State of New Hampshire secondary Archives: on Education
Andru Volinsky:
Won case that state-funded public education is a right
I don't come from a wealthy background. I am the only one in my family to attend college--which I did on scholarship and by working summers and during the school year. Strong schools must remain a path to success. My decades of work to improve schools
in New Hampshire as the lead lawyer in the Claremont school funding case is an example of how I have made a difference. We convinced the New Hampshire Supreme Court that a state-funded public education is a cherished constitutional right.
Source: Concord Monitor on 2020 New Hampshire gubernatorial race
Dec 8, 2019
Andru Volinsky:
Shameful that schools may lack science teachers
Because the state has never lived up to its responsibilities, sadly, the quality of a child's education remains an accident of where he or she lives. I met a fourth-grader named Aurora who wants to be a doctor. She'll struggle because Berlin doesn't
have any chemistry teachers. It is shameful that in our great state we have school systems that lack science teachers and that schools have been forced to ration remedial programs and limit access to training in the trades.
Source: Concord Monitor on 2020 New Hampshire gubernatorial race
Dec 8, 2019
Andy Martin:
Ensure college access for everyone
I am not surprised that congress took the first, small step towards ensuring college access for everyone when it began to tax private endowments. We have to tread carefully in managing our world-class institutions of higher education, but I will do my
best to see that students today have the same access and opportunity that my uncle and mother had when they applied to UNH 80 years ago. New Hampshire did right by its students then, and we need to do right and increase college opportunities today.
Source: WMUR.com on 2020 New Hampshire Senate race
Nov 1, 2018
Andy Martin:
Taxpayers shouldn't help pay off existing student loans
Q: Under what circumstances should taxpayers help pay off existing student loans?
A: I can't think of any, unless it involves students [who] were attending fraudulent institutions that were still approved by the federal government.
Source: AFA iVoterGuide on 2020 New Hampshire Senate race
Nov 3, 2020
Bernie Sanders:
Student debt is crushing young graduates
Q: Secretary Clinton, you said of Senator Sanders that "It's very hard to see how any of his proposals could ever be achievable." Like free public college?CLINTON: I believe in affordable college, but I don't believe in free college, because every
expert I have talked to says how will you control costs. I want to make sure middle class kids, not Donald Trump's kids, can afford college. The numbers don't add up, from what Senator Sanders has been proposing. That's why all the independent experts
that have vetted both of us have concluded that it is not achievable. Let's go down a path where we tell people what we will do. A progressive is someone who makes progress. That's what I intend to do.
SANDERS: I believe that public colleges and
universities should be tuition free. How do we pay for that? We pay for it by a tax on Wall Street speculation. The middle class bailed out Wall Street in their time of need. Now, it is Wall Street's time to help the middle class.
Source: MSNBC Democratic primary debate in New Hampshire
Feb 4, 2016
Bill Weld:
Control of education by states and parents, more choice
Parents need more options regarding the education of their children. We need to support school choice. We need to support home schooling. We need to support charter schools. And we need to consider abolishing the U. S. Department of
Education, transferring decision-making authority to the States and the parents of school-age and college-age children. Oh, and the current federal provision which prevents the renegotiation of student debt? We need to repeal it immediately.
Source: Speech in New Hampshire by 2020 presidential hopefuls
Feb 15, 2019
Bob Smith:
Oppose nationwide Common Core standards
Question topic: The federal government should establish nationwide standards (such as Common Core) for high-school graduation.
Smith: Strongly Disagree
Source: Faith2Action iVoterGuide on 2014 New Hampshire Senate race
Jul 2, 2014
Chris Sununu:
More funding for charter schools; less power to bureaucrats
"We must reform education to ensure that every family has the same opportunity to maximize their student's potential in our schools," said Sununu. "That means empowering parents and teachers, and getting Washington bureaucrats out of New Hampshire's
classrooms. Breaking down barriers to school choice. Providing more funding for charter schools. Paying our brightest teachers the best wages. And, it means building a responsible budget, so that we can reinstate school building aid once and for all."
