Garry Rayno
Op-Ed
Distant Dome: Rural NH Students Short-Changed Again
The program in its fourth year has grown from 1,635 students its first year to 5,321 students this school year, an increase in four years of 225 percent.
Feature
Distant Dome: Christmas Comes for Some in New Hampshire
New Hampshire lawmakers have decreed that most of the “gifts” from the state do not go to the needy, but to those on the other end of the economic spectrum.
Environment & Science
Distant Dome: State Revenue Shortfall Bodes Ill for State Budget
The early turmoil in the Republican House caucus over the Majority Leader’s position does not bode well for what lies ahead for the GOP majority in the upcoming session.
Education
Distant Dome: Two Weeks of Education Funding Legal Wrangling Ahead
The latest round for education funding lawsuits enters the judicial ring this week in Rockingham County Superior Court and will be argued over the next two weeks.
Feature
Good and Bad News Await the Next Governor and Legislature
Whoever wins the governor’s race and controls the House — the Senate is off limits for Democrats thanks to gerrymandering — will face a daunting task in a state government spoiled by the lure of easy federal money intended to blunt the worst fiscal impacts of the COVID pandemic.
Business & Economy
Legislative Committee Puts Off Vote on New Education Rules
The Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules delayed taking action on new rules governing the minimum standards for public schools until its November meeting.
Feature
Distant Dome: Revisiting Claremont Education Decisions Comes at Your Peril
The arguments presented in the attorney general’s, Bradley’s and the 31 Republicans’ briefs urge the Supreme Court to at least review the two original Claremont education decisions and in the case of the lawmakers to overturn those decisions.
Business & Economy
States, Including New Hampshire Face Declining Revenues
The federal dollars that help prevent a debilitating recession fueled state revenues, but now more than half of the states — including New Hampshire — are experiencing lower revenues than the year before.
Feature
Report on Qualifying EFA Families Shows Errors in a Quarter of Applications
While lawmakers await a performance audit of the Education Freedom Account program by the Legislative Budget Assistant expected later this year, a Department of Education compliance report done last fall, but released last month found enough issues to require the program’s administrator to reverify all participants’ applications for the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years.
Education
Dem Lawmaker Confronts Edelblut on Proposed Minimum Standard Changes
Draft changes to minimum standards for public schools, approved unanimously by the State Board of Education last week, were the subject of a legislative oversight meeting Thursday with a Democrat tangling with the Education Commissioner for two hours on whether they water down education in New Hampshire.