Tag Archives: education

6-3-13: AFT NH Legislative Update by President Laura Hainey

  By New Hampshire Labor News | June 3, 2013 - 10:05 am | , , ,
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STATE BUDGET UPDATE

The Senate Finance committee has finished their work and with a vote of 4 to 2 recommended passage of their proposed budget. As with any budget there are good and bad provisions within it.  The Senate Finance committee put together a budget with no revenue increase. They defeated the House-passed increase of $0.20 tobacco tax and the increase of $0.12 gas tax. On a side note the House killed HB 152 the casino-gaming bill. With no revenue increase and with the claim that the House had overstated future revenues, the Senate is arguing it needed to cut $300 million from the House budget.

Health and Human service was hit the hardest with $40 million cut by the Senate from their already reduced budget. This means cuts to the developmentally disabled waitlist, Children in Need of Services, and many of the services that are very much needed.

It looks like the Senate Finance committee kept the same amount for adequate education funding as the House did in their budget, but the Senate Finance committee did increase the amount allocated for charter schools by $3.49 million –this would fund current charter schools plus four new charter schools.

To read and compare the House budget to the Senate proposed budget click here.

The full Senate will be voting on June 6th on the Senate Finance committee recommendation of ought to pass. To read through the many amendments click here for HB 1 and HB 2.

HOUSE VOTE ON MAY 29TH

The House defeated overwhelming by a vote of 235 to 93 SB 100: AN ACT authorizing electronic payment of payroll. This bill will affect all public employees in New Hampshire. This bill would have done the following:

  • Delete the requirement that an employer who pays wages by electronic fund transfer offer employees the option of being paid by check.
  • Permits an employer to pay wages with a payroll card after offering employees the option of being paid by direct deposit.

AFT-NH was in opposition to this bill and we thank the 235 representative that voted to defeat it.

THE FULL SENATE WILL BE VOTING THIS WEEK ON THE FOLLOWING:

The Senate Finance committee made the recommendation to retain HB 124: relative to the determination of gainful occupation for a group II member receiving an accidental disability retirement allowance from the retirement system. This bill:

I. Reinserts a provision which removes the application of the gainful occupation reductions to retirement allowances of group II accidental disability beneficiaries who have years of service plus years of accidental disability retirement which total at least 20 and who have attained the age of 45.
II. Allows the director of homeland security and emergency management in the department of safety the option to rejoin the retirement system as a member and to continue group II retirement status based on prior service and group II membership, and allows the assistant director of homeland security and emergency management to continue group II retirement status based on prior service and group II membership.
III. Provides for the appointment of the director of the division of homeland security and emergency management for terms of 3 years.
AFT-NH is opposed to this recommendation and asks that they overture the recommendation of retaining and vote to pass this bill.

COMMITTEES OF CONFERENCE

We are waiting for HB 142, relative to teacher evaluation systems, to be scheduled with a Committee of Conference.  The House has appointed Representative Grassie, Myler, Gorman and Ladd, but the Senate has yet to appoint members.

Keep in mind that on HB 142: relative to teacher evaluation systems, Senator Kelly brought forward an amendment to reinsert the following language:  Nothing in this subparagraph shall supersede collective bargaining rights under RSA 273-A. However this failed on a 12 to 12 vote and the following passed:

1 New Paragraph; School Boards; Duty to Provide Education. Amend RSA 189:1-a by inserting after paragraph II the following new paragraph:
III. School boards shall adopt a teacher performance evaluation policy, with the involvement of teachers and principals, for use in the school district. A school board may consider any resources it deems reasonable and appropriate, including any resources that may be provided by the state department of education. In this paragraph, “teacher” shall have the same meaning as in RSA 189:14-a, V.

AFT-NH is opposed to this bill as amended. It does include the involvement of teachers but it left out “Nothing in this paragraph shall supersede collective bargaining rights under RSA 273-A”.

If you have any questions or concerns please email me at lhainey@aft-nh.org.

