News – Politics – Opinion – Podcasts
The so-described education reform law, Act 73, is in effect. Its first order of business, creating a Vermont Redistricting Task Force, is done, and now said Task Force is getting down to its task of drawing up at least three maps of new mega-school districts for the legislature to consider next year, scrapping our current … Read more
When the legislature was voting on H.454, I was, while painting my house (fun!), listening to an audiobook on the battle of Gettysburg. And I can’t help but notice some unfortunate parallels for Republicans with their vote on that bill and Pickett’s Charge, the infamous suicidal attack by the Army of Northern Virginia over a … Read more
…district public schools spend $1.25 billion more on 54,000 fewer students Average per-pupil spending in New Hampshire district public schools has nearly doubled this century, as student enrollment declined sharply and reading and math assessment scores fell, a new Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy study finds. Total public school district spending in New Hampshire … Read more
Residents in Rochester are growing concerned that the Rochester School Board hired former Superintendent Tom Ambrose. Ambrose just resigned from the Sanborn school district after parents and residents demanded his resignation. Ambrose resigned after a student abuse scandal that involved a special education teacher. The former teacher was accused of abusing kindergarten through 2nd grade … Read more
Maybe. HB231, prohibits “school district personnel from transporting students to medical or mental health appointments, visits, or procedures without parental consent.” Governor Ayotte signed the bill into law, requiring school districts to adopt policies, so yes, it is law, but what exactly are the consequences? This bill requires school districts to create a policy prohibiting … Read more
It’s Teacher Appreciation Week and Granite Staters are again being subjected to the claim that teachers here earn less than they should because legislators are stingy. Given current market conditions, average teacher pay in New Hampshire is lower than it should be to recruit the best candidates. But the state’s contribution isn’t the reason. The … Read more
At the most recent school board meeting Hartford High School Director of Facilities, Jonathan Garthwaite, updated the board on the status of the school building needing major renovations due to potential PCB contamination. They are currently awaiting results from the air sample testing done earlier this month. On the hook for the bill will be … Read more
Hartford High School released its March newsletter sent out to all of the students and parents in the district. The monthly newsletter offers insight into a few of the key things the school is doing or focusing on that month ranging from special recognition to other in-house features concerning student options to purportedly enhance learning. … Read more
It’s been asked a lot lately with budgetary challenges running up against a lack of tax capacity, and the backdrop of DOGE findings of government waste at the federal level, “Do our elected representatives ever go back and evaluate the programs they pass to see if they are working as promised?” Not really, no. And … Read more
Dear Commissioner, Legislators, Executive Councilors, and State Board of Education Members: We are seeing school budgets rising while enrollment declines. Changing the model in public schools to the Community School (CDC’s) model will certainly add to those escalating costs. Turning our schools into mental health facilities has brought a whole new set of problems, and next … Read more
Remember when being a student also meant pushing back on authoritarian norms? Fighting the system. I never did any of that myself, not really, but I didn’t become political until I was in my forties. Our public schools were also not as politicized. There were always teachers’ unions, but it was never obvious or present … Read more
The Wyoming legislature took a big step toward respecting the Second Amendment with House Bill 72. It is, AN ACT relating to concealed weapons; repealing gun free zones; providing for the carrying of concealed weapons as specified; creating a criminal offense for prohibiting entry to a person carrying a concealed weapon as specified; clarifying that only … Read more
In her proposed budget, Gov. Kelly Ayotte opens New Hampshire’s Education Freedom Account program to all students who’ve been enrolled in a New Hampshire public school (including chartered public schools) for at least a full academic year, the Josiah Bartlett Center has confirmed. The expansion would take effect July 1, 2026. Students who currently have … Read more
I was recently asked: How would you go about eliminating public schools? I think we would eliminate public schools in the same way that we would eliminate public oil refineries, and public farms and ranches, and public grocery stores, and… Oh, wait, we don’t have those, do we? We don’t have those, because we have … Read more
A story of how the “trans narrative” allowed an opportunistic sex offender to be welcomed into the Kearsarge public school community to offend its children Marc Jacques presented as a loving father and trans advocate in the community of Newbury, NH. He was happily married with two children before the Covid pandemic hit. Then his … Read more
I hope taxpayers aren’t covering the cost of admission. The NEA is the largest labor union in the US and, therefore, the largest teachers union, so when the NEA in NH announces a teacher’s conference, you’d be right to wonder what they want teachers to know. If you happen to be a member of the … Read more
Content Warning Kevin Gagnon’s son is an 8th-grade student at SAU 57 in Salem, NH. His son’s only Christmas wish this year was to return to public school to be with his friends. His father had become increasingly concerned about age-appropriate content in the school libraries. He was already upset by the Covid measures that he … Read more
I have been trying to get caught up on the local outrage and how could that journey not include what happened with Kearsage, Bow, and the underworld adventures of the Jaques – not Cousteau but Marc, and what’s his/her face (Male Jocks?). To summarize, as I understand it, the cast includes public school superintendents, coaches, … Read more
Thanks to petty despot (DBA: Superintendent Marcy Kelly), the Bow-Dunbarton School District is known worldwide. Kelley violated the constitutional rights of some parents, who have since sued her and others, and the district that employs her is scrambling to mitigate the damage. [I believe there is a court hearing today at 2:30]. As most of … Read more
In response to public outcry, a Bennington County school district is taking heat for what parents say is a recently announced ban on saying the Pledge of Allegiance. The Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union includes Mt. Anthony Union High School in Bennington, and schools in Pownal, Arlington, Shaftsbury, and Sandgate. According to the story reported by News 10 out … Read more