This arrived in my email box just a few minutes ago…
“Dear Susan –
Thank you for your note about Governor Hassan’s nomination of Bill Duncan to the state Board of Education.
I have a unique appreciation for the critical importance of BOTH supporting our traditional public school system and simultaneously looking for opportunities to make positive educational innovation available to all children who need it. My own success in life is deeply depending on the public schools I attended (including both traditional schools and a nontraditional public magnet high school); my younger brother was home schooled through middle school, and in addition to my work on the Executive Council, I work professionally at a private, nonprofit University which is extending the bounds of high-quality educational innovation through competency-based education designed to make a college degree radically more accessible and affordable for nontraditional students. Supporting and strengthening our public schools is a top priority for me; I believe our public school teachers are among the very most important leaders and role models our children have as they develop, and I will always look for every opportunity to support the work they do in helping our kids.
The Board of Education is a seven-member body and all members bring their own views to the decision-making process. Over the last two days I’ve received dozens of notes both in support and opposition of Mr. Duncan’s nomination. Yesterday I spoke at length with him about his views on education, and asked him about charter schools specifically. He is a strong advocate for our public schools, which I think is critical in the job. He is supportive of charter schools as a complement to traditional public schools where they are executed in cooperation, not competition with the local school district — but he doesn’t support charter schools as a replacement to traditional public schools. That position is not unqualified support for expanding charter schools, which some who have written me have advocated — but I think it’s a reasonable one, and appropriate to be included in a seven-member board of education.
Here’s what he had to say on three topics: (1) the role of public schools, (2) the recent ‘education tax credit’ law which would fund vouchers for attending private schools or public schools in away-from-home districts, and (3) charter schools:
“As a business owner, I saw firsthand the value of a strong public education system. As a member of the Board of Education, I will work to make sure that all of our public schools are providing our children with the career and college preparation they need to succeed in today’s economy.
“The State Board of Education does not have a role in administering or overseeing the voucher program, which is part of my objection to the voucher scheme. Like many people in New Hampshire, I do not believe we should be diverting limited taxpayer dollars to unaccountable private religious schools.
“I strongly support the cooperative role played by charters like Next Charter School in Derry, The North Country Charter Academy, MC2, the Great Bay eLearning Charter School and the others that establish close working relationships with their school districts. I do have concerns about ensuring that charters schools are geographically diverse, partner with their communities, and are economically sustainable.”
I also connected the nominee with a friend of mine who runs a local charter school, and they spoke by phone and arranged an upcoming visit to their school.
Most importantly to me, Mr. Duncan assured me that every decision he makes if confirmed to the Board will be driven by what is best for the children who will be impacted by the decision – not a broad-brush overall philosophy either ‘for’ or ‘against’ charter schools. I think that’s the right mindset. I’ll also certainly take all the feedback on his nomination (both for and against) into account in my upcoming vote.
Thanks again very much for your input!
– Colin
Colin Van Ostern”
