The money marked as the "state education" component of the property tax (SWEPT - StateWide Educational Property Tax), since 2011, stays with the town it is collected in. It is labeled "state" because the state REQUIRES that the town collects it. The state requires this because the state constitution requires that the state must provide for an adequate education (a continually debated amount). SWEPT discharges the state's responsibility.
When SWEPT was created, it was determined that $363 million annually would be needed to FUND "adequate" education. The state property tax assessed rate is set, based on total current state property values, to raise that $363 million, however, the money is NOT sent to the state. It remains in the town that collects it as the state's "contribution" to the town's needs for an adequate education.
Since 2011, IF the local SWEPT amount received exceeds the local school budget for the town (voted locally), the excess is KEPT by the town and can be used to defray other tax liabilities thereby lowering the other tax rate components.
To emphasize, NO money from SWEPT goes to the state. Since 2011, there are no longer any "donor" towns. Any addition aid assistance (food programs, etc.) is provided by the state from non property tax revenues (see below).
The Local Education Tax simply pays for any excess beyond the money provided by SWEPT as passed by the individual town in their school budget.
Beyond SWEPT and an adequate education, the schools also report additional AID required on a per student basis, such as supplemental meal assistance. The state assists (at a small proportional amount) with such costs by using money from other state sources of revenue, such as the Business Enterprise Tax. The remaining AID funding is provided through local school property taxes.
The demand for more money for education is unending, even in other states with income and sales taxes. It is hard to determine what benefit these states get for all their additional revenue dedicated to education as compared to New Hampshire. The forces for education spending are continually launching legal assaults on New Hampshire's limited funding methods to pry additional funds and additional revenue methods (income tax, sales tax) from NH citizens.
The dependance on property taxes creates stress on some property tax owners but the reality is that most owners of expensive, highly taxed properties can afford the tax. "Solutions" like income or sales taxes come with a plethora of ills, especially a revenue source that can be tweaked by the state to provide more money any time they want to spend on some idiotic venture to "buy" campaign funding from grateful businesses. Check Vermont, who went full boat into taxation to "relieve" property owners. They are much worse off for it, especially their citizens.
There is no utopian solution to paying taxes. All approaches have their down sides. As tough as property taxes can be for some, they are the best solution for local control and controlling spending.
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