Bow, NH ~ June 25, 2021
Radical Budget Full of Attacks on Education Set to Become Law
Yesterday was the final day of session and House and Senate Republicans passed one the most radical anti-education budgets that New Hampshire has ever seen. Make no mistake this is a continuation of the work of Frank Edelblut to dismantle the education system as we know it.
The budget as passed by the House and Senate allocated less money than the last budget for education funding, it furthered New Hampshire’s already dangerous educational divide by giving more money back to property-rich communities while leaving communities that struggle further and it allocates millions of dollars of public school funds to private schools without oversight or accountability. Not to be outdone the budget also attempts to silence your voices in the classroom on important and historically undeniable presence of racism and sexism.
In addition to all of those attacks, it also eliminates the Interest and Dividends tax in New Hampshire which is paid almost exclusively by those who are in the top 1% of New Hampshire earners. Why is this important? That money will have to be made up somewhere and that means higher property taxes for you and for your communities. It also means that when your schools need more funds—cities and towns will already be stretched thin.
This budget is a stark reminder that local elections are important, that more than any national election these issues get decided at a local level. Many of you will have elections this November. Teachers’ voices in the community matter. We need you to use them so people understand what happens when education is attacked the way it was this year.
Action Request – Call the Governor While we all understand it is a long shot, we need your voices to contact the governor and tell him to veto the budget. The governor must know that signing a budget this radical does not come without consequences. Call the governor and tell him to veto the budget! His office number is 603-271-2121.
Over the summer Frank Edelblut and the State Board of Education will be busy implementing the rules for all of these policies. AFT-NH will be keeping a close eye on all of these and how they will affect your lives. We will make sure as we learn more information about all of these to relay this information to you so you can be prepared heading into next year.
Lastly, this is the first legislative update since the stunning and devastating passing of our AFT-NH President Doug Ley. We will all miss Doug and his work for all of you whether it be as President of AFT-NH or sticking up for you as an education advocate in the State House. You can trust that AFT-NH will continue to work and advocate for you day in and day out and that we will not miss a beat in continuing to represent all of our members.
For most of you this was the first full week of summer vacation and for some the last week of school. Enjoy your summer. You have certainly earned it.
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NH Retirement Security Coalition The NHRSC will be tracking all bills related to the NH Retirement System and continuing advocacy for our members. You can find the legislation tracker following retirement bills by clicking on the following link NHRSC UPDATES. AFT-NH is a member of the NH Retirement Security Coalition (NHRSC).