Giving voters a voice by empowering elected school district officials to reclaim control over budgets and curriculum.
— Upcoming SDGA events —
How to Make a Right to Know Request
The President of Right to Know NH, David Saad, will conduct a webinar for the SDGA on how to make an effective Right to Know request. The law is straightforward but the inexperienced can stumble over pitfalls. Did you know, for instance, that the law does not require any public body to answer questions? You must ask for existing documents or your curiosity will go unsatisfied. Learn many more useful tips during this free webinar.
Friday, January 22, 7:30 – 8:30 pm.
Registration is free, but required in order to receive a Zoom invitation.
Online registration will be available at SDGANH.org in January.
Put this on your calendar now!
Anyone for Happy Hour?
We’re trying something different! Once a month we are going to host a virtual happy hour where members can chat and visit in a non-structured way. Our first event, on Dec. 3 at 7:30 pm, was a lot of fun. If you find yourself free on Friday, January 29th, watch your email for a Zoom invitation which will be sent to all our membership on January 28th.
Coming…..
In April we will have a newly elected members orientation webinar. At a future date still to be determined, we hope to have a speaker on the Blaine Amendment, it’s reversal by the Federal Supreme Court, and what this will mean to NH towns that tuition students to out-of-district schools. Stay tuned for a date.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
To all our members and friends, the very best of the season! We look forward to meeting again in person for the inspiring camaraderie we give to each other, but until then we are grateful that Zoom has broadened our reach and allowed many to join us who might not normally have been able to participate in meetings and seminars. I am personally grateful to our hardworking board members and members who keep the moving parts of the SDGA chugging along. May 2021 see our membership and influence continue to grow.
There is still so much to do. One of our new members asked how she can deal with the “rubber stampers” on her board. This question generated some very useful and lively discussion on our membership email list which I hope many of you were able to enjoy. Feel free to ask the membership questions through that channel. (The address is provided in the formal membership letter. If you don’t have it, drop me a note.)
SDGA Legislative Initiatives Moving Forward
Making Collective Bargaining Public
Representative Len Turcotte is the lead sponsor in the House for an SDGA bill that would require public entities to negotiate collective agreements in public. He is also championing a bill to require draft collective agreement contracts to be public once presented to both parties. I am delighted to announce that Senator Avard has submitted the collective bargaining transparency bill to the Senate as well, and signed on to Rep. Turcotte’s second bill as a cosponsor. By making the collective bargaining process transparent, the SDGA believes the public will have greater insight into the issues and more of an influence over the outcome via communication with their elective representatives during the process rather than an up or down vote once the contract has been ratified by both parties.
Requiring Proposed Budgets as Active Spreadsheets and Other Mandatory Information
Tony Piemonte, Representative from Sandown, introduced a bill to require public bodies to provide budget information in active spreadsheet format with ample time for review. SDGA board member, Wayne Goertel, drafted the bill and has worked hard to hone the language to make the intention clear and encompassing.
How We Need You to Help
Now that our bills have been introduced, they will be assigned to committees who will conduct public hearings. Hearings take place in January and February. You can be certain that major union officials will be present to object to having their work on view. It is also likely that the NH Municipal Association will object to budget transparency provisions. We will need SDGA members to testify in Concord at these public committee meetings or write letters of support for these bills. Comments are generally kept to three minutes and if we coordinate them in advance we can make quite a considered argument. The number of people who show up in support or in objection to bills does weigh considerably on the hearing committee members. If we are to prevail, we must show up in numbers. Contact me to keep informed. I will also send out an email to the membership when hearing dates are known. Please help change history in NH. We can get this done!
Upcoming Board Meetings
January 9, 2021 9 am – 11 am
Monthly SDGA Board meetings are over Zoom. Members and interested people Email me if you wish to attend.
Reminder……
A lifetime membership is only $200!
Your organization is funded exclusively through membership fees, seminar receipts and fundraising activity. Thank you for your continuing support!
Articles and Websites of Interest
High Potency Marijuana, Psychosis, and Suicide: Johnny Stack’s Story
https://johnnysambassadors.org/johnny-stacks-story/
Joe Mendola: “Indoctrination isn’t an Adequate Education”
https://www.unionleader.com/opinion/op-eds/joseph-mendola-indoctrinating-our-children-isnt-an-education/article_63f886af-0fbc-5194-aa69-ff535f4de2c0.html
Right to Know New Hampshire
http://RighttoKnowNH.com
Get Involved in SDGA
Help us with outreach: Are you involved in groups interested in school-related issues? Local GOP and taxpayer groups come to mind. Invite us to speak!
If you’re not already a member, and you want to support what you’re seeing and/or get involved, please join SDGA. Fill out an application on our web site! Dues are $20, which we’ll ask you for after we process your application.
Next time you renew, consider a NEW Lifetime membership for $200! Renew your yearly membership here.
Or make a donation! We run on a shoestring, and every little bit helps.
Members are encouraged to join the SDGA facebook group to see events and announcements and to have discussions about them. The SDGA facebook page shows our announcements only.
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Warm best,
Donna Green
President, School District Governance Association
SDGAofNH@gmail.com
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Grantham, New Hampshire 03753
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