NH Students Deserve a Commissioner of Education Who Is QUALIFIED and SUPPORTS Public Education  

UPDATE: The public hearing on the Edelblut nomination will be on Tuesday, January 31st at 1pm at the State House in the Executive Council Chambers.

AFT-NH  ‘Lesson Plan’ on Frank Edelblut

Objectives

• Determine if the nominee for Education Commissioner is qualified to serve the 180,000+ public school students in NH;
• Advise fellow citizens how to have their voices heard on the Edelblut nomination

Background

• Governor Sununu has nominated Frank Edelblut to be the next NH Commissioner of Education.
• Mr. Edelblut served as a state representative for one term and then ran for  Governor.
• Frank Edelblut ran in the republican primary against Gov. Sununu and lost by 800 votes.
• Mr. Edelblut has no background in education.
• Mr. Edelblut has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and a Master’s Degree in Theological Studies. He attended K-12 public school.
• He home-schooled his 7 children.
• His work experience includes Price Waterhouse Coopers, Niagara Corporation and his own business, Control Solutions International.
• He supports school choice in all forms such as private, charter, religious, public schools, and home-school.  As a legislator,  he supported school choice legislation.
• He has never served on a local school board. He did serve on the Water Commission in the Town of Wilton.

What is the job of the Education Commissioner?

•  Department of Education Responsibilities

 21-N:2 Establishment; General Functions. – 
    I. There is hereby established the department of education, an agency of the state under the  executive direction of a commissioner of education. 
    II. The department of education, through its officials, shall be responsible for the following   general functions: 
       (a) Providing general supervision for elementary and secondary schools, teachers and administrators. 
       (b) Providing a variety of educational services to schools and particular groups. 
       (c) Providing vocational rehabilitation and social security disability determination services for persons with disabilities.

• RSA 21-N:3, I  states in relevant part, “…The commissioner and deputy commissioner shall be qualified to hold their positions by reason of education and experience.” 
   
• The specific duties of the Commissioner of Education are outlined in law at RSA 21-N:4  Duties of Commissioner. The Commissioner needs to be qualified  in order to efficiently and effectively run the NH Department of Education and support our schools across the state.

Who approves the nomination of Frank Edelblut as Commissioner of Education?

The five elected members of the NH Executive Council.  The vote could occur as soon as February 1^st.

AFT-NH OPPOSES THE NOMINATION OF FRANK EDELBLUT.

NH STUDENTS, PARENTS AND TEACHERS DESERVE BETTER.

                                                                      You can express your opinion about this nomination by sending an email to all five Executive Councilors at gcweb@nh.gov.

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Douglas Ley, AFT NH  President
Phone: (603) 831-3661

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2:00 P.M. EDT, January 18, 2017

BOW, NH -  AFT-NH President Douglas Ley released the following statement on the nomination of Representative Frank Edelblut as Commissioner of Education.

“Just as AFT on the national level has expressed strong opposition to the nomination of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education, we are gravely concerned about a Commissioner of Education who, when running for governor, supported further diverting much needed funding and resources from our public schools.   Our teachers and school district employees are trained professionals who have dedicated a lifetime to serving NH students. There is no evidence based on Mr. Edelblut’s public record that he either has the experience in education or public service on the local level that demonstrates the requisite knowledge and understanding to lead NH schools and serve more than 180,000 students, our State’s most precious resource.” 

AFT-NH represents approximately 4,000 teachers, school support staff, city and town employees, police officers, library employees, and higher education faculty. AFT-NH is a member of the New Hampshire AFL-CIO and is the state affiliate for the American Federation of Teachers with more than 3,000 local affiliates nationwide, 43 state affiliates, and more than 1.3 million members.

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A new report issued by the Economic Policy Institute, January 12, 2017 shows clearly that passing a so-called Right to Work law will only hurt the NH advantage. In 201l,  we successfully fought off attacks and were supported by Governor Hassan’s veto on RTW. In 2012,  Indiana passed a right to work bill. In a nutshell, “NH’s economy is stronger and our citizens are better off”.  The link to the article is provided below. You can link to the full report here.

“In 2011 and 2012 two states, New Hampshire and Indiana, debated the same bill: so-called “right-to-work” legislation, pushed by corporate lobbyists and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), designed to weaken unions financially and pave the way for greater corporate dominance of state politics. New Hampshire’s governor vetoed the bill in 2011. Indiana, by contrast, enacted it in 2012. It is instructive to compare the two states. By almost any measure, the economy of New Hampshire is stronger and its citizens are better off, on average, than the citizens of Indiana. Right-to-work did not improve the Indiana economy relative to New Hampshire’s, and no one should be fooled into thinking that passing right-to-work now will improve the New Hampshire economy."

The NH State Senate Commerce Committee, after hundreds appeared in opposition at a public hearing today, have recommended passage of the so-called Right to Work bill by a vote of 3-2.

We thank Senators Donna Soucy and Bette Lasky for voting against this bill fueled by out of state interests. This union busting legislation will proceed to the full Senate for a vote. It is clear that the NH Senate republicans have put this bill on a fast track.

Stay tuned for updates and gear up to fight this battle until the last vote is counted. We stand together to fight for NH working families and for strong unions.