Court grants school district's request for preliminary injunction against SchoolCare

posted on 5/1/2026

A Strafford County Superior Court justice granted the Dover School District’s and Superintendent Christine Boston’s motion for a preliminary injunction to require SchoolCare to continue paying covered health care claims for the school district’s enrolled members, spouses, dependents and retirees until further court order.

In an invoice transmitted to the Dover School District on Oct. 1, 2025, SchoolCare had threatened to suspend the payment of medical claims of Dover’s SchoolCare enrollees if the district did not pay a special assessment fee of nearly $1.7 million, with interest, by May 1, 2026. The SchoolCare Board of Directors approved an overall $30 million special assessment on Sept. 21, 2025, to be allocated to all its members due to depleted its reserves. The special assessment came after the contract year with the school district began on July 1, 2025. 

In early April 2026, the Dover School District and Superintendent Boston filed an action in Strafford County Superior Court contesting the lawfulness of the assessment on various grounds, along with a motion for a preliminary injunction seeking to preserve the status quo.  

The court’s April 30 order requires the status quo to continue, with the Dover School District continuing to pay SchoolCare premiums, and SchoolCare paying the District’s medical claims.

The court case will continue to determine a jurisdictional challenge asserted by SchoolCare and the New Hampshire Secretary of State, and whether or not SchoolCare's assessment was legally authorized and required to be paid by the Dover School District. 

Last fall, the Dover School District issued an request for proposals for healthcare coverage for its employees and their families. At a special meeting last month, the School Board voted to award the contract for fully insured plans to HUB International, which will begin on July 1, 2026.