Yearly Archives: 2023

NEA-NH Responds to Voucher Program Update: Majority of Granite State Families Trust and Support Their Neighborhood Public Schools

Yesterday, an update on the state voucher program was provided by the NewHampshire Department of Education. Megan Tuttle, president of NEA-New Hampshire, provided this statement in response:“This update on the state voucher program confirms what we already knew–the vast majority ofGranite State families trust and support their neighborhood public schools. Commissioner Edelblut has focused his energy on a small sliver of the population that wasnever in public schools when we need state leaders to focus on the real issue: the underfundingof New Hampshire’s public education system that disadvantages students, leads to educatorshortages, and burdens property taxpayers. There are many, proven […]

NEA-NH Statement on This Week’s Supreme Court Rulings

Citing the United States Supreme Court cases decided this week allowing for businesses to discriminate against LGBTQ citizens, eliminating affirmative action in higher education admissions, and disallowing President Biden’s student loan debt relief, NEA-NH President Megan Tuttle said today, “This Court is out of step with a majority of Americans.” “As New Hampshire faces a shortage of teachers and support staff, the state is struggling to establish policies that attract people into the profession and his ruling shrinks the pool of potential educators.” NEA-NH believes that educators and education employees should look like the communities where they work. The Court […]

NEA-NH: While Still Lacking, Budget Contains Items We Can Support

Today, the House voted to concur with the budget passed yesterday by the Senate. “NEA-NH believes that budgets should reflect our shared priorities by funding critical programs that serve our students, especially those most in need,” said Megan Tuttle, NEA-NH President. “While there are many needs the Legislature must still address, the budget approved today by the General Court contains items that we support, such as increased funding for many districts chronically impacted by our state’s inadequate school funding formula, a long overdue boost to educators’ retirement, and a start to addressing the shortage of educators in New Hampshire,” said […]

ED 306 Status: Lowering Our Education Standards is a Bad Idea

Nothing less than our students’ future depends on their schools meeting high expectations and having a comprehensive curriculum. In 2020, the New Hampshire Department of Education (NHED) began updating the state’s Minimum Standards for Public School Approval (also known as the ED 306 Administrative Rules), that serve as the foundation for all of our public schools, in a process marked by secrecy and concerns about conflicts of interest. The draft revisions also include substantial changes that could undermine and destabilize New Hampshire’s public schools. There have been deep concerns around the process for the revision of the minimum standards. The NHED […]

NEA Annual Rankings and Estimates Exposes Serious Issues

Too many legislators are working to drive dedicated educators from the profession Concord, NH – April 24, 2023 – The annual NEA Rankings and Estimates Report was released today. The data, combined with a recent NEA-New Hampshire survey of its members indicates a perfect storm is brewing in public education that needs to be addressed. New Hampshire reported an average teacher salary for 2021-2022 of $62,783 ranking us 33rd in the country: almost $4,000 less than the national average, $9,200 less than the New England average, and $26,755 less than our neighbor to the south, Massachusetts. The report also found […]