News

Concord, NH - Today, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order shutting down the US Dept. of Education, endangering access to a robust public education for more than 55 million American students. Deb Howes, President of  AFT-NH, released the following statement:

“Shutting down the US Department of Education so it cannot fulfill its mission of supporting all students’ access to public education, frankly, attacks the pathway to opportunity for so many American students.

Concord, NH—Yesterday, President Donald Trump began his long expected shut down of the US Dept. of Education by laying off nearly half of the staff. Deb Howes, President AFT-NH released the following statement:

“ Hollowing out the US Department of Education so it cannot fulfill its mission of supporting all students’ access to public education, frankly, is reminiscent of the utter disregard that our own Commissioner of Education has for all public-school students, especially those from families or communities struggling with poverty or students who need special education services.

AFT-NH local leaders and negotiating teams have spent countless hours preparing tentative agreements to be presented to the voters in March. All of that hard work comes down to one day of voting. Please help AFT-NH members bring these contracts over the finish line. 

Please share this list with friends and allies so they know how they can make a difference and support our AFT-NH locals. We know that every single vote counts.  In addition to the contracts, we are asking voters in Timberlane and Weare to vote NO on two articles which would have a devastating impact on each school district. When we show up and vote, we win. Please be sure to click MORE below to bring you to the link for the complete AFT-NH Town Meeting Guide 2025 

The Trump administration wants to make painful cuts to education and healthcare in order to slash taxes for billionaires. The administration’s plan to “block grant” federal education programs and gut the U.S. Department of Education would rob 26 million students living in poverty of critical services and 7.5 million students with disabilities of special education support. It would eliminate career and technical education for 12 million students, threatening their future job opportunities. Slashing Medicaid and student loans could strip healthcare coverage from 10.3 million people and end access to student loans, making college

Open Enrollment Could Be Closed to Many

It sounds like such a simple who-could-oppose-this bill: Let New Hampshire students attend any public school in the state. But it’s not so simple, and open enrollment would mean “closed to you” for many Granite State families due to geography and work schedules.

If the idea is to provide the opportunity for a high-quality public education for all, this legislation is the wrong approach.

If you live in a town of one of these School Districts, please attend the Deliberative Session! Please support AFT-NH Members who have worked hard to negotiate a contract that will appear on March 11th (Election Day) ballots. TOGETHER WE WIN!

KNOW THE IMPACT!

After careful consideration of the candidates for the November 2024 election, AFT-NH has released its list of endorsements. We encourage full participation in the election so your voice can be heard. Voting is a personal choice, and we respect each member’s opinion and vote.

AFT-NH has endorsed the following candidates because they share our CORE VALUES.

• Support the right of workers to organize and collectively bargain

• Support keeping public money in public schools and oppose school vouchers

• Support strong public services

• Support academic freedom and oppose censorship in K-12 and our universities

You can see the full list here:  

NOT UNLIKE recent state legislative sessions, this past one saw a lot of crazy education proposals that could have become law if not for some level-headed Republicans who had to draw the line and join Democrats. I guess we know who was really looking out for the kids and local property taxpayers -- and it wasn’t Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut.

Thankfully for our public school students, rational thinking trumped thoughtless adherence to extremist conservative ideology, for the most part. Supporters of public education didn’t get any new legislation to improve schools, but we managed to fight off bills that would have been ruinous for our kids. Supporters of public schools and students will accept that as a victory.

AFT-NH Statement on the Defeat of Voucher Expansion

 CONCORD, N.H. - Statement by AFT-New Hampshire President Deb Howes on the defeat of HB 1665, the expansion of the school voucher program:

“Today's defeat by the NH House of HB 1665, which would have expanded the state's school voucher program, is a huge victory for all public-school students and local property taxpayers. Every Granite State student has the constitutional right to a robust public education and the state needs to start shouldering its fair share of funding for public school districts. 

The State has a constitutional obligation to fund the robust public education of 165,000 public school students and it MUST meet that obligation! It needs to stop looking for ways to give away tax money to private educational options through vouchers.”

AFT-NH local leaders and negotiating teams have spent countless hours preparing tentative agreements to be presented to the voters in March. All of that hard work comes down to one day of voting or one meeting. Please help AFT-NH members bring these contracts over the finish line. Please share this list with friends and allies so they know how they can make a difference and support our AFT-NH locals. We know that every single vote counts. Together we win. You can download the guide here.