AFT-NH Statement by President Deb Howes Town Election Results Show Voters Support Their Public Schools: Recent House Education Committee Action Echoes Public’s Pro-Public School Stance                                           CONCORD, N.H.—Tuesday’s town elections across the state, which saw pro-public education school board candidates victorious and most educator union contracts approved with significant raises, vividly show that New Hampshire voters overwhelmingly support their public schools, said American Federation of Teachers-NH President Deb Howes. “No matter how you look at the results, it’s clear that voters want their public schools and educators respected and funded. The election results confirm that the anti-public school forces can’t pit teachers against the community,” Howes said. “The public is sick of negative, divisive attacks on public schools and want a laser focus on giving our kids the schools they deserve.” MORE

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March 5, 2022 ~ Bow, NH March is shaping up to be very busy with scheduled House sessions and committees working to make final recommendations on outstanding bills. The full House will meet this week on Thursday, March 10th. The other tentative dates for the next House sessions are March 15, 16, 17, and 31st. There are no bills from the House Education committee being voted on by the House on March 10th. Action Needed (HB 1393-local school budget cap) However, there is an important bill to be considered by the full House in the near future. This bill has been recommended Ought to Pass by a 10-9 vote in the Municipal and County Government committee. HB 1393 would adversely affect local school districts by allowing local school districts to adopt a budget cap with a formula that is primarily based on average daily attendance of pupils. Such a formula would not take into account actual costs in the school district such as transportation contracts, fuel, or even out-of-district costs for special education. This would leave districts with a budget that could not even meet the basic needs of the district. Action Request   Please contact your legislator by clicking the following link: Defeat HB 1393 MORE

February 27, 2022 ~ Bow, NH We will start with the biggest news from the legislature this week; the next time the New Hampshire House of Representatives meets it will be back in Representatives Hall. Up until now the House had been meeting in other venues due to safety concerns. But now, even though many in the House are older or immunocompromised, the Speaker has decided safety is no longer a top concern. The timing strikes us as more than just a little coincidental. Last week Republicans in the House lost a few close and key votes and won other votes after the Speaker had to break the tie. Now in what appears to be a pretty obvious attempt to keep Democrats home who would still rather not sit within coughing distance (and sometimes closer than that) of other people who won’t be wearing masks and may not be vaccinated. MORE

To the NH House Education Committee Dear Chairman Ladd and Members of the Committee: My name is Debrah Howes. I am the president of the American Federation of Teachers -NH. AFT-NH represents 3,500 teachers, paraeducators and school support staff, public service employees, and higher education staff across New Hampshire. I write to express the overwhelming opposition of my members to HB 1671. The global problems that we arere experiencing in New Hampshire and across the country will be solved by the students within our schools today. We must ensure that every child has a complete, robust, and engaging curriculum that builds their minds, bodies, and characters. All public-school students deserve to learn in their neighborhood public schools the academic content, problem-solving, critical thinking, and teamwork skills that will allow them to succeed in a 21st-century economy as global citizens. To do anything less would be selling the more than 160,000 Granite State students who rely on public schools short. Indeed, it would be selling our future short. MORE

Letter to House Education Committee on HB 1671 As a constituent and taxpayer living 75 years in NH… and as a retired educator with a Master’s degree in Science from UNH and 36 years of teaching experience… I respectfully ask the House Education Committee to defeat HB 1671 and maintain the core academic domains as part of a strong public education MORE