Source: Union-Leader on 2016 New Hampshire gubernatorial race
Sep 7, 2015
Chris Sununu:
Increase operating budget $10M of Community College System
Our higher education system is a critical part of ensuring New Hampshire students have an opportunity to learn beyond their high school years and enter the New Hampshire workforce with real world skills. Too often, we think of post-secondary education
in terms of institutions. That's old school thinking. My budget approaches post-secondary education in terms of students and outcomes.The University and Community College Systems of New Hampshire are key to these effort and we will continue to make
investments in our partnership. In doing so, my budget proposes a significant increase to the operating budget of the Community College System, which is doing a great job in providing a gateway to New Hampshire's workforce development.
My budget
proposes $10 million in capital investment into community college infrastructure. Also, today I am proud to establish the Governor's Scholarship program, with $5 million to directly assist high school students to attend colleges in New Hampshire.
Source: 2017 New Hampshire State of the State address
Feb 9, 2017
Chris Sununu:
Give parents choice instead of one-size-fits-all system
Surprisingly, I am the first Governor in the past 25 years to come up through New Hampshire's public schools.
Our schools are ranked the best in the country, because they deliver results. I believe in Teachers. I believe in the students.
However, I think we can all agree that a one-size-fits-all system doesn't always work for each student, which is why our education system must give parents choice and flexibility.
Education Savings Accounts will be our most significant step yet, in giving parents and children the ability to choose the education path that is best suited for them.
Source: 2018 New Hampshire State of the State address
Feb 15, 2018
Chris Sununu:
NH Career Academies: Opportunities for high school students
I am proud to announce today the creation of 'New Hampshire Career Academies'. Working with our community college system existing funds, our students can take advantage of an optional fifth year of high school that will be enable them to receive a high
school diploma, a certificate and a College Associates Degree free of cost to the student. It also comes with something else, a guaranteed interview with a New Hampshire company for a job right here in the Granite State.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to New Hampshire legislature
Jan 3, 2019
Chris Sununu:
$30 million in one-time grants for school capital projects
As the only Governor in the last 20 years to come up through the public school system, I know very, very directly how great that system is. And it's why we're so committed to supporting it. My budget ensures that we spend more money per child on public
education than ever before. It invests $30 million back to cities and towns in one-time Grants for capital projects, like school-building aid, investments into energy-efficient projects or alternative-fuel buses, other key areas of need.
Source: 2021 State of the State Address: New Hampshire legislature
Feb 11, 2021
Chris Sununu:
Student debt relief for graduates staying & working in state
Student debt relief: last year, I introduced an innovative student debt relief plan that would have provided nearly $10 million at no expense to the taxpayer for student debt relief, as long as those graduates stay and work in New Hampshire.
The Democrats removed this from my final budget but I am not giving up. This budget reintroduces the program and focuses on graduates who pursue careers in the much-needed fields of healthcare, biotechnology, social work, other related fields.
Source: 2021 State of the State Address: New Hampshire legislature
Feb 11, 2021
Chris Sununu:
Unified and merged state college and university system
My budget proposed a fully unified and merged New Hampshire College and University System, bringing 11 separate system together as one. This is the future of higher education. This evolution is not to benefit any one system but to every student across
the State. We also see the challenges and the inefficiencies in maintaining 11 systems, rather than one, integrated, collaborative approach to public higher education. This merger will enable a combined system to innovate in a coordinated way.
Source: 2021 State of the State Address: New Hampshire legislature
Feb 11, 2021
Chris Sununu:
Education Freedom Savings Accounts provides options
Last year we fought to Expand Educational Opportunities for students and families. This year, for the first time in state history, a child's zip code or family income no longer dictates their educational options, with Education Freedom
Savings Accounts New Hampshire is providing opportunities to thousands of families across our state with nothing but positive results.
