LONDONDERRY — For school district officials, the rejection of a constitutional amendment on education funding means they’ve won another battle but still remain in the war when it comes to state education funding.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if (this issue) is going to continue. This seems to be a way of life for us in Londonderry,” Superintendent Nathan Greenberg said on Thursday morning.

On Wednesday, the House defeated a measure to place the constitutional amendment on the November ballot.

Greenberg said he was “extremely pleased” with the vote, saying the amendment would have removed children’s rights to an adequate education while downshifting costs to local taxpayers.

“We can’t say the state has been overly generous in its funding. If we look at the amendment, I think several things (could have happened),” Greenberg said. “There (would have been) a downshift in the local property tax. We’ve seen a revenue depression (already) with the passage of the tax credit bill. There’s also been a statement by the speaker of the house that they’re looking to reduce the state budget by $400 million. You can bet there would be districts that lost money significantly.”

On Wednesday, two House votes decided the fate of the proposed amendment. The item ultimately failed, 241-141. If passed by the House and later approved by voters, the amendment would have shifted control over public schools to legislators and away from the courts.

Opponents of this week’s vote vowed to try again next year.

Londonderry’s nine state representatives, eight of whom were present at Wednesday’s hearing, were somewhat divided on the issue, with five voting for the measure and three voting against.

Voting in favor of the amendment were Republican Reps. Al Baldasaro, James Headd, Robert Introne, Sherman Packard and Dan Tamburello.

Republican Reps. David Lundgren, Betsy McKinney and Stella Tremblay voted against the amendment, while Rep. Karen Hutchinson wasn’t present in Concord on Wednesday.

Lundgren said he opted against the amendment based on the level of constituent feedback he had received in the days leading up to the hearing.

After speaking with School Board members and Greenberg earlier this week, Lund-gren said he learned there would have been dire consequences for Londonderry had the amendment passed.

“Listening to (district officials), we stood to lose a lot of money in our schools,” said Lundgren. “As a representative and longtime resident, this just seemed like the right thing to do.”

Lundgren said he also took issue with the wording of the amendment.

“It was a tough day for all of us,” he said. “There was a lot of tension in the room. Still, there are a lot of questions in my head. But this gives us the avenue to pursue better options.”

Baldasaro, who voted in favor of the amendment, said he felt it was “a constitutional issue.”

“The power originates with the people, so I want the people to make the decision,” he said. “So I will have to disagree on (this week’s vote).”

“I believe we must get the courts out of education since this is leading us down the road to a payroll tax and sales tax,” Baldasaro continued. “If voters said no, then that tells us legislators that the people want a payroll tax to help fund education.”

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April Guilmet may be reached at AGuilmet@newstote.com.