Press

AFT-NH President Deb Howes Statement on Defeat of SB 101 (Open Enrollment)

Granite State public school students won today when the New Hampshire House put the needs of all public-school students first and defeated SB101, an Open Enrollment proposal that was far from ready to become law. All students deserve robust, well-funded public schools in their home districts, and this proposal lacked the safeguards, stable funding, and predictability needed to protect students, classrooms and communities. This bipartisan vote showed respect for local voters and property taxpayers, who voted at annual

Governor Kelly Ayotte’s signing of HB 1815 is a direct blow to New Hampshire’s public-school students. The bill tries to rewrite the state’s constitutional duty to fund public education without fixing the broken system that already leaves New Hampshire last in the nation for its share of school funding.

Instead of delivering real support to students in property-poor districts, HB 1815 lets the state walk away from decades of court rulings and deepens inequities for students and taxpayers alike. Every single Granite State child deserves a fair, fully funded public education in their local

CONCORD, N.H.— Today, Governor Ayotte vetoed HB 324 which was the book banning bill. AFT-NH President Deb Howes issued the following statement:

“Today's veto of the book banning bill is a victory for Granite State public school students and their right to a robust public education. We thank Gov. Ayotte for vetoing this harmful bill and protecting the First Amendment right of students to access a wide variety of materials in their schools. This decision affirms the long-standing tradition of local control by elected school boards over policy making for our neighborhood public schools. They know

Senate Passed State Budget Expands Vouchers, Raises Property Taxes

AFT-NH President Deb Howes

CONCORD, N.H.— Today, the New Hampshire Senate passed their version of the state budget which mandates universal school vouchers, lowering educational outcomes and raising property taxes. AFT-NH President Deb Howes released the following statement:

“Expanding the school voucher program to the ultra-wealthy is a disservice to every Granite State property taxpayer. Educational outcomes from the voucher program are at best unproven, and all the data we have from other states shows that students who take