Source: 2022 State of the State Address to New Hampshire legislature
Feb 17, 2022
Chuck Morse:
Teach ABC's in school, not Critical Race Theory
Morse said Republicans are fighting for personal freedoms. He said wearing a mask in school amid the coronavirus pandemic should be a discussion between parents and kids.
He also said he will work to keep critical race theory out of schools. "We want our students to learn ABCs, not CRTs," Morse said.
Source: Foster's Daily Democrat on 2022 New Hampshire Senate race
Sep 20, 2021
Colin Van Ostern:
College for America: students into workforce with no debt
Education innovator & anti-student debt champion: In 2013, Colin helped launch College for America at Southern New Hampshire University --
a nonprofit, fully-accredited college that helps frontline, working adults achieve a college education with little or no debt.
Source: 2016 New Hampshire gubernatorial website VanOstern.com
Jul 20, 2016
Colin Van Ostern:
College for America: students into workforce with no debt
Education innovator & anti-student debt champion: In 2013, Colin helped launch College for America at Southern New Hampshire University --
a nonprofit, fully-accredited college that helps frontline, working adults achieve a college education with little or no debt.
The school has enrolled thousands of students --the vast majority taking on zero debt at all --and has partnered with more than 65 employers ranging from local nonprofits to Fortune 50 companies to strengthen their workforce.
Colin has also advocated for broader public policy solutions to the crushing burden of student debt and worked with grassroots organizations to bring national attention to the need for solutions.
Source: 2016 New Hampshire gubernatorial website VanOstern.com
Jul 20, 2016
Colin Van Ostern:
Universal full-day kindergarten; more PACE; more local aid
Colin will work with educators and state and local school boards to lift the restriction that is preventing more school districts from launching PACE pilot programs. This would reduce our reliance on standardized tests while
maintaining appropriate learning standards for kids at every grade.Fully funding universal full-day kindergarten will improve our schools while also helping more working parents fully participate in the workforce.
New Hampshire cannot afford to refuse fast-growing school districts a proportional increase in state funding for their students, as has happened in recent years.
Additionally, the state should consider how to reinstitute a more sustainable building aid program to support local building construction projects that are in clear need.
Source: Ballotpedia.org on 2016 New Hampshire Gubernatorial race
Aug 31, 2016
Corky Messner:
No restrictions on education dollars including homeschooling
Send Federal education dollars to states without restrictions for online learning, high school-earned college credits,
homeschooling, charter schools and/or innovations in special education.
Source: 2020 New Hampshire Senate website CorkyForSenate.com
Jun 3, 2020
Dan Feltes:
Support existing charter schools, not fund new ones
A legislative budget oversight committee, for the third time in the past three months, set aside a federal grant to nearly double the number of charter schools in New Hampshire.
Feltes said he'd support a grant to give more help to existing charter schools that are struggling but creating new ones is not productive.
Source: Union Leader on 2020 New Hampshire Governor race
Jan 10, 2020
Dan Feltes:
No community college salary increase when there are layoffs
Feltes co-sponsored NH SB761; Introduced 2/26/2020: This act shall be known as the Community College Transparency and Accountability in Budgeting Act.- The rate of annual growth in the budget of the system office of the community college system
shall not be greater than the rate of growth of the budget of any institution in the community college system.
- There shall be no salary increases for any employee in the system office of the community college system in any year in which there is a
layoff at any institution in the community college system for budgetary reasons.
- An annual report shall be posted on the community college system's public website containing: The number of full-time and part-time faculty at each institution in the
community college system;
- Enrollment numbers for each institution in the community college system;
- The amount of the biennial state appropriation for the community college system that has been distributed to each institution.
Source: BillTrack50 on New Hampshire legislative voting records
Feb 26, 2020
Dan Feltes:
Urge employers to pay off part of employees' student debt
Q: Support lower interest on student loans or forgiving them?Dan Feltes: Yes. Co-sponsored bill to encourage employers to pay off part of employees' student debt. Co-sponsored SB529, a workforce development student debt relief program.