In Solidarity,
Laura Hainey
AFT-NH President

UPCOMING HEARINGS FOR NEXT WEEK
Note the ones in red are priority bills for AFT-NH

MONDAY, JUNE 3

TASK FORCE ON WORK AND FAMILY (RSA 276-B:1), Room 207, LOB
1:15 p.m. Regular meeting.

TUESDAY, JUNE 4

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND ADMINISTRATION, Room 306, LOB
10:00 a.m. Full committee organizational work session on retained
HB 627-FN, requiring unused vacation and sick leave to be converted to service time for purposes of calculating retirement system benefits,

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5

10:00 a.m. HOUSE IN SESSION
THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 2013
10:00 a.m. SENATE IN SESSION


TUESDAY, JUNE 11

MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY GOVERNMENT, Room 301, LOB
10:00 a.m. Subcommittee work session on retained HB 422, relative to the adoption, revision, and amendment of municipal charters.

New Hampshire And The Common Core: Stop The High Stakes Testing

  By Matt Murray | May 22, 2013 - 7:00 am | , , , ,
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common core icon

common core iconOn Monday Laura Knoy and the Exchange took up the issues surrounding the Common Core.  Common Core are standards that define what all student are expected to know and be able to do, these standards focus on what is most essential. They do not tell us how teachers should teach but it will be anew way of teaching which moves away from the test and drill mentality of the past.

The Exchange had three guests on the show:

Heather Gage: Director of the Division of Instruction at the New Hampshire Dept. of Education.
Laura Hainey: President  American Federation of Teachers New Hampshire
Paul Peterson: Director of the Harvard University program on education policy, editor-in-chief of the journal called Education Next, and author of the forthcoming book, Endangering Prosperity: a Global View of the American School.

Everyone agreed that we need to move away from the standardized testing created by No Child Left Behind.  NCLB is failing our children and creating a situation where children are being drilled to pass standardized tests, and does not promote a true learning experience.

One of the biggest points in this discussions is the fact that the American Federation of Teachers (AFT)  have serious concerns over high stakes testing that are  attached to the Common Core.  Laura Hainey President of AFT-NH talked about how there needs to be more time to evaluate the Common Core standards. Teachers need time to unpack the standards and fully understand them.

Laura Hainey told the NH Labor News:

“Common core standards will lead to critical thinking, problem solving, apply knowledge and teamwork– compare to what we have now rote memorization and endless test taking but we need to give the teachers the time, resource and tools to unpack these standard and fully understand them.”

AFT and AFT-NH agree to the principles laid out by the Common Core standards because unlike NCLB, teachers were involved in developing these standards that have been adopted by 45 states.

Recently AFT conducted a poll where they found 75% support common core standards.  After the standards were adopted there was an immediate push to use this to evaluate teacher effectiveness.  Though a recent AFT survey  found that “74% (of teachers) are worried that the new assessments will begin—and students, teachers and schools will be held accountable for the results—before everyone involved understands the new standards and before instruction has been fully implemented with a rich curriculum”. This is why AFT  has called for a moratorium on teacher and student evaluations based on Common Core.

“The momentum is building to step on the accelerator of quality implementation, and put the brakes on the stakes,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten. “Teachers everywhere are speaking out. They know these standards can transform teaching and learning. But for that to happen, they need the necessary tools and resources to effectively teach the new standards.”

Teacher’s lack of access to the tools and resources to implement the common core standards is the biggest problem right now.

  • 27% of the teachers polled said their school district has provided them with all or most of the resources and tools they need to successfully teach the standards, leaving 73% without the necessary tools and resources.
  • 78% of teachers in low-performing schools said they have been given just some, few or no resources.

Until teachers are given the proper resources and time to unpack and understand the standards they cannot effectively do their jobs.  We need to take this implementation slowly and ensure that it is done correctly.  We need to be patient and make sure it is done correctly.

