Education Leaders Set the Record Straight on Misleading Ad about Jeanne Shaheen, Discuss Sununu's Failure to Stand up for New Ha

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 30, 2008

CONTACT:

Kate Bedingfield

603 782 4613 (o)/603 361 8036 (c)/ kbedingfield@jeanneshaheen.org

Caitlin Legacki

603 782 4613 (o)/603 361 9643 (c)/ clegacki@jeanneshaheen.org

EDUCATION LEADERS SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT ON MISLEADING AD ABOUT JEANNE SHAHEEN, DISCUSS SUNUNU'S FAILURE TO STAND UP FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE SCHOOLS

(Manchester, NH) —Today, on a conference call with reporters, a group of New Hampshire education leaders set the record straight on another misleading attack ad against Jeanne Shaheen and discussed John Sununu's failure to stand up for New Hampshire's schools.  The ad, made by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, misrepresents Jeanne Shaheen's proven record of strengthening public education.

Former New Hampshire Commissioner of Education Betty Twomey, Rochester School Board Member and former State Senator Caroline McCarley, Portsmouth School Board member and former teacher Ann Walker, Laconia School Board member and State Representative Beth Arsenault, and Kathy Fuller, chair of Franklin School Board and past president of the NH School Boards Association joined the call to address the scurrilous attacks against Shaheen.

"I have worked with a number of governors throughout my career in education, and no governor I've worked with was more committed to strengthening public schools than Jeanne Shaheen," Twomey said. "The attack ad now running is just flat out wrong on every point, but today I'm going to talk about dropout rates.  The dropout rate when Jeanne Shaheen left office was only 14 percent, and the dropout rate was reduced significantly while she was governor. It was Jeanne Shaheen who began New Hampshire's efforts to reduce the dropout rate. It was Governor Shaheen who proposed and pushed for the law that requires the state to collect and report accurate data about dropouts. Jeanne Shaheen was a great leader on education as Governor, and she'll be a great leader on education in the US Senate."

"Jeanne Shaheen was the first governor to stand up and take on the school funding issue, a problem the governors before her either ignored or made worse," Fuller said. "Governor Shaheen brought Republicans and Democrats together to make real progress on school funding – state support for local public schools increased six fold under Governor Shaheen's leadership. I can tell you that her leadership made a real difference for Franklin's property taxpayers and schools.  John Sununu, on the other hand, has voted 79 times against funding for education, including votes against higher education funding.

"He voted to implement No Child Left Behind, but then voted against fully-funding it so that teachers were left without the resources they need to perform," Fuller continued. "If we want a new direction in education policy, then we need a new Senator.   Throughout her career, Jeanne Shaheen has been a tireless advocate for New Hampshire's students and she'll take that same fight to Washington."

 "I find the whole premise of this attack ad against Jeanne Shaheen ridiculous, but I want to focus on one issue – accountability," McCarley said. "I was in the State Senate while Jeanne Shaheen was governor, and it was Jeanne Shaheen who was pushing for tough accountability measures. She brought Republicans and Democrats together to introduce legislation with tough accountability measures, and then the Republican leadership stripped the teeth out of the bill."

"For school board members and anyone who cares about New Hampshire public schools, the choice could not be more clear in the US Senate race," Arsenault said. "We know because of her record as governor and as a State Senator Jeanne Shaheen will be a strong advocate in the US Senate for public schools."

"Jeanne Shaheen was a great leader on education as Governor, and she'll be a great leader on education in the Senate," Walker said.

In August, Shaheen outlined a comprehensive proposal to strengthen our public schools and make sure every child has access to quality education.

NRSC TV AD FACT CHECK

CLAIM

THE FACTS

"Narrator: Lets look at the facts.  Like on education.  Under Jeanne Shaheen, our high school dropout rate climbed to over 25%."

According to the New Hampshire Department of Education, the dropout rate was 14.4% when Shaheen left office, having fallen by 26.5% under her leadership.

2000-01 dropout rate in NH was 19.6%

2001-02 dropout rate in NH was 15.1%

2002-03 dropout rate in NH was 14.4%

            [New Hampshire Department of                 Education]

"Shaheen vetoed school accountability legislation."

Shaheen Proposed Real School Accountability Plan that Was Blocked by Republican Legislature.  Foster's Daily Democrat reported in April 2001 that, "the House Education Committee voted Monday against accountability provisions in the governor's school funding plan… Under the school accountability provision, if a school was failing for three consecutive years, the state could step in to draft an action plan and provide assistance on how that school could improve its performance.  A special school improvement fund would be created to help failing schools."  [Foster's Daily Democrat, 4/10/01]

Shaheen Vetoed Legislation that Gave No "True Accountability" to Schools.  According to the Foster's Daily Democrat: "The provisions of the bill just don't reach far enough to accomplish any sense of true accountability in the schools of New Hampshire."  [Foster's Daily Democrat Editorial, 7/3/01]

"She failed to solve the school funding crisis."

Shaheen Took On School Funding Issue Ignored By Republican Predecessors.  In an editorial published in October 2002, the Portsmouth Herald wrote: "It was because of decisions by Republican governors like Steve Merrill, Judd Gregg and even John Sununu - the father of Shaheen's opponent this year - that education funding has become an issue. So those criticisms are misplaced and misleading as well."  [Portsmouth Herald Editorial, 10/27/02]

Governor Shaheen brought Republicans and Democrats together to enact a school funding law, increased state support for local public schools six fold and lowered property taxes for most families while keeping New Hampshire's tax burden the lowest in the nation.

New Hampshire Was 50th in Country in State Tax Burden.  According to the Tax Foundation, in 1997-2002 New Hampshire was 50th in the Country in the percentage of personal income paid in state taxes. [U.S. Federation of Tax Administrators, 1997-2002 State Revenues per Capita & Percentage of Personal Income]

"Education Week gave the state a D for improving teacher quality during Shaheen's administration."

Shaheen created the first testing program to ensure that new teachers had the skills and knowledge they need to best educate our children.  [Board of Education Rule 513.01]

Education Week: Shaheen's Accountability Proposals Gutted By Legislature.  In 1999, Education Week reported that, "Gov. Jeanne Shaheen's efforts to develop a stringent accountability system for the state's schools were largely gutted last year by the legislature."  [Education Week Magazine, Quality Counts '99 New Hampshire State Report Card; http://rc-archive.edweek.org/sreports/qc99/states/grades/nh-rc.htm]

Shaheen strengthened the teacher recertification process.  She increased the number of hours of professional development work a veteran teacher needs to maintain their certification and toughened the standards for professional development activities.  [Chaptered Law 174, 1998; Chaptered Law 87, 2001; Board of Education Rules 512.03-05]