Dear Feds

by: Mike Hoefer

Mon Aug 29, 2011 at 11:41:42 AM EDT

Thanks,
Mike

Rt. 4 just east of Rutland VT (One of VT's major East/West routes)

Here in NH 150k are without power and thousands of NH school children head back to school in districts that spend as little as they possibly can to meet "adequacy" standards.

Update: Karen Liot-Hill shares this photo from West. Leb. JC Penny Plaza under 4' of water.

Angie C. Miller: "This can be a different year"

by: William Tucker

Thu Aug 25, 2011 at 06:00:00 AM EDT

The beginning of school is exciting. It marks something new and fresh. Our students arrive at school, secretly reassuring themselves that this year is going to be great. ... This can be a different year.

For teachers, we need it to be a different year too. Last year was marked by intense negativity and anger focused on our profession. We faced budget cuts that left thousands of us pink slipped. We were blamed for many of society's woes — everything from how many kids are prescribed Ritalin to the strain on our economy has been put on our shoulders.

Politicians and lay-citizens alike have accused us of being overpaid, entitled, and not ambitious or caring enough to want our students to succeed. When I have listened to anti-teacher arguments, I have found myself thinking this almost makes sense. Except for one thing: I don't know any teachers like the ones "they're" describing. ...

We need it to be a different year too. ... We went into teaching because we believe in the future. We are idealists and optimists who believe that we can guide the children of our world to make a difference in their world. We believe our students are capable of inventing the best ideas. We know that our children can learn, and we will work tireless hours to ensure that they do. And a profession that does this should be honored, not abhorred.

Who's Writing New Hampshire's Bills?

by: Dean Barker

Sun Jul 03, 2011 at 07:36:22 AM EDT

For next year, [State Senator Jim] Forsythe is working on a bill that would give tax credits to businesses that contribute to scholarship organizations that help children go to private schools. The bill might also take money from local school districts when a pupil leaves for a private school, he said.

...During a visit to Concord last week, [Free State Project founder Jason] Sorens said the state should provide property tax credits for scholarship contributions.

Sorens said the change in tax law would be "the start of the end of the public school as it is now. We are in favor of full school choice."

Senator Forsythe is chairman of Ron Paul's New Hampshire presidential campaign.

Anti-public education Jason Sorens, employed by a public university, is pro-secessionist.

(find me > 140 on birch paper; on Twitter < 140)

How educated are our state legislators?

by: kite

Thu Jun 16, 2011 at 21:12:50 PM EDT

For the more trollish among us, let me be as clear as I can.  Do I think you have to have a college education to be a good legislator?  No.  Do I think having a college education automatically makes you a good legislator?  No.

What I do think is that, on average, those with a college education are more professional, better at analyzing, better at reading, better at math, and so on.  I also think a full-time legislature with real salaries would attract better candidates. Together, these facts explain to me at least some of the chaos in the legislature. Which is unfortunate; I would prefer that decisions guiding our state were made by some of the best among us, rather than whoever has some free time in any particular year.

This also goes some way toward explaining the complete disdain the current legislature feels toward education. At all levels, both higher and K-12.

Thank a Teacher

by: Dean Barker

Tue May 03, 2011 at 22:01:59 PM EDT

Nor do I point this out because of the inherent challenges of the job, with which I could fill several volumes.  (Along with the same number of volumes of rewards of the job).

I make mention of Teacher Appreciation Week because, let's face it, the demonizing of teachers in popular culture, while always present, has reached new heights of late.

Teachers routinely endure the popular stereotype that they do what they do because they couldn't find some better work. Many generalize their own bad memories of a certain school or teacher and transpose them as The Way It Is for all schools and teachers today. CEOs and celebrity consultants who have not spent a single minute in front of a classroom of children garner willing audiences and favorable press for their prescriptions of educational reform.  The Banksters who wrecked the economy in the Bush era, and the resulting crunch on state budgets, have caused job insecurity among teachers that shows no sign of letting up. And finally, there are the various forces on the right that want to dismantle public education.

Teaching is exhilarating and exhausting without any of the things mentioned in that last paragraph.

So, if a teacher has had any sort of positive impact on your life, or the life of your children, take a moment to thank them.  Chances are you will make her day.