 

Listen to the discussion on The Exchange

5-19-13 AFT-NH Legislative Update From Pres. Laura Hainey

  By New Hampshire Labor News | May 20, 2013 - 12:47 pm | , , ,
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aft sqaure

UPCOMING FULL SENATE VOTES MAY 23rd

The following bills will be voted upon this coming week:

The Senate Executive Departments and Administration committee recommends passage of HB 124, relative to the determination of gainful occupation for a group II member receiving an accidental disability retirement allowance from the retirement system.  This recommendation came on a 3-2 vote in committee, and AFT-NH is in support of this recommendation and asks that the full Senate support the committee’s recommendation. This bill does the following:

I. Reinserts a provision which removes the application of the gainful occupation reductions to retirement allowances of group II accidental disability beneficiaries who have years of service plus years of accidental disability retirement which total at least 20 and who have attained the age of 45.
II. Allows the Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management in the Department of Safety the option to rejoin the retirement system as a member and to continue group II retirement status based on prior service and group II membership, and allows the Assistant Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to continue group II retirement status based on prior service and group II membership.
III. Provides for the appointment of the Director of the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management for terms of 3 years.

The Senate Executive Departments and Administration committee recommends passage as amended (by a 3-2 vote) of HB 342, relative to reporting of compensation paid to retired members of the retirement system.  The committee combined HB 364 into this bill. AFT-NH is in support of the recommendation.

Likewise, AFT-NH is in support of defeating HB 364 relative to notice required concerning employment of a retired member of the New Hampshire retirement for it was combined with HB 342.

The Senate Education committee made the recommendation of ought to pass on HB 260. This bill authorizes the Department of Health and Human Services to provide voluntary services to a child who would otherwise be found to be a child in need of services under RSA 169.  This bill would do the following:

I. Expands the definition of a child in need of services under RSA 169-D, revises circumstances under which the court may order various services or placements, and gives the department discretion to offer voluntary services.
II. Directs the Department of Health and Human Services to collect certain data regarding the CHINS program.
III. Provides for the suspension of voluntary services if appropriated funds will be insufficient to support voluntary services.
IV. Requires school board truancy policies to include certain information relative to student attendance.

AFT-NH is in support of the committee recommendation.

And lastly, we hope that the full Senate will finally vote on HB 187: relative to deliberative sessions in towns that have adopted official ballot voting. This bill was submitted by retired AFT-NH member Marjorie Porter. This bill provides that the dollar amount agreed to in a collective bargaining agreement between a public employer and an employee organization shall not be modified by the legislative body of the public employer and that amount is what the voters should vote on.

AFT-NH is in support of this bill and the committee’s recommendation of ought to pass; we believe that what is negotiated in good faith should go before the voters for a vote and not be sidelined by a few. We hope that the Senate will pass it as well.

FULL HOUSE VOTES ON MAY 22ND

AFT-NH supports the recommendation of defeat on SB 100, authorizing electronic payment of payroll.

AFT-NH member Rep. Douglas A Ley says it best:
“This bill authorizes employers to limit pay options to either direct deposit or issuance of digital payroll cards. It thereby reduces employee wage payment options, eliminating payment via a paper check. At present, nothing prevents employers from incentivizing payroll choice options and thereby encouraging employees to choose electronic methods over paper checks. Consequently, the majority prefer incentives and choice rather than mandate.

Finally, there were repeated concerns expressed before the committee regarding hidden and excessive fees tied to payroll card usage and the vulnerability of less digitally savvy groups to incur such fees imposed by “brand” cards such as Visa or MasterCard. As for small employers, their cost savings would likely be minimized with a changeover to payroll cards, as they will not be in as strong a position to negotiate lower costs with the companies issuing payroll cards. Therefore, on grounds of choice, incentive, and costs to employees, the majority supports ITL” (inexpedient to legislate—i.e., do not pass).

