Livingston: Alternative education reducing dropout rate
The New Hampshire Department of Education’s 2 0 1 3-2 0 1 4 high school dropout statistics show the Manchester School District’s dropout rate fell from 4. 2 2 % annually to 2 . 3 4 %. The statewide dropout rate decreased from 1 . 2 9 % to 1. 0 5 %. Manchester’s four-year dropout rate decreased from 1 5. 8 4 % to 9. 0 5 %, while the four-year state average dropped from 5. 0 6 % to 4. 1 3 %.
Two hundred eleven students left Manchester schools during the 2012-13 academic year and 114 students left during the 2013-14 school year. Cutting the number nearly in half was accomplished through a concentrated effort in personalizing education programs for students who encountered obstacles to attending school regularly or preparing for it successfully, according to a statement released by the district.
Superintendent Debra Livingston said quote “Having the flexibility to provide instruction for students who don’t fit into the traditional school model is a very powerful and, as we see, successful approach.” She also credited the work of guidance and administrative staff. We’ve published the district’s entire press release on the matter at Girard at Large dot com and linked to it from this new read.
O’Brien: Will not primary Ayotte
Former New Hampshire House Speaker Bill O’Brien, currently a Republican state rep. from Mont Vernon, issued a statement over the weekend saying he will not primary incumbent Senator Kelly Ayotte in the upcoming two thousand sixteen election. O’Brien issued the statement in light of a draft movement launched on social media to get him to run for the position. Though he said he will not be a candidate, his statement had to leave blisters on Ayotte, comparing her to the late Chris Farley’s “Air Quote Guy” character on Saturday Night Live.
Wrote O’Brien in his statement, quote: “New Hampshire Republicans deserve an alternative to Kelly Ayotte.
“We deserve a candidate of character who does not just profess conservative convictions, but also who will not run from them when in office.
Ayotte: Thunder on the Right?
“We deserve a candidate who will not spend her years in office trying to please Liberals and RINOs thinking that she has Constitutional Republicans and Libertarians sewed up because they have no where else to go.
“We deserve a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2016 who does not make us think about air quotes every time she says she is a conservative.
“I hope we find that candidate, but that candidate will not be me. I am honored by those who think I should run, but I will not. I have made commitments that I must keep and there are obstacles that are insurmountable.”
O’Brien urged those who would draft him to continue to look for quote “someone of character and conservative convictions to run against Ayotte. As with many of you who look upon being a Republican as a choice of principles and not as a social construct or a career move, I will be supporting that candidate in the September 2016 Republican primary for U.S. Senate.” Ouch…
News from our own backyard continues after this.
Guinta: Saving horses
First District Congressman Frank Guinta, Republican from Manchester, joined Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, Democrat from Illinois, to introduce the bipartisan SAFE Act – Safeguard American Food Exports Act – of 2015 to address the inhumane and dangerous process of transporting horses outside of the United States for human consumption. The issue of horse slaughter was brought to Congressman Guinta’s attention in the 112th Congress when twelve -year-old Declan Gregg, an advocate against horse slaughter and constituent of the district, met with him to raise awareness of the issue and urge a change to protect American horses. Looks like Guinta saddled up to ride to the rescue.
Gill Stadium: Fee controversy continues
The Committee on Administration and Information Systems of the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen will meet tonight in something of a special session. On the agenda, once again, is what to do about charging fees for the use of Gill Stadium. The committee tasked Parks and Rec. Director Don Pinard with coming up with a more fair method of assessing fees which has some paying for the use of the fields, while other’s get a free pass. This has been a difficult and thorny task which has dogged the committee for some time. A proposal to lower the fees and apply them to all users, which include recreational sports leagues, was met by a referral back to committee at the last meeting of the board.
