Concord, NH- NH House Speaker Sherman Packard (R-Londonderry) and House Majority Leader Jason Osborne (R-Auburn) released the following joint statement in response to the NH House holding the line on the Democrats’ assault on the popular Education Freedom Account program.
Speaker Sherman Packard:
“Education Freedom Accounts changed the game and put children ahead of systems, and for the first time, NH families were given a choice. Today, the Legislature stood strong and voted to continue the Education Freedom Account program that so far has given more than 1,800 students a chance to excel.”
“One of the important things we have learned from this pandemic is that education is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Many of our students were struggling to keep up, and as an unintended consequence, many were left to struggle by themselves. We must work together and continue to put families first above programs that might otherwise inhibit their ability to learn in the way that best suits them.”
Majority Leader Jason Osborne:
“House Democrats made every effort to hurt the wildly successful EFA program. They figured if they couldn’t outright repeal the program, they would attempt the ‘death by 1000 cuts’ approach. I’m proud to say the House did not fall for these tactics. The program just launched, and it already has over 1,800 students taking advantage of alternate education opportunities. We do not want to be responsible for kicking those students out of their current learning experience.”
“The fear mongering that we have heard from the other side claims that these EFAs will raise property taxes. That is false. The average cost of a student in New Hampshire is about $19,500, and an Education Freedom Account is about $4,000. This program would actually cost taxpayers less. Providing families and students with more education choice is not destructive to the public schools, in fact for a vast majority of students, their public school is helping them thrive.”
We have said time and time again, education is not one-size-fits-all, and we will not stand for any student struggling within a system that causes them any negative outcome. I would think we should all agree that the real goal is having each child in our state succeed in their studies, regardless of how or where they are educated. Each student in our state deserves to meet their potential, and House Republicans will support anything to help students succeed.”