STATE BUDGET

The Senate will be holding executive sessions all week on HB 1: making appropriations for the expenses of certain departments of the State for fiscal years ending June 30, 2014 and June 30, 2015, and on HB 2: relative to state fees, funds, revenues, and expenditures. They have till June 6th to act on these two bills. AFT-NH will continue to monitor this as it works its way through the Senate and Committee of Conference.

To review all the documents that have been discussed click here.

If you have any questions or concerns please email me at lhainey@aft-nh.org.

In Solidarity,
Laura Hainey
AFT-NH President

UPCOMING HEARINGS FOR NEXT WEEK
Note the ones in red are priority bills for AFT-NH

MONDAY, MAY 20
FINANCE, Room 103, SH
Sen. Morse (C), Sen. Forrester (VC), Sen. Bragdon, Sen. D’Allesandro, Sen. Larsen, Sen. Odell
10:00 a.m. EXECUTIVE SESSION ON PENDING LEGISLATION
TUESDAY, MAY 21

FINANCE, Room 103, SH
Sen. Morse (C), Sen. Forrester (VC), Sen. Bragdon, Sen. D’Allesandro, Sen. Larsen, Sen. Odell
10:00 a.m. EXECUTIVE SESSION ON PENDING LEGISLATION
EDUCATION, Room 207, LOB
10:00 a.m. Executive session on SB 27-FN, relative to monitoring by the Department of Education of programs for children with disabilities,
SB 48, relative to school performance and accountability and continued executives session and continued executive session on
SB 82, establishing a commission to identify strategies needed for developing and implementing a competency-based public education system,
SB 97, relative to high school equivalency and relative to illiteracy.

HEALTH, HUMAN SERVICES AND ELDERLY AFFAIRS, Room 205, LOB
10:00 a.m. Subcommittee work session on retained HB 494, relative to the administration of glucagon injections for pupils.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 22

10:00 a.m. House in session

FINANCE, Room 103, SH
Sen. Morse (C), Sen. Forrester (VC), Sen. Bragdon, Sen. D’Allesandro, Sen. Larsen, Sen. Odell
10:00 a.m. EXECUTIVE SESSION ON PENDING LEGISLATION


THURSDAY, MAY 23

10:00 a.m. Senate in session

FINANCE – (DIVISION III), Rooms 210-211, LOB
10:30 a.m. Public hearing on proposed amendment to SB 129-FN, relative to court-ordered placements in shelter care facilities and at the Sununu Youth Services Center, relative to the children in need of services (CHINS) program, and establishing a committee to study programs for children in need. The proposed amendment (2013-1655h) adds the House-passed language for the Children in Need of Services program as contained in HB 260 as amended by the House. Copies of the proposed amendment are available from the Sergeant-at-Arms office on the 3d floor of the State House.

FRIDAY, MAY 24

FINANCE, Room 103, SH
Sen. Morse (C), Sen. Forrester (VC), Sen. Bragdon, Sen. D’Allesandro, Sen. Larsen, Sen. Odell
9:00 a.m. EXECUTIVE SESSION ON PENDING LEGISLATION


WEDNESDAY, MAY 29

FINANCE, Rooms 210-211, LOB
10:00 a.m. Executive session on
SB 129-FN, relative to court-ordered placements in shelter care facilities and at the Sununu Youth Services Center, relative to the children in need of services (CHINS) program, and establishing a committee to study programs for children in need.

MONDAY, JUNE 3

TASK FORCE ON WORK AND FAMILY (RSA 276-B:1), Room 207, LOB
1:15 p.m. Regular meeting.

Sequester Gives Kids A Kick To The Head Start

  By New Hampshire Labor News | May 6, 2013 - 9:42 am | , ,
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Head Start

Head StartOnce again Congress is attacking the poor working families.  These are the families that rely on programs like Head Start to get their children started in education the right way.  Time and time again is has been proven in studies like this one from the US Dept of Health and Human Services, that head start programs help children excel in school.  These types of programs have an even bigger impact on the low-income communities, who who otherwise not be able to send their children to a pre-school class.