Chris Sununu: Yes. In 2019 called for diverting scholarship funds for student debt relief, a plan rejected in the legislature. In 2020 supports SB529, a related plan.
Source: CampusElect survey on 2020 New Hampshire Gubernatorial race
Nov 3, 2020
Don Bolduc:
Reduced tuition benefits through public service
?Every young person should have the opportunity to earn and receive a quality, affordable education. I believe that we can adopt a program that allows
young people to earn reduced tuition benefits through the performance of public service, much like I did when I joined the Army and paid for college with the GI Bill. Public service doesn't mean military service.
Source: 2020 New Hampshire Senate campaign website DonBolduc.com
Feb 10, 2020
Hillary Clinton:
Experts vetted my college plan, and it works
Q: Secretary Clinton, you said of Senator Sanders that "It's very hard to see how any of his proposals could ever be achievable." Like free public college?CLINTON: I believe in affordable college, but
I don't believe in free college, because every expert that I have talked to says how will you control the costs. I want to make sure middle class kids, not Donald Trump's kids can afford college.
The numbers don't add up, from what Senator Sanders has been proposing. That's why all the independent experts that have vetted both of us have concluded that it is not achievable.
Let's go down a path where we tell people what we will do. A progressive is someone who makes progress. That's what I intend to do.
Source: MSNBC Democratic primary debate in New Hampshire
Feb 4, 2016
Jeanne Shaheen:
Must resolve permanent school funding this year
We have come a long way-dramatically increasing state aid to education, cutting in half the number of communities without public kindergarten, wiring 98% of our schools to the Internet-but our greatest challenge-a permanent school funding law-is still
before us; and we must meet that challenge this year.This will not be easy. Resolving school funding will require each of us to be honest with ourselves and the people of New Hampshire about what is required by the Claremont II decision. The State
must pay for the cost of an adequate education for every child. It's that simple and that difficult. We must face up to this obligation and we must acknowledge that we cannot meet it without change.
Make no mistake: enacting a permanent solution must
be our overriding priority this year. Without a permanent solution this year, the state's bond ratings and strong fiscal position will be jeopardized. But even more important, without a permanent solution, our public schools will be threatened.
Source: Inaugural Address to New Hampshire Legislature
Jan 4, 2001
Jeanne Shaheen:
Standards for teachers; kindergarten for kids
The people of New Hampshire understand that funding alone will not give us excellent schools. We must set high standards for our schools and hold them accountable for meeting those standards. We have debated school accountability for three years. This
year we must act. We must also improve educational opportunities for our youngest children. We must extend our kindergarten construction program and make sure that every five-year-old in New Hampshire has the opportunity to attend public kindergarten.
Source: Inaugural Address to New Hampshire Legislature
Jan 4, 2001
Jeanne Shaheen:
Tax-free college tuition savings plan
Higher Education: A former high school teacher, as Governor she made kindergarten a reality for tens of thousands of children and helped make college more affordable through a tax free college tuition savings plan. In the Senate, she continues working
to reduce college loan interest rates and introduced legislation to allow college students to refinance their student loan debt at lower interest rates, which could save families thousands of dollars.
Source: Vote-USA.org on 2020 New Hampshire Senate race
Oct 24, 2014
Jim Rubens:
Unconstitutional for federal government to control K-12
The Constitution does not grant the federal government power to control state and local education. I therefore differ with Kelly Ayotte's vote for the ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) which, for the first time in American history, unconstitutionally
grants the federal government control over state K-12 education plans and assessments.Instead, state and local education funds should be block granted so that elected state and local policymakers and school leaders are free to determine how best to
use our tax money to improve student learning by means best suited to our varying local needs.
Congress must respond to parents' concerns about one-size-fits-all schools. Parents do not want their children over tested or mined for personal data.
Wave after wave of experimental reforms - like Common Core, promoted by profit-making corporations with an interest in harmful standardization -- have badly stressed teachers, students and their parents and have failed to improve learning.
