It was disturbing to read that declines in student test scores in some school districts were particularly pronounced among low income, special needs and minority students. (Monitor, 10/30.) Also disturbing was the response of our Commissioner of Education, who never misses an opportunity to denigrate public schools and divert money from them to private alternatives. He said that students with lagging test scores “don’t access the structured environment, in the way we’ve designed it, well.” His solution: “Get them educational opportunities outside school, outside the instructional model we have.”
As always, Commissioner Edelblut turns a blind eye to the fact that even the best instructional model can’t succeed without adequate resources. Our school funding system relies primarily on property taxes and it’s no coincidence that districts where test score disparities are particularly severe tend to be in communities that are “property poor” and/or economically disadvantaged. These districts lack the tax base needed to pay for the kinds of opportunities their wealthier neighbors can offer. It’s unfortunate that Commissioner Edelblut doesn’t use his platform to support and strengthen our public schools. If he truly wanted all New Hampshire students to have access to an excellent education, he’d advocate for a more equitable education funding system, one that offers adequately funded public schools to all children, regardless of zip code.
Mary Wilke
Concord