The gains of pre-school education have been seen by everyone all the way up to the White House.  This is why President Obama pushed for an expanded pre-school program in his State of the Union address.

“Study after study shows that the sooner a child begins learning, the better he or she does down the road.  But today, fewer than 3 in 10 four year-olds are enrolled in a high-quality preschool program.  Most middle-class parents can’t afford a few hundred bucks a week for private preschool.  And for poor kids who need help the most, this lack of access to preschool education can shadow them for the rest of their lives.

Tonight, I propose working with states to make high-quality preschool available to every child in America. Every dollar we invest in high-quality early education can save more than seven dollars later on – by boosting graduation rates, reducing teen pregnancy, even reducing violent crime.”

If Head Start is so good then why is Hudson Head Start forcing more kids out of the program. You can thank the Tea Party Republicans who forced us into the Sequester.

The Sequester is the government debt reduction plan, that slashes 5% of funding for every line item in the budget.   The Sequester was a bad idea when it was proposed, and everyone knew it.  Nobody including the President every thought Congress would let the sequester actually happen.  The sequester was ment to be something so bad that both sides would actually work together to ensure that it never went into effect.  That was the plan, and the plan was and #EpicFail.

New Hampshire may be one of the smallest users of head start, but that does not mean it is not being effected.  Due to sequester cuts NH will loose $733,000 in head start funding.  These cuts are forcing the closure of two classrooms by Southern New Hampshire Service who oversees the program in parts of Southern NH.  They will be shutting the door to 9-11 employees and forcing 18 children to find another head start school (if they can) to attend.

This may seem like a minor inconvenience for a few people and a few of the families in Hudson.  But this is Husdon, NH.  They have less that 25,000 people in the town, and this is what they are doing to their Head Start program.  Can you only imagine what that will mean for bigger school districts, and communities with much higher levels of poverty than Hudson?

Across the country these ridiculously stupid sequester cuts will slam the door of economic and educational opportunity for more than 70,000 children.  Head Start is specifically targeted to those families who could not otherwise afford to send their child to a pre-school program.  Once again, Congress is balancing the budget on the backs of working families.  They are taking away the programs that are designed to lift low-income families out of poverty.

Tell Congress you will not stand for this any longer.  Tell Congress they must end the sequester cuts now.  We have seen over the last few weeks how fast Congress can act when they actually want to pass legislation.  They need to act like that now! They need to work together to save programs like Head Start and the hundreds of other programs being slashed by the sequester cuts.

Voucher vs. Poor Kids — It Should Be An Easy Choice

  By Advancing New Hampshire Public Education | April 29, 2013 - 9:49 am | ,
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The opportunity gap in schools

The voucher debate is a waste of everyone’s time.  We should work on improving how New Hampshire public education works for poor kids (it already works pretty well for better-off kids) rather than engaging in a debate about privatizing our local public schools.

You don’t need a study to tell you that using public money to send a few kids to the unaccredited religious schools is not going to improve education for New Hampshire kids. The religious, often creationist, schools that dominate the voucher tax credit program are fine for the families that want them.  Many families, even those without much money, do find a way to send their kids. But private religious schools are not the basis of a strategy for helping thousands of New Hampshire kids escape poverty.  Regardless out the outcome of thecourt case challenging the constitutionality of tax credit funded vouchers, we should shut down this pathetic program and get back to the real question of how to help the kids.

Sean Reardon’s piece, “No Rich Child Left Behind’” in today’s New York Times, stands aside from the political debate and looks at what the numbers tell us about the performance of our schools over the last decades.  Here are some snippets:

Students growing up in richer families have better grades and higher standardized test scores, on average, than poorer students…

One way to see this is to look at the scores of rich and poor students on standardized math and reading tests over the last 50 years….I found that the rich-poor gap in test scores is about 40 percent larger now than it was 30 years ago….

…the proportion of students from upper-income families who earn a bachelor’s degree has increased by 18 percentage points over a 20-year period, while the completion rate of poor students has grown by only 4 points…

Can schools provide children a way out of poverty?….

