March is maple season and mud season. Equally challenging are March elections and annual meetings in New Hampshire communities. Truly, every vote counts. As a freshman New Hampshire state representative for Sullivan District 8, I see daily in my work on house education committee tied and very close votes. Full house sessions have already had several tie votes. Rochester, N.H.’s tied race for state representative was decided in a special election recently, making the House 201 Republicans and 198 Democrats. Just one more person voting can, more often than you might expect, determine the outcome.

You might say, “Why does it matter?” To quote my maternal grandmother, Mabelle Merritt (1895-2000), “I know what it is to not have the privilege of voting. I will never miss the opportunity.” Gram was 25 when the 19th amendment gave women the right to vote. She eventually became a school board member. Voting is our voice — to say whom we trust to represent our best interests. Whether you are concerned about taxes (who isn’t?), quality of schools, road maintenance, zoning regulations, whatever you believe should or should not happen in local municipal and school governance, now is the time to speak with your vote.

Last spring, the Croydon school budget was reduced 53% by a mere six-vote margin. As you likely know, after six weeks of community engagement and campaigning in this town of less than 800 people, the original full budget was restored by a vote of 377-2. Joy and relief were quickly followed by decisions to continue the nonpartisan advocacy group We Stand Up For Croydon to increase informed participation in town and school governance. I am proud of our ongoing work and grateful to those who continue to give up personal time to benefit the community.

Please attend the candidates forum at 11 a.m. March 11 at town hall.

Recently, the Croydon public budget hearing for the upcoming academic year was well-attended. The final question to the School Board — “Will you support the budget you have just presented when it comes up for voting on March 18?” — received an inconclusive, vague response from the current board chair. The town risks another motion from the floor to drastically alter school funding when we meet on March 18. It is crucial to show up and vote for maintaining adequate funding for education provided by licensed, educated teachers who care deeply about our students. The proposed budget is thoughtful and lean.

I am honored to be a Sullivan District 8 state representative working hard on the house education committee. While there are many bills to improve state funding of education to local communities, there are equally many bills to dismantle public education funding. For now, local control is the primary source of school funding — so your vote really counts. Numerous bills seek to expand eligibility and funding for the voucher (Education Freedom Accounts) program that was never debated on the house floor as it was attached to the 2020 budget bill. Whatever your beliefs and values, voting is your opportunity to have them represented.

Funding is certainly not the only education topic at the Statehouse. Bills that address discrimination in schools, consider whether to require bathrooms to be only same sex, increase services for students with dyslexia, provide access to religious education during school hours, fund dual enrollment for high school students at community colleges, control what books are available to students, increase access to school meals and so much more are being vigorously debated.

I urge all to learn from the Croydon experience. Do not assume others will protect what you value. I attended the recent deliberative session in Claremont for the school budget — while the audience was clearly appreciative of teachers and schools, it is also apparent that approving the budget to include funding for a teacher contract that aims to improve teacher retention is not certain. Claremont has a long history of being a community where new educators gain experience then move on to school districts that pay substantially more. This has significant adverse effects on education. Please vote on March 14 to accept the proposed budget.

Every vote counts in every town!

Hope Damon is a recently retired dietitian and diabetes educator. She is now New Hampshire state representative for Sullivan District 8, serving Acworth, Langdon, Lempster, Goshen, Washington, Springfield, Sunapee, Claremont and her hometown of Croydon. Reach out to her at Hope.Damon@leg.state.nh.us.

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