Eleven residents of New Hampshire, representing business, education, parents, and state government, visited eight high schools in the state to determine if differences in school budgets affected the quality of education. Members of the study team spent one day in each school and weighed data on staffing, educational opportunities and results, teaching loads, and dropout rates. They compared low-expenditure with high-expenditure schools through statistics and observations. They found that although school quality may be enhanced by such factors as community values, administrative leadership, and faculty commitment, more financial support for a school generally leads to more and better educational opportunities for students--a condition that in turn leads to better educational quality. Included are descriptions of each of the high schools visited and a compilation of comparative data. (JW)