9 Comments: 2012 Election Climate

by: elwood

Mon Apr 25, 2011 at 06:00:00 AM EDT

1. There will almost certainly be a state Constitutional amendment on the ballot to excuse the state from responsibility to educate our kids. (The only way it doesn't appear, is if the House and Senate can't agree on language.) It will be less stark that the House bill: it will pay lip service to the notion that the state cares, but it will wipe out any recourse by parents and local taxpayers if the state completely guts school funding.
2. There will be a new set of House and Senate districts. Incumbents in each chamber, in each party, will be competing in a new field. I don't understand just what that will mean for likely election results - but, in cities where neighbors have both won at-large, one will lose: they will run against each other for a ward seat.
3. Republican State Senators will be quietly portraying themselves as the grown-ups, a check on the crazy Bill O'Brien House. "Sure, things were out of control in Concord this session in the House - it's a good thing I was there to rein them in."
   
4. The Republican Presidential primary will be long over.  It will have energized Republican / tea party activists.  The national party will be trying hard to keep them all energized - probably through a "balanced ticket," with a relatively "traditional" Presidential candidate and a tea party Veep, who will believe that Obama was probably born in Africa.
5. The Republican primary will also have filled the coffers of the local party and local right-wing groups, who will manage to raise money on tickets and advertising for candidate appearances and debates. That influx of money and publicity won't be there for Democrats, because we don't have a primary contest.
6. Two concerns will dominate the national election factors: the economy and the Republican votes to kill Medicare and give the wealthiest another tax cut.  When the economy is bad it hurts incumbents: meaning it hurts Obama, but it hurts Bass and Guinta too.  The net effect is bad for those two.
   
7. All of the traditional Democratic constituencies in the state will be extremely motivated. Environmentalists will be motivated by the attack on RGGI; organized labor by the Right to Work bill - and probably by massive layoffs in state and local government and schools; educators by the constitutional amendment, the effort to encourage dropouts, and the attack on tenure; women's health activists by the parental consent bill and efforts to kill Planned Parenthood; the legal community by the interference with the Attorney General's office.
8. The Republican constituencies, however, may be split. The "social conservatives" will be happy, with the attacks on women's health programs, the 2012 votes to outlaw gay marriage, and the university system. But the business community will be uneasy. The ideology coming from the O'Brien crowd hurts them, too: construction companies need to have taxes raised to fund highway and bridge construction, for example. The libertarian community will find itself at a crossroads: they have discovered a path to power, but the price has been surrendering core principles.
9. The big missing piece in this diorama is the Governor's race.  If the election is a referendum on the performance of the 2011-2012 state legislature, does that make Lynch the best-positioned standard-bearer?  Or is dissatisfaction likely to hurt all incumbents, including Lynch? (Polls don't say that today.) If the Republican candidate is a relative fresh face (e.g., Ovide Lamontagne) talking about the future, does that put a premium on a fresh Democratic face?  Does the Governor's race get wrapped up in the school funding ballot amendment?

Education Vice Chair to Kids: Bullying is Part of Life

by: Dean Barker

Wed Apr 20, 2011 at 06:13:09 AM EDT

In defending the proposed changes to the bullying law, Rep. Ralph Boehm, the vice chairman of the House Education Committee, said laws cannot stop bullying. Boehm, a Litchfield Republican, quoted a song by the pop singer Taylor Swift about teenagers being mean. But he said bullying won't stop when kids grow up, especially if they enter politics.

"Students need to be prepared for life," Boehm said. "Unfortunately, bullying is part of it."

(And let's not forget what gutting the bullying law is all about in the first place.)

(birched; on Twitter @deanbarker)

Now even the Union Leader is piling on the NH House GOP

by: Mike Emm

Thu Apr 07, 2011 at 14:29:02 PM EDT

It's not as if the bill was so complicated that Representatives couldn't understand it. Here is the text of the bill in all its obscene glory:

No school district shall compel a parent to send his or her child to any school or program to which he or she may be conscientiously opposed nor shall a school district approve or disapprove a parent's education program or curriculum.

VP to visit Durham/UNH on Monday

by: hannah

Thu Mar 31, 2011 at 04:32:29 AM EDT

Perhaps this would be an opportunity to inquire about the ramifications of having transferred higher education loans away from local banks to the Department of Education and how much money will be saved by not giving this subsidy (in the form of interest payments) to the lending institutions.

Is this an example of what the bankster from Arkansas, Warren Stephens, calls the "federal government allocating credit"?

Anti-Kid Concord, from Start to Finish

by: Dean Barker

Wed Mar 23, 2011 at 06:08:44 AM EDT

In return for our vote Granite Staters received a sustained assault on our children. Looked at in its totality, the following to-do list should rightfully go down in New Hampshire history as one of the blackest marks ever against our young citizenry.

