The education tax rate taxes for each town is based on the fair market value of property, not the assessed value. Otherwise, Laconia could assess property at 20% of market value and the residence would only pay 20% of their share of education tax. The state looks at the current assessment-to-sales ratio of property that sold the past year and applies that rate to determine the town's education tax rate.
Real estate taxes are based on value. Restrictions decrease value. Having a residency restriction for a house one block from the schools could reduce a property value by 30%, but for vacation property, the reduction is trivial. For vacation property, they save a bundle on schools but suffer negligible tax loss. The residents (who can vote) tuck it to the non-voter. Your only recourse is to buy property without that restriction.
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