New Hampshire is last in the nation in support for public schools and higher education.
The state public schools are always ranked near the top in the country for performance and per pupil spending but 70 percent of the money arrives from the good graces of local residential, commercial and industrial taxpayers who foot the bill at a higher percentage than any other state.
Under court order to stop giving wealthy communities and unincorporated places tax breaks and to spend $500 million more to support public schools, Republican lawmakers decided to ignore the court and instead begin reducing state aid that has been in place for about 15 years.
At the same time they expanded a voucher program that began with about 1,500 students and cost $8 million to over 12,500 students this school year costing about $64.1 million.
At the same time they have been piling additional requirements on educators both teachers and administrators and dictating various curriculums and allowing a parent or even no one connected to the school to challenge material used in either instruction or for reference material.
Yet when challenged with proposed budget caps at the local level, residents turn out in force to support their local schools.
There are few things more important than education both for people and for businesses. Without a good, robust education, a person is destined to a lower income, less success and less overall satisfaction with his or her life.
Businesses depend on the state to require a good education that allows students to enter the workforce ready to contribute to a business’s success and to provide the innovation needed to constantly grow.
And as the founding fathers said more than 250 years ago, democracy depends on a well-educated, engaged citizenry to proliferate.
The Libertarian/Republican agenda is to destroy public education because it takes too much of their dollars and want to return to a private education system where you receive the education you can afford, not what you need.
Another two years of Libertarian/Republican control in Concord and you will not recognize the state you grew up in or moved to.
Those in charge of the Libertarian/Free State Project want that to happen so it will be easier to establish their “Libertarian homeland” in the Granite State if many people become frustrated, give up and move away.
But the carpetbaggers don’t deserve to reign over those who established the state as a place more gentle, relaxed and welcoming.
Make sure you vote for the New Hampshire you want and not the propaganda funded by far away oligarchs. Know who you are voting for.
Garry Rayno may be reached at garry.rayno@yahoo.com.