through the towns," he said. "The case is still active with the Supreme Court and we're making some progress, but after hearing the governor, I have to say, 'Here we go again.' "