The income gap in academic achievement is not growing because the test scores of poor students are dropping or because our schools are in decline. In fact,…[t]he average 9-year-old today has math skills equal to those her parents had at age 11, a two-year improvement in a single generation….The academic gap is widening because rich students are increasingly entering kindergarten much better prepared to succeed in school than middle-class students. This difference in preparation persists through elementary and high school….

It’s not clear what we should do about all this. Partly that’s because much of our public conversation about education is focused on the wrong culprits: we blame failing schools….

So how can we move toward a society in which educational success is not so strongly linked to family background?…[By] investing in developing high-quality child care and preschool that is available to poor and middle-class children. It also means recruiting and training a cadre of skilled preschool teachers and child care providers. These are not new ideas, but we have to stop talking about how expensive and difficult they are to implement and just get on with it.

The opportunity gap in schools Read it. You’ll be inspired.  Then call the hub of New Hampshire’s early childhood development movement, SparkNH, and ask director Laura Milliken to send a speaker to tell your group what’s happening in New Hampshire.

 

Reposted with permission from ANHPE, original link.

Rep Annie Kuster Introduces Bill To Strengthen Workforce Development And Job Training

  By New Hampshire Labor News | April 26, 2013 - 10:11 am | , , , ,
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Annie Kuster Introducing Bill

Training 21st Century Workforce Critical for Granite State’s Economy

Highlights new legislation that would strengthen workforce development, job training

 

After introducing the Workforce Development Investment Act to strengthen job training for students in the Granite State, Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02) this week spoke on the House floor to underscore the importance of training a highly-skilled, 21st century workforce.

“The Workforce Development Investment Act would give tax incentives to firms that partner with educators to improve workforce development and job training for students,” Kuster said. “When we invest in our workforce, more employers will invest in the United States and in the Granite State; our students will be more competitive in the job market; our businesses will be more successful in the global economy.”

“Right now, there are companies like W.H. Bagshaw in Nashua, New Hampshire that are looking to hire, but struggling to find workers with the right skills for the job,” Kuster continued. “My bill would help close this skills gap by providing incentives for business to team up with educators to teach our students the skills they need to compete and succeed.”

The Workforce Development Investment Act would provide up to $10,000 in annual tax credits to employers that partner with community colleges or other institutions of higher education to improve workforce development for students by:

  • Helping develop curriculum;
  • Assisting with instruction in the classroom; and
  • Providing internships, apprenticeships, or other hands-on educational opportunities for students

Kuster has made workforce development one of her top priorities in Congress. Over the last few months, she has toured and met with staff and students at Keene State College’s Regional Center for Advanced Manufacturing (RCAM), Nashua Community College (NCC), and New Hampshire Technical Institute (NHTI), as well as advanced manufacturers all across the Granite State.

An Update On NH School Vouchers From Bill Duncan (@ANHPE)

  By Advancing New Hampshire Public Education | April 19, 2013 - 3:00 pm | ,
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Bill Duncan

Voucher repeal remains alive after the senate vote today
You will see the Republican party crowing as if they won something today, but the reality is that they did not have the support they need to kill HB 370, the voucher repeal bill.  In a party line vote, the Senate voted 13-11 on a motion to “Lay on the Table” HB 370.  The bill can be brought back at any time.

While we would rather have passed HB 370, this is not a bad outcome.  The budget bill passed by the House, HB 2, still repeals the voucher program and repeal will be part of the final budget negotiation in June.

Most important, Sen. Nancy Stiles (R, Hampton) and others will have the opportunity to consider new information about the voucher tax credit as it becomes available.  For instance, tomorrow’s paper will have this report by Kevin Landrigan on the scholarship organization’s kickback scheme to schools that help in fundraising.  This is only the beginning for such a poorly conceived program.

