Jeanne Shaheen on Education Former Democratic Governor (NH); candidate for Senate 2002

Must resolve permanent school funding 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.

Standards for teachers; kindergarten for kids

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.

Improve and invest in public schools.

Principles of the Democratic Governors Association:

IMPROVING PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND INVESTING IN OUR YOUNGEST CHILDREN

Democratic Governors are leading the way with highly-trained teachers, strong standards and accountability, increased funding to repair and modernize public school facilities, access to technology and computers, and more discipline and safety in the classrooms. Democratic Governors believe the most important aspect to insure a child’s education is to have the best possible teachers in the classroom. They believe that we must value teachers as professionals, encourage their development to be the best teachers they can be for our children and compensate them accordingly. Democratic Governors favor greater parental choice, but oppose measures that weaken public schools diverting taxpayer dollars to private schools with no accountability for results. Democratic Governors around the country are also forming innovative public-private partnerships to create programs to provide early childhood education, nutrition and health care services to ensure that our children have the best possible start in life.