Source: 2016 New Hampshire Senate campaign website JimRubens.com
Apr 1, 2016
Karen Testerman:
Put parents back in charge, not Department of Education
Educating our children is so simple that it defies logic that there is opposition. Today we hear education lemmings, like Sen. Shaheen, promote less choice. In fact, they push for children of a younger and younger age to enter our government
indoctrination centers. Over the years we have watched as oversight of our children's education is slowly removed from the parents.SAT scores for graduating high school seniors has reached the lowest point in nearly four decades.
The decline corresponds directly with the ascension of the federal Department of Education.
Let me remind you of an important fact, the purpose of the DOE was to raise math and science scores to be more competitive on the international stage.
I ask
you this: Would you send your car back to a shop that makes it worse each time? Why should we force parents to do the same with their children? It's time to put parents back in charge and let them choose what style of education best suits their children.
Source: 2014 New Hampshire Senate website, KarenTesterman.net
Dec 1, 2013
Karen Testerman:
Stop the "common core" federal education standards
Testerman went through a litany of issues that are more closely associated with those on the far right, such as recalling elected officials who voted for gun control measures, stopping "common core"
federal education standards and further investigation into the September 2012 attack on a the American diplomatic mission in Benghazi.
Source: Valley News on 2014 New Hampshire Senate debate
Nov 23, 2013
Kelly Ayotte:
Cut Pell Grants; use private student loan financing
Q: On Student Financial Aid: Should federal student financial aid, like Pell Grants, be increased?Hassan: Yes
Ayotte: No. Has voted to cut Pell Grants.
Q: On Student Debt: Refinance student loans at lower rates, paid for by increasing taxes on high earners?
Hassan: Yes
Ayotte: No. Voted against allowing students to draw on federal resources to refinance at lower interest rates. Introduced alternative bill to allow students to refinance at lower rates in the private market.
Opponents view private sector option as benefitting financial institutions rather than students.
Source: CampusElect Voter Guide to 2016 New Hampshire Senate race
Oct 9, 2016
Maggie Hassan:
As governor, I froze college tuition
Hassan cited her work freezing college tuition, the success of the New Hampshire economy and other measures from her two terms as governor as reason to send her to Washington. "Now to continue working to realize our state's potential,
we need a response from Washington that meets the progress we're making here at home, and that's exactly why I'm running for the United States Senate," Hassan said.
Source: CNN coverage of 2016 New Hampshire Senate race
Oct 5, 2015
Molly Kelly:
Freeze college tuition and lower it as well
Kelly declared, "Education is very, very important to me. It's one of the biggest reasons why I ran for the Senate and it will be my priority as well as governor." Kelly's repeatedly railed against Gov. Sununu's support for educational savings accounts,
a voucher like program proposal championed by the governor that she argues would weaken public schools.When it comes to the high costs of attending the state's colleges and universities, Kelly said she would "freeze tuition and lower it as well."
And she's proposed increasing the state loan repayment program to give students more flexibility in paying their bills.
Steve Marchand laments that "we are one of 6 states that do not offer state funding for pre-K." Such state funding is one part of
the plan on public school reforms that he's proposed.
And taking a shot at Kelly, he's argued that freezing in-state tuition is not enough, as he's called for "debt-free college for in-state students who attend post-secondary education."
Source: Concord Monitor on 2018 New Hampshire Gubernatorial race
Sep 3, 2018
Molly Kelly:
Veto any effort to take money away from public schools
Public education is a core tenet of our democracy. Every child should have access to a quality public school education. That's why I will veto any plan that takes money from our public schools to create a voucher program for private or religious
schools. College is too expensive, and too many young graduates carry too much student loan debt. I will work to make college more affordable to decrease this burden for students and ensure education remains available to everyone.
