State House News

AFT-NH Testimony on HB 1298  Relative to the Licensing of Parttime Teachers

From Debrah Howes, President AFT-NH

Thank you, Chair Ward and Members of the House Education Committee. Thank you for reading my testimony.

My name is Debrah Howes. I am president of the American Federation of Teachers – New Hampshire.

I am here to speak on behalf of our 3700 members across the state, as well as the students, families, and communities we serve. Our members include preK through 12 public school educators and support staff, university faculty as well as town employees. I am here today to testify in opposition to HB 1298 Relative to the Licensing of Part-time Teachers.

We all want to do what is best for our students in our local neighborhood public schools. We want them to have challenging academics in fully staffed schools, but we also want them to have engaging lessons, carefully designed learning experiences and content communicated in a way that meets their learning needs. Being a content area expert is not the only requirement to be successful as a teacher. Hiring content area experts who are not certified educators to teach students, even if limited to parttime, would put students’ learning needs behind the appearance of filling positions.  

I am here to speak on behalf of our 3700 members across the state, as well as the students, families, and communities we serve. Our members include preK through 12 public school educators and support staff, university faculty as well as town employees. I am here today to testify in opposition to the non-germane amendment 1005h to HB 1583 relative to the per pupil cost of the opportunity for and adequate education.

Every Granite State child has a constitutional right to the opportunity for a robust public education through our local neighborhood public schools no matter where they live in the state. Whether families choose to enroll in the local neighborhood public schools for their children’s education, or choose private school, homeschooling, or a charter school, it is the child’s constitutional right to have that opportunity for a robust public education and the state’s constitutional duty to fund it. Our Granite State students have a right to more than just a barebones public education, as the case law over the past  three decades has made clear. They have a right to a public education that prepares them for college, entering the workforce, joining an apprentice program or the service and to become productive citizens of their communities and our state, or wherever their goals and dreams take them after high school.

AFT-NH Testimony on SB 374  Relative to the Licensing of Part-time Teachers

From Debrah Howes, President AFT-NH

Thank you, Chair Ladd and Members of the House Education Committee. Thank you for reading my testimony.

My name is Debrah Howes. I am president of the American Federation of Teachers – New Hampshire.

I am here to speak on behalf of our 3700 members across the state, as well as the students, families, and communities we serve. Our members include preK through 12 public school educators and support staff, university faculty as well as town employees. I am here today to testify in opposition to SB 374 Relative to the Licensing of Part-time Teachers.

I am here today in support of our own members in our private sector local and of my Union Brothers, Sisters, and Family of the Labor Movement and against SB 516.

Right-to-Work continues to be, and will always be, Wrong for New Hampshire! It is no surprise that once again out of state corporate interests are supporting Right-to-Work here in New Hampshire as they are always trying to limit the power workers have in any workplace. What is surprising is that any New Hampshire lawmakers support this! Simply put, Right-to-Work is government interference in the workplace by putting the state in the middle of the relationship between the private employer and the employees of a private business.

Help us Stop the Subpoena and Part-Time Teacher Bills

Town Meeting Results.  This week the growing disconnect between the slim majority controlling the State House in Concord and the wants and needs of Granite State voters in many of our communities was on full display. On town meeting day voters showed they valued and support our public school students, the hard-working professionals who work every day in our schools supporting students, and the valuable town employees who keep our towns running by approving contracts in towns across the state.  Thanks to the hard work of our local leaders and members reaching out to friends and neighbors in their communities, AFT-NH locals in Campton, Fremont, Henniker, Hudson, and Timberlane school districts as well as our town employees in Hillsborough and Pittsfield earned support from voters for fair contracts for the valuable services they provide to their communities.

Attacks continue. Meanwhile, at the State House, the attacks on public schools and the professionals that work in them continued. While we have a good number of legislators who support our public school students, teachers, and school staff and we are truly thankful for their staunch support, they cannot prevail if a handful of legislators are missing when key votes come up.

Support the Freedom to Read (HB 1311)

More voucher expansion. The legislature was back in the swing of things this week after the winter break.  The House and Senate both met this week. The Senate acted on SB 522 this week passing a yet another voucher expansion bill out of the Senate Education Committee. This voucher expansion bill creates a voucher system for Pre-K even though the State of New Hampshire does not even mandate kindergarten and has no public Pre-K’s available for Granite State families. Families who are most in need and already qualify for the high-quality early child care scholarship could also see less money due to this voucher expansion. As a workforce issue, this could mean less childcare is available if this measure is approved, since the bill would mean less reliable funding for existing high quality childcare programs in favor of parceling out smaller amounts of money to greater number of families through a newly created school voucher program. Childcare programs may have to cut back on overhead and staff, which translates into fewer placements available for actual students, less daycare available for parents who need it and fewer working parents available to work. It will quite likely endanger the current federal funding underpinning of workforce childcare. SB 522 has enormous downsides.