You’ll find a lot of conversation on this topic among our authors, from several angles. I’m talking about a 46 million dollar federal grant to support new charter schools. Previous Democrat majorities blocked it repeatedly. Republicans just took over and rubber-stamped it first thing.
Commissioner Frank Edelblut was quick to commend them on the move.
CONCORD – New Hampshire Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut today praised the Joint Legislative Fiscal Committee for its vote to accept the first $10.1 million installment of a $46 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to expand public charter school options in the Granite State.
“Charter schools are an important piece of New Hampshire’s public school system, providing options for New Hampshire students who need something other than the traditional classroom to thrive,” Edelblut said. “Today’s vote provides a boost to innovation in our schools, and to put more New Hampshire students on paths to bright futures.”
It has always been my habit to run away from things Democrat support and, by extension, to run toward those they oppose. Not universally. New Hampshire Dems seem to agree that the cross-state internet sales tax ruling was bad for the Granite State, but similar conjunctions are few and rare.
They like high taxes, lots of control, and a big central government; I’m the opposite.
They love social engineering, and I’d rather they leave us all the hell alone.
And I like the idea of charter schools. Education can be a lot of things, but I think we can agree that kids learn differently and that choices allow parents the opportunity to find a good fit. And let’s face it, the public school curricula have wandered way off the reservation.
The idea of social-emotional learning, for example, is Orwellian and parents and taxpayers need to claw that back from the education industrial complex. When the government decides it is the arbiter of social and emotional learning, we’re wandering into nationalist brainwashing territory.
Will Charter Schools solve that problem? No. But they are the beginning of one path to solving it. And while they will not save NH taxpayers any money (per student costs) – even after taking 46 million of someone else’s dollars to start more of them – maybe they are a chance to start over or again.
And if there is one thing public education needs, it’s a do-over.
