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By WAYNE GERSEN

It was distressing, but not surprising, to read that the New Hampshire Legislature is considering an increase in funding for Education Freedom Accounts by raising the eligibility ceiling to $150,000 per year for families of four who want to secure...

By WAYNE GERSEN

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott recently expressed frustration with the House for its reluctance to move forward with his plan to consolidate Vermont’s school districts. The governor and some legislators see consolidation as the best way to control and contain spending on public education and sees no reason to delay his recommendation to transition to a new funding formula and “a new governance structure that unlocks transformation.”

By WAYNE GERSEN

For the past several weeks, budget cuts ruthlessly implemented by the Trump Administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have dominated the national news. DOGE is overseen by billionaire Elon Musk who promised he would be able to find $2 trillion dollars in “savings” that would make the government function more efficiently.

By WAYNE GERSEN

During the pandemic, I was invited to give a presentation to the Vermont State Board of Education after proposing a plan I called “The Network Schools Model,” which is based on the assumption that the model used for schooling today — age-based cohorts, large group instruction, the agrarian calendar and a six-hour school day — is obsolete.

By WAYNE GERSEN

In 1974, when I began my administrative career as assistant principal at Darby-Colwyn High, a 750-student school outside Philadelphia, the school’s mission was limited to academics. The descriptions of courses we offered students barely filled a three-page mimeograph booklet. Special Education did not exist. Two guidance counselors provided “student services,” which consisted mostly of helping college-bound students prepare their applications. A part-time school nurse came in three mornings a week. There were two sports per season and fewer than six clubs.

By WAYNE GERSEN

Last week’s Valley News editorial asked whether Vermont is ready to overhaul its education system. Now that Gov. Phil Scott has presented his Education Transformation Proposal we have an answer — No.

By WAYNE GERSEN

For much of the 20th century, social studies textbooks proudly declared that the United States was a melting pot or a mosaic of immigrants. These books almost always included a picture of the Statue of Liberty and the words of Emma Lazarus’ poem engraved on its base: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

By WAYNE GERSEN

Lebanon officials have warned residents that a series of tax increases will be needed to retain their current services (“First in wave of tax hikes loom”; Nov. 23). Citing employee contracts, debt payments and the need to replenish the city’s...

By WAYNE GERSEN

Even though it was hardly mentioned in the campaigns that ended last Tuesday, public education was on the ballot. It lost. With the Republicans in complete control in Washington and Concord, community-based public schools serving all children may...

By WAYNE GERSEN

Last week, NHPR reporter Josh Rogers flagged four “major issues” defining the governor’s race, each of which was based on the other candidate’s shortcomings. Craig’s campaign has focused on Ayotte’s waffling on abortion rights and her lucrative...

By WAYNE GERSEN

New Hampshire’s Governorship is one of the few competitive elections in the nation. The campaigns of former GOP senator and state attorney general Kelly Ayotte and Democrat Joyce Craig, former mayor of Manchester, are flooding the airwaves and our...

By WAYNE GERSEN

Both Presidential candidates and numerous gubernatorial candidates have made “affordable housing” a hot button issue in 2024. I put “affordable housing” in quotes because the definition of “affordable housing” and who would qualify for it is unclear....

By WAYNE GERSEN

I was interested to read in Tuesday’s Valley News about how Republican legislators will help New Hampshire school districts find the money needed to provide teachers with ample pay. Ethan DeWitt’s article from the New Hampshire Bulletin describes a...

By WAYNE GERSEN

One of the prevalent catch phrases for the 2024 election is “Democracy is on the ballot” and as the election nears, it seems far from certain that democracy will prevail. After a long career in public education, I understand why voters might be...

By WAYNE GERSEN

My wife and I spent four of the past six weeks on the road in the west on two road trips that covered 3,700 miles. Our travels, which took us from Phoenix to the Pacific Northwest, helped us appreciate the vastness and emptiness of almost all of the...

By WAYNE GERSEN

As a retired public-school administrator I have tremendous empathy for Dartmouth College President Sian Beilock. Throughout my career I faced many contentious and complex decisions that I knew would be popular with some constituent groups but...

By WAYNE GERSEN

As April 15 approaches, many of us are preparing to pay our taxes. On some level, all voters realize that taxes help underwrite government services they value, that they are “the price we pay for a civilized society.” However, unlike our monthly...

By WAYNE GERSEN

Two recent Valley News’ editorials focused on what it called Vermont’s “education funding mess.” Vermont’s education funding is a mess, but a mess that is hardly unique to Vermont. It is not unlike New Hampshire’s “education funding mess” or the...

By WAYNE GERSEN

Monday’s Valley News featured two articles describing gun control legislation under consideration this year in New Hampshire. As part of the majority of voters who seek stricter gun control, I am frustrated and bewildered by the incremental approach...

By WAYNE GERSEN

Did you realize that New Hampshire is experiencing a border crisis? Neither did I, and neither did a sizable majority of my fellow New Hampshire residents. A recent survey reported in the Boston Globe, indicated that 44% of us were “not at all...