Littlefield: Apparently has reading comprehension difficulties
It’s looking like the Hooksett School Board might end up owing a lot of people a chunk of change in a dispute over how much tuition it was supposed to pay for students who did not attend Manchester high schools. Parents, including Kim Reagan who sent her children to Bow High under school board Policy J C B, have come forward to say the board owes them money because administrators failed to pay the total base tuition charged by Manchester to the schools they chose to send their kids. Superintendent Charles “Chucky the Super” Littlefield has opposed the parents, arguing that the town is only obligated to pay the estimated tuition rate assessed by Manchester each fall and is not obligated to pay the actual per pupil tuition cost which is adjusted in the spring after all the paperwork is filed with the state. However, at Tuesday’s meeting of the school board, Reagan came forward with a copy of the two thousand three tuition agreement with Manchester showing the definition of base tuition the town pays as covering all costs of operations, except transportation and capital costs. Policy J C B states the board agrees to pay the non-Manchester student’s full tuition quote “at a rate not to exceed the base rate charged by the Manchester School District” end quote. My ever humble suggestion to the Hooksett School Board is this: Save the legal fees and pay what you owe; somebody who’s read your own documents has got you dead to rights.
Speaking of dead to rights, there’s an agenda item entitled “Middle School Survey Results” for Monday night’s meeting of the Bedford School Board. Hmmm, wonder what that’s all about.
Standards take direct hit
There has been a major development in the war over Common Core. Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin signed legislation yesterday that removed the national standards entirely from the state, restored its previous standards and established a two year window to develop new ones. This is noteworthy because Fallin is Chair of the National Governors Association, the group everybody points to as an originator of the standards and uses to justify the claim that they’re quote unquote “state led.” Well, according to Fallin they aren’t state led anymore. In signing the bill, Fallin said quote: “Unfortunately, federal overreach has tainted Common Core. President Obama and Washington bureaucrats have usurped Common Core in an attempt to influence state education standards. The results are predictable. What should have been a bipartisan policy is now widely regarded as the president’s plan to establish federal control of curricula, testing and teaching strategies. We cannot ignore the widespread concern of citizens, parents, educators and legislators who have expressed fear that adopting Common Core gives up local control of Oklahoma’s public schools. The words ‘Common Core’ in Oklahoma are now so divisive that they have become a distraction that interferes with our mission of providing the best education possible for our children. If we are going to improve our standards in the classroom, now is the time to get to work.” End quote. We’ve linked to the complete story from this newscast at Girard at Large dot com. Hopefully, the powers that be in the state of New Hampshire will take note of what just happened and recognize it as another significant event in a growing trend, not an action by a state on the so called “kook fringe.”
News from our own backyard continues after this.
Beverly Archambault: Missing no more!
Last night, police in Bedford located an eighty two year old woman who went missing on June fourth. Beverly Archambault was last seen at nine forty five AM on Wednesday. She was driving her car. Bedford cops alerted the public to her disappearance yesterday and asked for help finding her. Interestingly, police in Hampstead located her last night at about a quarter to eleven. She’s since been reunited with her family and is back home safely. Given what’s happened, might I suggest everybody tune into last Wednesday interview with Judy Loubier of Seniors Helping Seniors NH for the discussion on seniors who wander? We’ve linked to it for your convenience.
Gatsas: Helping students achieve
Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas will be giving a way a brand new car tonight to a Manchester high school student at Fisher Cats Stadium. It’s the culmination of the annual Make The Grade initiative he launched shortly after becoming mayor. Make The Grade is a public-private partnership formed to recognize academic achievements of Manchester students and enhance community commitment from corporate partners. This year a junior or senior high school student who has achieved academic excellence by making the Honor Roll, High Honors, or Principals List in the first, second, or third quarter of the 2013/2014 academic year will receive a brand new Ford Focus from AutoFair. Four kids from each of the city’s three high schools will be given a key to the car tonight. The one that starts it gets to drive it away! Congrats to all the finalists on earning a key and good luck!
Hopwood
Finally this morning, I just thought I’d let you know that our good friend Jon Hopwood, whose social media pages say he’s a resident of Bedford, has filed as a candidate for state rep. in Manchester’s Ward Ten. In a post on Alderman at-Large Joe Kelly Levasseur’s Facebook page, Hopwood wrote he “filed as a Democrat, naturally” and that he expected a “dirty campaign.”
Hopwood outlines platform
If elected, Hopwood promises to propose legislation that would that would enable the public take over of privately operated dog parks, legalize out of season campaign signs being placed on private property without permission, put video cameras in public bathrooms and further restrict the people’s right to know. Oh, he also wants to install a bust of Levasseur in the Hall of Flags to honor all the important battles he’s fought on his behalf here in the Queen City. (PUBLISHER’S NOTE: After months of questioning why Hopwood lists Bedford as his home town on a variety of social media pages, he notified us today that he had changed his place of residence on those pages to Manchester.)
That’s news from our own backyard on this 70th anniversary of the Allied Landing on D-Day, Girard at Large hour ___ is next!
