By issuing her second veto since taking office, New Hampshire Governor Kelly A. Ayotte rejected a bill this week that would have allowed local school districts to adopt partisan elections.
Proponents had said the legislation, House Bill 356, would drive turnout in lower-profile races and help voters better understand their local candidates, but Ayotte took the side of opponents who warned HB 356 would sow discord without solving any actual problem.
“Local school board elections are run properly and in a nonpartisan manner, and there is no need to fix a system that is not broken,” Ayotte wrote in her veto message. “Making these local elections into partisan fights will create unnecessary division between Granite Staters.”
This is the second time that Ayotte, a Republican, has vetoed legislation backed by members of her own party, who hold a comfortable majority in the 400-seat House and a supermajority in the 24-seat Senate. (The first time was last month, when she insisted that transportation services remain mandatory for half-day kindergarten.)
Ayotte vetoed HB 356 on Monday, according to an entry added Tuesday to the legislative docket. Her office did not immediately announce the veto publicly, though her spokespeople responded promptly Tuesday to questions about her decision.
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The bill’s prime sponsor, Republican Representative Robert Wherry of Hudson, did not respond to a request for comment.
Ayotte also signed a separate piece of legislation, House Bill 90, into law on Monday, to allow part-time teachers to work up to 20 hours per week without holding a credential issued by the state board of education.
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The legislation stipulates that such teachers must pass a criminal background check, have expertise or “significant professional experience” in the subject they teach, and be employed or contracted as a full-time or adjunct faculty member in the state’s university system or community college system.
Megan Tuttle, president of the National Education Association in New Hampshire, said HB 90 could negatively impact the education that students receive.
“For school districts with fewer resources, this law could incentivize administrators to hire uncertified and untrained temporary fill-in educators rather than licensed teachers who are invested in the school community and their students,” she said.
Ayotte said HB 90 will allow college and university instructors to teach high schoolers, not only for dual and concurrent enrollment programs but also for career and technical education.
“By signing this into law, we’re expanding pathways for students to receive a best-in-class education and building the workforce of tomorrow in our state,” she said.
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Steven Porter can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @reporterporter.