• Deleting judiciary power in education funding, so that the legislature can decide the state can contribute $0.00 to schools if it wants to.

• Repealing kindergarten as a requirement.

• Doing away with compulsory school attendance.

• Gutting the school bullying law on account of gays and lesbians.

• Defunding educational televsion.

• Defining down adequacy, so that towns don't have to offer courses students need to get accepted to college.

• Lowering the dropout age, i.e., guaranteeing youth joblessness.

• Abandoning at-risk kids by destroying Children in Need of Services.

• Cutting students' vocational training, limiting their ability get a quality job.

• Slashing funding to our public universities, guaranteeing tuition hikes.

• Disenfranchising college students' right to vote.

(birched; on Twitter @deanbarker)

Welcome to Mad Hampshire, Beyond Thunderdome

by: Dean Barker

Wed Mar 16, 2011 at 06:15:31 AM EDT

First, the bad news.  Looks like your kids might still be forced to go to kindergarten.

After that, though, it's gravy.  Post-kindergarten, a simple permission slip will keep them out of school and ready for work in your field or factory.

If by chance they find themselves with parents who force them to go to school, however, they can get out at sixteen.  And really, who would go to a place the state has determined it is required to support not at all?

Don't worry about higher education - even if you do get a high school diploma, you won't be able to afford it.  The NH public university system will be in effect all but privatized.

Perhaps the best part: if you need to turn to a life of crime in the absence of having any kind of employable education, the state plans on reducing its ability to prosecute you by one third.  Plus, the resources of the remaining two-thirds will be drained in teaching "Constitutional Conservative" legislators what the separation of powers is.

Your chances of becoming a successful crook have just increased!

(birched; on Twitter @deanbarker)

Economics War not Culture War

by: Little Guy

Sun Mar 13, 2011 at 17:31:52 PM EDT

There has been an economic guerrilla war going on for the last thirty years and we are in its latter days. It began with Reaganism and Thatcherism in the 80's and the union-busting the Air Traffic Controllers and British coal Miners. The big battle in the 90's was over NAFTA and the slow destruction of America's manufacturing capability which began destroying middle class families. At the same time, came the early attacks on Welfare Mom's and inefficient non-profits.

The thing about a guerrilla war is that most of the battles seem small and far away but not very dangerous. But this was not really a small war because it began the slow but steady outsourcing of America's jobs even as major corporations began receiving more and more tax breaks.

In the 2000's, the economic war became more overt. While America was reeling from 9/11, the economic elite stepped up and began the greatest wealth shift in our history. Over half of our military and our intelligence has been privatized, yielding them trillions of new dollars in profits. The wars of choice in the Middle East have jacked up oil prices, yielding world record shattering profits for the oil companies.

You the tax payer have shelled out trillions of dollars to oil companies, Blackwater (Xe) style intelligence companies, and tribal chieftains who buy weapons from global arms manufactures. In the meantime, the banks began gambling with what turned out to be taxpayer's money, again to the tune of trillions of dollars. At the same time, Republican's busy slashing taxes for the wealthy and the regulatory agencies so that Bernie Madoff and others could literally make out like bandits.

So now, round three begins with an all out war on all social services, unions, daycare, public health, social services, social security and all other services. This is an economic war that believes that government should not be helping anyone except big business. This is an economic war that wants to eliminate clean water act, clean air act, forest service, and most other federal and state services except those that directly benefit business profits.

You will not see the Republican creating jobs because they don't believe government should have anything do to with jobs. In fact, high unemployment is helping businesses continue to chip away at salaries and benefits. Republicans are the enemy of the middle class. They believe that only the wealthy business owner should profit by government policies. It is not an accident that the banks and Wall Street were bailed out while middle class home-owners were allowed to swing in the breeze. It is economic war and it is just about lost.

Unions aren't greedy. Teachers and government workers aren't greedy. They are just barely making a living wage. It just looks good because the rest of the middle class hasn't had a raise greater than the cost of living in twenty years.

This country had a thriving middle class from the post war fifties through the early eighties. During this time we had social and economic give and take, with everyone's standard of living rising. And then the first shot of Reaganism was fired across the bow of the middle class, only it was couched as always as necessary medicine. But instead this country is being destroyed by an economic clique of bankers, politicians and global corporations. They have destroyed the social contract. They don't believe that anyone should have any other beliefs than their own greedy profit-taking.

