News – Politics – Opinion – Podcasts
If you missed, skipped, or dismissed Ian Underwood’s Rethinking Education, you should be making time to watch it. In today’s Morning Update, I share the first of several excerpts that should change how you think about education. So much so that we encourage you to watch it and then share it with policymakers and legislators. … Read more
Ian Underwood explains why we need to rethink education and key areas to change in this 40-minute talk presented at Freedom Palooza in North Country, NH, in July 2026. Ian summarizes three of his books on education covering three areas to rethink. He recommends changing “fairness” to be about what is learned rather than being … Read more
With the passage into law of House Bill 1300, voters this fall will have the opportunity to cap their local school district budget increases and administration spending. How would this work? Josiah Bartlett Center President Andrew Cline wrote in NH Journal in May about the strange fact that Massachusetts has a statewide property tax cap, but New … Read more
Editor’s note: The New England Take is off this week but will return next Saturday. A. J. gives a postmortem on his discussion with Andru Volinsky on his 3-3 Tax Savings Plan to fund New Hampshire schools through an income tax. A chat with a dishonest, smug leftist who does not have a solution to … Read more
If college should be free, then colleges should offer education for the low, low price of zero dollars. If health care is a right, then doctors and nurses should work for nothing. But you can’t do that? How will they pay for the stuff they need to do the work, even if it’s free? My … Read more
A Democrat education questionnaire now circulating in New Hampshire is built to manufacture quotes, not to inform voters. Here is how Republican candidates should answer it, and the five questions to hand back. Post summary: A five-question education “voter guide” is making the rounds on New Hampshire Democratic social media. It presents itself as neutral … Read more
Following on my earlier post, Dems-n-Energy, I bring you another fake concern of the left that could be addressed, at least in part and almost immediately, if the Dems tried this one easy thing. In Dems-n-energy, it was the price of energy. Here, we’re talking education costs, which are the single greatest driver of high … Read more
Here’s something you may not have known: About 88% of New Hampshire’s Class of 2025 graduated from high school. But when that same cohort was tested in Grade 11, only 63% demonstrated proficiency in reading and 30% in math. That’s quite a gap. It made me wonder: How are so many students graduating when so … Read more
I’ve got to say it’s more than a bit distressing to head into the celebration of our great nation’s 250th birthday on the heels of Democratic Socialists winning a bunch of elections in New York and Colorado. So, this semiquincentennial (yes, I had to look it up, and even my spellcheck still doesn’t believe that’s … Read more
Today’s America is being brought to us from roughly a century of communist infiltration, organizing, and the indoctrination of those who are our Country’s future. Counter to their former obscurity, their current actions and words have confirmed what many have suspected. To our detriment, the fact is that since the sixties, these commies have amassed … Read more
Legislation was passed in my town of Kingston during the March election and recently at the NH State House offering “tax caps” as a solution to exploding town and school budgets. These measures – while tempting – resemble the “price controls” economists normally condemn. Economists routinely oppose price ceilings. The best outcomes are achieved when … Read more
“It is in the Interest of Tyrants to reduce the People to Ignorance and Vice.” Samuel Adams warned us – tyranny is built on people who lack knowledge and strong morals. That’s because he knew freedom is built on the opposite foundation. “For they cannot live in any Country where Virtue and Knowledge prevail.” He … Read more
In the wake of Act 73/H.955 education “reform” and the emphasis on consolidation, there has been considerable worry in rural Vermont about what this means for their small, local schools. For many, it will mean closure. A recent op-ed by Nina Antin notes, “When Sen. Ruth Hardy, D-Addison, presented H.955 on the Vermont Senate floor, … Read more
The new highly anticipated education reform bill H. 955 is now at the governor’s desk to be signed or vetoed. On Friday the bill passed out of the House chamber via a 125-10 affirmative vote. Highlights include a foundation funding formula that targets reducing the cost per student by about half the current price. One … Read more
The EdOpt Fair in Claremont is taking place Wednesday June 3! Come join us and have one-on-one conversations with these providers: Don’t forget to stop by the EdOpt table if you want some guidance. Looking forward to seeing you there! This will be our last fair until the end of July. Please check out our … Read more
[Originally published in April 2025. It seems like a good time to remind people of this.] Every summer, kids are out of school for about 80 days, almost 3 months. So, what do parents do with their kids during that time? It’s not like their jobs end. It’s not like they can take 3 months … Read more
I just read, I think, the most important op-ed to appear anywhere in Vermont this year. It is by Shawn Tester, CEO of Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital, and it is about school choice. Why is a healthcare guy writing about the importance of school choice? Because access to school choice and a variety of independent … Read more
The EdOpt Fair in Goffstown is taking place Wednesday, May 13! Katy Ann Myers from the Goffstown Homeschool Community and I worked closely to make this happen. What a ball of positive energy she is! Come join us and meet this wide range of providers: Don’t forget to stop by the EdOpt table if you … Read more
New Hampshire public school enrollment continues to decline at a faster rate than teacher employment, a Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy analysis of state data shows. Over the last 15 years, public schools in New Hampshire lost students at nearly three times the rate at which they lost teachers. From the 2011-2012 school year … Read more
For the past two years, Vermont politicians have been telling Vermont property taxpayers that they heard us after 2024 and are working to reform our education system to provide property tax relief. It’s not happening. The debate today as we close out the 2026 legislative session is whether to pay for 4%-plus increase in spending … Read more