Source: 2018 New Hampshire Governor campaign website MollyKelly.com
Oct 9, 2018
Steve Marchand:
$5M for debt-free college in needed programs
Q: How do you encourage young people to stay in the state?Marchand: The pilot program between higher education and New Hampshire businesses I would pursue that would cost approximately $5 million a year in three programs: computer science, nursing,
and education because those are three places where we don't have enough talent to match the demands. It would create a debt-free college experience for students that enter the program.to work with New Hampshire-based companies or entities.
And if they did that, kept their nose clean, kept their grades up, and then worked for one of those New Hampshire-based employers for a period of years after graduation, they would have no debt.
It would be half-paid by the private sector participants and half-paid by the targeted state grant for these programs.
Source: N.H. Journal on 2018 New Hampshire gubernatorial race
Apr 24, 2017
Steve Marchand:
Prioritize public school districts and we will see results
Q: What about school building construction, which has been frozen at the state level for a number of years?A: First, you've got to have the credibility as a candidate and then as a governor to instill confidence that when you say something,
that you need that math, that you need those dollars, and you prioritize it very high, that people will see it's the result of a process that they can trust.
The number one thing businesses tell me is, if the school district around where they're thinking of putting a business or expanding a business, if it is seen as outstanding, they will win time
after time the tiebreakers for the kind of talent, particularly from out of state, that we have to get if we're going to be where we want to go in the next twenty years.
Source: N.H. Public Radio on 2018 New Hampshire gubernatorial race
Apr 24, 2017
Steve Marchand:
NH should offer state funding for pre-K, like most states
Molly Kelly declared, "Education is very, very important to me. It's one of the biggest reasons why I ran for the Senate and it will be my priority as well as governor." Kelly's repeatedly railed against Gov. Sununu's support for educational savings
accounts, a voucher like program proposal championed by the governor that she argues would weaken public schools.When it comes to the high costs of attending the state's colleges and universities, Kelly said she would "freeze tuition and lower it as
well." And she's proposed increasing the state loan repayment program to give students more flexibility in paying their bills.
Marchand laments that "we are one of 6 states that do not offer state funding for pre-K." Such state funding is one part
of the plan on public school reforms that he's proposed.
And taking a shot at Kelly, he's argued that freezing in-state tuition is not enough, as he's called for "debt-free college for in-state students who attend post-secondary education."
Source: Concord Monitor on 2018 New Hampshire Gubernatorial race
Sep 3, 2018
Tom Sherman:
Fully support our public schools, not private schools
Public education in New Hampshire is under attack. This Governor and legislature sent millions of tax dollars to private and religious schools, which will almost certainly cause property taxes to rise and school budgets to tighten. This Governor also
signed legislation that censors teachers and caters to those who want to ban books and change history. Dr. Sherman will fully support our public schools and invest in opportunities to train our students for the 21st century economy.
Source: 2022 New Hampshire Governor campaign web DrTomSherman.com
Mar 28, 2022
Chris Sununu:
Student loan forgiveness will lead to higher taxes
I take exception with individuals saying this is a student loan crisis. What's the crisis? Folks get a degree. They get a job. We have more high-paying jobs than ever before for young people. They're low-interest loans. They have been deferred for a
couple of years. Those individuals that think they're getting the $10,000 or $20,000 off their student loans, it's just getting deferred into taxes down the road, higher taxes down the road. This is a political shell game of money.
Source: CNN SOTU interviews on 2022 New Hampshire Gubernatorial race
Aug 28, 2022
Chris Sununu:
Government getting involved in education doesn't go well
In New Hampshire, we're different. You know, we put more dollars in public education for students than ever before. And we passed school choice, right? We're creating more opportunities for kids in public schools to get credentialed in a work force
type environment that they want to enter into. Any time the government gets overly involved in education it normally doesn't go well. And so, we take that kind of push back approach. We believe in parents and teachers. Teachers now want to be here.
Source: Fox News Sunday on 2022 New Hampshire Gubernatorial race
Aug 21, 2022
Page last updated: Feb 18, 2023