They often use social issues to divide and conquer. They even cynically call them "wedge" issues. Make no mistake about it, it is an economic war and the representatives of the moneyed classes are about to do a knockout blow. They will spend the next two years dismantling state government which will in turn send cities and towns into financial meltdown. From this perspective, both Republicans, Corporate Democrats and Obama are all on the same team and fighting against the middle class. This is a time when government should be saving families and the middle class. Instead they are throwing them over the side and sending us into a descending spiral of depression even while they continue to waste billions on wars, tax breaks and obscene profits for the wealthy.

The Dropout Age, and Two Modes of Governance

by: Dean Barker

Wed Mar 09, 2011 at 06:08:47 AM EST

1) Take everything you don't want to pay for now, wrap the "Constitution" around deleting it, and watch New Hampshire's economy suffer in the future:

[Education Chairman Michael] Balboni, a Nashua Republican, said the state Constitution does not allow for policies of compulsory attendance.

Gov. John Lynch today announced a 44 percent reduction in the state's annual dropout rate.

A report released today by the State Department of Education shows that for school year 2009-2010 the annual dropout rate decreased to .97 percent, down from 1.7 percent in 2008-2009.

This continues a significant decline in the number of young people dropping out of school. Since the 2007-2008 school year, the dropout rate has declined 61 percent from 2.51 percent.

...Gov. Lynch has made increasing New Hampshire's high school graduation rate a priority in order to ensure that New Hampshire workers have the skills they need to compete and that New Hampshire businesses have the educated workforce they need to grow. Gov. Lynch and the State Board of Education have set a goal of reducing New Hampshire's dropout rate to zero by the 2012-2013 school year.

"I am proud that at a time when dropout rates are of epidemic proportions in other states, we in New Hampshire have worked together to drastically reduce the number of young people dropping out of high school," Gov. Lynch said.

"We have changed a century-old way of thinking and sent a strong message to our young people about the importance of earning a high school diploma. As a result, more and more of them are recognizing that a high school diploma is absolutely necessary if they want to enter today's workforce," Gov. Lynch said.

GOP War on Children Continues Apace

by: Dean Barker

Sat Mar 05, 2011 at 19:41:23 PM EST

But not to be outdone by the Bill O'Brien statehouse, the GOP controlled US House moved to cut funding for Reach Out and Read:

[Pediatrician Dr. Suzanne] Boulter said that, in New Hampshire, approximately 20,000 children are helped each year at 40 health care facilities, including several in the Lakes Region. She said that, last year, 35,000 books were given out.

...Boulter said the program provides new, age-appropriate books to children who are between six months and five years of age at regular pediatric checkups. Participating doctors and nurses also talk to parents about the importance of reading aloud to, and talking with, their children every day. She said it is crucial to healthy brain development and not doing so can have life-long detrimental learning effects.

...She added that the program especially targets poor and lower-income families.

Books that ultimately made me into the person I am today.

This move by the Republicans to destroy Reach Out and Read and harm the futures of lower income children infuriates me.

(birched earlier)

*Saturday Update: And now offering up the Abolish Education Amendment.  

Statehouse Republicans Aim to Raise Jobless Rate

by: Dean Barker

Wed Mar 02, 2011 at 22:08:56 PM EST

The national, seasonally adjusted jobless rate for high school graduates in January 2011 was 9.4%  The employment-to-population ratio for this demographic was 54.6%.

The national, seasonally adjusted jobless rate for those with less than a high school diploma in January 2011 was 14.2%. The employment-to-population ratio for this demographic was 38.7%.

A look at the data shows a consistent 5% or so increase in joblessness between those who drop out of high school vs. those who earn a diploma.

Some prefer real-life stories to data:

Alyssa Ouellett, now a senior at an alternative high school program in Raymond, told lawmakers that, with a choice, she would have dropped out at 16. Ouellet said she went from failing all of her classes freshman year to getting all A's this year.

"If you guys pushed the age back to 16, it would be making a lot of kids make a lot of stupid decisions that won't help them in the future," she said.

Gary Hunter, who works in dropout prevention in the Manchester schools. Hunter said he has "worked with at-risk kids, since I was an at-risk kid" and today supervises staff who offer a wide range of alternative educational programs. He said the law requiring students to stay in school until 18 forced schools to ask businesses what they looked for in workers and ask students what they needed to learn.

"It's kicked up the biggest reform movement I've seen in my 25 years in education," Hunter said.

(birched earlier, and with apologies to Mike Emm who - once again - beat me to it.)

Campaign Manifesto #1: In A World Of Phonies, It's Time For A Fake Candidate

by: fake consultant

Fri Feb 18, 2011 at 05:43:35 AM EST

We have a wavering President, far too many feckless Democrats, and Republicans that have decided to dive headfirst into total "insane mode" in a full-blown effort to destroy this country just as fast as possible.

