Public Education Takes a Hit in NH
Big Decisions Remain
Lots of public education news this week, though not a lot of good news.
Four things happened on Tuesday that will shape public education in New Hampshire for years to come. Tuesday morning the governor signed universal school vouchers and so-called parental bill of rights. We have talked about these bills a lot this year and previous years. We know what this means. It means scarce public money will be diverted to private schools, without solving the issue of school funding for our local neighborhood public schools. So-called parental bill of rights legislation will put teachers in the middle of the student-parent relationship, and damage trust in our schools.
Shortly before the signing of those bills, the New Hampshire Supreme Court came down with the Rand decision and said that the Statewide Education Property Tax (SWEPT) was not an unconstitutional system and that they would allow it to continue. SWEPT is one reason why some towns see much higher property taxes and keep education funding levels in New Hampshire reliant on zip codes. Obviously, the state providing the least funding of all 50 states also plays a huge role.
Then, on Tuesday afternoon, Governor Ayotte appointed Caitlin Davis to be the next Commissioner of Education. We will all be glad to see Frank Edelblut go but make no mistake, the damage that he has done to public schools and all the students who rely on them is not something that will be easily erased. Even without the villain of Edelblut, we will need to watch and see what actions the department is taking and make sure they act with the best interests of public school students and educators in mind.
Next week there will be committees of conferences on some bills where the House and Senate passed different versions of the same bill. The biggest committee of conference will be on the budget, however there will be dozens of other bills, including some that impact public education. We will keep you updated on any actions that may have to be taken after Committee of Conference have finished.
Lastly, this week we wanted to let you know that SB 297, the bill that would have made changes to risk pools, like Health Trust and others. The Senate “non concurred” with the House amendment, meaning they did not want to negotiate over the amendment and the bill has been defeated for this year.
We know many of you are finishing up your school years. Thank you as always for your work and for those entering summer break—enjoy it, you deserve it!
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