Now is the Time for a Constitutional Amendment on Education Funding

By Ovide Lamontagne

I was pleased to hear Governor Lynch's renewed support for a constitutional amendment on education funding during his final "State of the State" speech delivered today.  He is correct that an appropriately worded constitutional amendment could allow the state to target school aid to those ditricts and communities who lack the fiscal capacity to fund an adequate education while restoring local control of education in the hands of parents, local school boards and school administrators.  New Hampshire's educational enterprise has been compromised over the past 16 years by the shadow of the Claremont decisions which have distorted our once proud locally developed and controlled educational delivery system.  To have a popular Democratic Governor like Governor Lynch -- who has consistently opposed a broad-based sales or income tax -- champion a constitutional amendment along side moderate and conservative independents and Republicans would form a powerful coalition which could succeed in restoring our primary focus on educational performance rather than educational funding issues.  I commend the Governor for renewing his position in support of a constitutional amendment to address education funding and I would look forward to working with him on this common cause if we can agree on suitable language.  This is a critically important issue for our state and our children.  To learn more please visit www.Ovide2012.com.