Final arguments for the court case to be heard Friday, April 26
Our attorneys have filed final briefs in the court case challenging the constitutionality of the voucher tax credit law.  It’s surprisingly easy to read.  You can see it here.

The hearing (trial) will be at 11:00AM, April 26, at the Strafford County Courthouse.  Come if you can!

AFT-NH Needs Your Help To Pass HB370 (School Vouchers)

  By New Hampshire Labor News | April 10, 2013 - 2:37 pm | , , ,
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aft sqaure

Yesterday the Senate Education committee made the recommendation to defeat HB 370, which would repeal the education tax credit. To read more on the committee’s recommendation click here. It is time to take action and ask that this recommendation be overturned and a recommendation of “ought to pass” be made and supported.

Last year the legislature passed two bills diverting public money for education to religious and private schools as well as home schoolers. This session, HB 370 aims to repeal this education tax credit program.

The tax credit program initiated in 2012 is an ill-disguised attempt to begin privatizing and dismantling our public education system in NH while weakening our good schools. We are justly proud of our schools in NH and these “vouchers” disguised as tax-credits will only harm public education.

Please click here TODAYand urge your Senator to support NH public schools and pass HB 370 as written.

If you care about public education in NH, please take this action and share with your family, friends and neighbors.

Thank you!

In Solidarity,
Laura Hainey

AFT-NH Holds Biennial Convention With A Focus On Stopping The Corporate Attack On Schools

  By New Hampshire Labor News | April 9, 2013 - 7:37 am | ,
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AFT-Convention Image

Image courtesy of AFT_NH

This past Saturday AFT-NH held its Biennial Constitutional Convention at the NH Audubon Society in Concord. With 52 delegates, alternates and guest in attendance we heard from AFT National Secretary-Treasurer Lorretta Johnson. She stressed: “Politicians, corporate interests, and so-called reformers have launched an attack on public education, public services, AND our ability to collectively bargain.” Continuing, she reminded delegates that “We need to unite our communities around our brothers and sisters while also making sure that the other side cannot divide and vilify us!”

We also heard from Dave Lang, President of the NH Professional Fighters, who reviewed the current retirement law suits moving their way through the courts and updated the convention on the Local Government Center and the ruling against them. Joe Casey Business Manager of IBEW introduced the Apprenticeship program they have in Concord to train individuals to become Electricians. Lastly, we heard Mark MacKenzie, President of NH AFL-CIO, who spoke on AFT’s history in the labor movement and its powerful advocacy on behalf of teachers since 1916.

The delegates unanimously passed a resolution that “TESTING SHOULD INFORM, NOT IMPEDE, TEACHING AND LEARNING.” Since the implementation of No Child Left Behind, we’ve seen a growing fixation on high-stakes testing as a central piece of the effort to improve schools. Unfortunately, the result has been exactly the opposite. The low-level, high-stakes tests that now hang over our teachers and students—and their extreme misuse as a result of ideologically and politically driven education policy—have seriously damaged our public education system. AFT-NH believes that Learning Is More Than a Test Score and delegates were unanimous in supporting this resolution. To read the full resolution click here.

AFT-NH Officers

AFT-NH held elections for its Executive Board as well, we are excited to announce that Laura Hainey was elected for President, Robert Sherman for Vice President, Dora Hill for Treasurer, Mark King for Secretary and Ellen Fioretti for At-Large. We are ready to move AFT-NH forward for we are dedicated professionals serving NH individuals and families through collaboration with others, striving to advance NH communities and improve the workplace with integrity and commitment.

“AFT-NH is the State Affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers. The AFT has over one million members with nearly 4,000 members here in New Hampshire.   These members are teachers, school support staff, police, higher education faculty and town employees. AFT-NH is a member of the New Hampshire AFL-CIO which represents over 40,000 working men and women.”

