The NH House Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services Committee on February 8th recommended against both so-called Right to Work bills by a 14-17 vote. The first vote before the full house wil be on Thursday, February 16th. You can read written testimony submitted by local AFT-NH leaders by clicking on the below links.

Alex Luhtjarv, Hillsboro-Deering Federation of Teachers

Kelly D'Errico, Hillsboro-Deering Support Staff

Elizabeth Lavoie, Hudson Federation of Teachers

Joshua English, Keene Police Officers' Association

Adam Marcoux, Nashua Teachers' Union

Deirdre Conway, Newfound Teachers' Union

Sandra Lee Ellis, Raymond Educational Support Staff

Marie Bahlert, Rochester Federation of Teachers

Ryan Richman, Timberlane Teachers' Association

Bow, NH

January 27, 2017 

Yesterday was a warm, almost Spring-like day, always welcome in January.  The gold of the State House dome shone brightly in the sunshine, and I even took the time to sit for a short while on a bench on the State House grounds.  Inside, however, the legislative session is just beginning to warm up, with a short session of the House to deal with a few legislative items, following an intensive week of public hearings on proposed bills, as committees work hard to push legislation to the floor for debates and votes.

The most important news of the week was the scheduling of

AFT-NH has called for a day of action for members across the state to wear RED for Public Ed(ucation) on Tuesday, January 31st. Two important nominations will be considered on this day. Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education will be voted on by committee in Washington. Here in NH, there will be a public hearing on the nomination of Frank Edleblut for Commissioner of Education. NH students, parents and teachers deserve candidates who support public education and are qualified for these positions. Please wear red and take the actions suggested in the attached flyer.

WEAR RED DAY OF ACTION

 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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