InDepthNH.org (https://indepthnh.org/series/distant-dome/page/2/)
Garry Rayno
While Texas Gov. Greg Abbott may have a lot of support from Texans in his attempt to start a civil war over immigrants at his border with Mexico, he has yet to convince his Republican controlled Legislature of the value of an education voucher program.
The Democratic National Committee saw to it that the Democratic side of the ballot was in their words “meaningless” because no delegates were at stake as New Hampshire thumbed its nose at its attempt to change the running order making South Carolina the leadoff primary and New Hampshire second fiddle along with Nevada.
The state’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for fiscal year 2023 was released last week showing the state had continued its three-year run of good times since the COVID pandemic hit the state.
If you transported a typical New Hampshire resident from the turn of the century into a Legislative committee hearing today, that person would not think it was in the same state.
The near sacred process of choosing who will be running for what was once considered to be the leader of the free world is about to commence. But this year’s presidential run for the roses feels different than past races.
Gone are the Kumbaya days of the bipartisan budget deal and work on expanding housing and day care services, two of the state’s biggest needs, if New Hampshire is to be economically viable.
But the fairly new Education Freedom Account program approved three years ago in the state’s two-year budget package has no limit on what is spent from the state’s Education Trust Fund. Sort of like Santa Clause this time of year.
It may be mid-December with the days sprinting toward the 25th, but it does not feel like a festive season for many reasons.
From equitable education funding to extreme partisan gerrymandering, from education vouchers to voting rights, from constitutional protections to the date of the New Hampshire Presidential Primary, and from potential mass shootings to illegal legislative voting, the state dealt with all of this in one form or another during the 30 days of November.
The long battle over equitable education funding does not end with the two decisions released last week.
Rockingham County Superior Court Judge David Ruoff ruled the state needs to pay a higher percentage of public education costs and its methodology for administering the statewide property tax makes it unconstitutional.