4-7-13 A Legislative Update From AFT-NH President Laura Hainey

  By New Hampshire Labor News | April 7, 2013 - 3:38 pm | , ,
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aft sqaure

STATE BUDGET

We have made it to “crossover,” when bills from one legislative chamber must pass to the other chamber.  This now means both the House and Senate have till the end of June to finish up business. This week the House completed work on their version of the upcoming State budget. They worked with Governor Hassan’s proposed State budget, but did make a few changes to it.  The biggest is the House did not put gaming revenues into the budget but did increase the gas tax and cigarette tax. AFT-NH is happy to report that the House had the following in its budget:

  • Fully funds existing education funding—$1.9 billion over the biennium
  • Fully funds projection for approved Charter school—there is no new money for new charter schools.
  • Increases catastrophic  aid (special education) $2 million over current.
  • School building aid of $88 million –funds current approved projects.
  • Increase tuition/transportation $1 million over current level.
  • Restores $9.5 million to total fund “children in need of services.”
  • Repeals the education tax credit program.

There has been a lot of talk about funding charter schools but if public schools have to live within a budgeted amount then so should charter schools. They should not be given an endless pool of money.  WE DON’T HAVE IT, SO WHY SHOULD THEY?  

To read more on the House budget click here.

AFT-NH will continue to monitor legislative activity as the Senate begins their work on the State budget.

OTHER HAPPENINGS

The Senate Health, Education & Human Services Committee will be making recommendations Tuesday, April 9th on HB 142: relative to teacher evaluation systems. We have asked the Committee to keep this bill as is.  We especially do not want the Committee to follow the recommendation from the School Board Association, which wants to delete “support system” and want to be the only ones to adopt the system—thus leaving out the voice of the teachers.

As we have said many times, the best evaluation system is devised when each district works with all stakeholders as they develop, implement and modify an evaluation system which will meet the needs of the children of the community and is fair to our teachers. When something is imposed it is usually not well-received.

The Committee will also be making a recommendation on HB 370 repealing the education tax credit program. AFT-NH asks that the committee make the recommendation of ought to pass for the following reasons:

  • This program is unconstitutional. New Hampshire’s Constitution is clear—state money shall not be used to fund religious instruction (“no person shall ever be compelled to pay towards the support of the schools of any sect or denomination.”– Article 6, NH Constitution).
  • There is also much to be concerned about regarding the group that will be overseeing this program.
  • There is no oversight and the only accountability is a parent survey.
  • New Hampshire cannot afford to divert scarce resources to private and religious schools as well as home-schoolers.
  • This is just bad policy.

If you have any questions or concerns please email me at lhainey@aft-nh.org

In Solidarity,
Laura Hainey
AFT-NH President

UPCOMING HEARINGS FOR NEXT WEEK
Note the ones in red are priority bills for AFT-NH


MONDAY, APRIL 8

FINANCE, Room 103, SH
10:00 a.m. House Finance Division Chairs’ presentation on Budget to Senate Finance Committee.

1:00 p.m. Office of Legislative Budget Assistant presents Budget passed by the House to Senate Finance Committee.

TUESDAY, APRIL 9

HEALTH, EDUCATION AND HUMAN SERVICES, Room 103, LOB
EXECUTIVE SESSION MAY FOLLOW
10:15 a.m. HB 142 –teacher evaluations and support system,
HB 370 repeal of the education tax credits.

MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY GOVERNMENT, Room 301, LOB
10:15 a.m. SB 2, relative to the calculation of the local tax cap.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND ADMINISTRATION, Room 100, SH
9:20 a.m. HB 364, relative to notice required concerning employment of a retired member of the New Hampshire retirement system of the limitations on part-time employment.

9:40 a.m. HB 591, relative to an abusive work environment and the health and safety of public employees.
EXECUTIVE SESSION MAY FOLLOW

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND ADMINISTRATION, Room 306, LOB
2:00 p.m. SB 132-FN, establishing a committee to study police special details.

MONDAY, APRIL 15

STATE RETIREE HEALTH PLAN COMMISSION (RSA 100-A:56), Room 302, LOB
1:00 p.m. Organizational meeting.