To give but one example, in my own District, WA-08, we are represented by the absolutely useless Republican Dave Reichert, whose best-known legislative achievement is that he has virtually no record of any legislative achievement whatever.

Now we've had a very interesting relationship, you and I, over these past few years; in my efforts to "bring you the story" I've been a fake political consultant, a fake lobbyist, even a fake historian...and now, I think it's time to try to bring our relationship to a new level.

And that's why, America, I'm announcing my fake candidacy for Congress.

What she said

by: JillSH

Mon Feb 14, 2011 at 10:54:07 AM EST

++++

Hello, I am one of your constituents. My name is Maria Belva and I live on Sand Hill Rd in Peterborough. I have a couple of things I need to discuss.

I don't understand why you are taking away the ability of the Health and Human Services Dept. to contract with Planned Parenthood.

Do you understand that Planned Parenthood provides much needed health care services for low income women in our state?

They provide routine gynecological services, including pap smears, for women. They also provide birth control on a sliding fee scale.

Do you realize how important these services are?

I for one am still alive today because of a pap smear provided by Planned Parenthood.  I had cervical carcinoma in situ-it was caught early and I was treated. I have three children who would have been orphaned had it not been detected.

Can you please tell me why you have it in for Planned Parenthood? And what does it have to do with creating jobs in New Hampshire?

Another issue-why are you wasting time worrying about same sex couples who wish to marry? When has any same sex couple taken away jobs? How do they keep anyone from affording health care? What has this got to do with balancing a budget?

One more, if you please. Why would you think that music and the arts should not be considered essential curriculum in our schools? By treating these subjects as not necessary, how are you improving the education of New Hampshire children?  

Cutting Education Spending is Just Plain Stupid.

by: Little Guy

Thu Jan 27, 2011 at 15:59:10 PM EST

The Republicans have obviously forgotten this point but the rest of the civilized world has learned the lesson well. By one study in 2006, the US ranked 33rd in reading, 27th in Math and 22nd in Science. We have a long way back to go. Cutting funding is not the right direction.

Education is one the top reasons companies will choose to move to NH and while NH does comparatively better than other states, it is still way behind by world standards.

In fact, education should be treated as the number one JOBS bill. Education directly contributes in so many ways to employment from attracting more businesses to equipping workers with the increasingly sophisticated skills required by today's businesses.

It takes much more than the 3-R's to be a productive member of the 21st century economy. Art and music complement the other studies. Often people who struggle in math improve markedly after studying music. Art is a real benefit for many young people to express difficult emotions

I have to believe that the forty year attack on education beginning with Mel Thompson and Will Loeb is intentional. A thinking people is not going to put up with some of the wild ideas we see emerging from the state house.

The attack on education is also a cynical wedge issue that pits people against people; town against town; and taxpayer against taxpayer. The only constitutional amendment should be one that says: "The Legislature, the Governor and People of New Hampshire believe that good, well-funded education should be one of New Hampshire's top goals year in and year out."

The better our education system, the better our economy period. So who's not in favor of that? Take one giant step to the rear if you don't support a strong educational system.  

The Return of the Jedi - Education Edition

by: Kathy Sullivan 2

Tue Jan 25, 2011 at 16:53:51 PM EST

WMUR reports:

Out of 110 people who signed in to speak before the Education Committee, all but two were opposed to HB 39.

The grass roots response of parents, educators and others to this bad bill is one more piece of evidence that when New Hampshire citizens find out about the reckless, irresponsible activities of the legislature, they are willing to stand up and be counted.  Of course, the chairman of the committee was not pleased, and did not treat all the speakers well.

My state rep wants to defund NHPTV

by: Lucy Edwards

Sun Jan 23, 2011 at 12:55:58 PM EST

I originally had e-mailed my five state reps, all Republicans, as follows:

I understand that there is a bill before committee in the NH House to defund NH Public TV.  I urge you to vote against this bill should it come to the floor. Public television is a very cost-effective educational medium, and while I support it as an individual, I also am firmly convinced that the state of NH has a vested interest in supporting quality broadcasting.  It's a part of our educational system.  I surely hope that none of you is in favor of this, and other initiatives I have heard about, to remove funding from any educational resource in our state. Our children, and the rest of us as well, deserve and need all the factual information we can get to deal with an increasingly complicated and challenging future.  

I would much appreciate hearing back from you on how you stand on this particular bill, and on the funding of education in our state as well.