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Democratic Education Committee Members: No Confidence in Commissioner Frank Edelblut
CONCORD, NH — In a letter signed by all Democratic members of the Education committees in the State House and Senate, State Representatives and Senators alike expressed their total loss of confidence in the ability of Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut to lead the Department of Education following his submission of a letter attacking New Hampshire teachers over the weekend.
This comes after Democratic leaders of the New Hampshire State House and Senate released their own letter stating a total loss of confidence in New Hampshire Commissioner of Education, Frank Edelblut, and his Department of Education.
As members of the Legislative Education Committees in the New Hampshire State House and Senate, our work is devoted to protecting and preserving the schools of New Hampshire and ensuring their continued success and improvement. It was our understanding that the goal was shared by Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut.
But after reading a letter written by the Commissioner published over the weekend, where he used a string of conservative buzzwords in an attempt to attack teachers in our communities and make them the object of suspicion and mistrust, we feel an important line has been broken by this Commissioner.
As a result, we no longer have confidence in this Education Commissioner and his ability to lead the Department of Education.
New Hampshire schools have traditionally been some of the best in the country, but under Commissioner Edelblut’s leadership, they have become unstable laboratories for experiments in conservative policy with no basis in reality.
Between politically charged bans on what can be taught in classrooms, an out-of-control voucher program, and legislation designed to drain money from high-performing classrooms, there are real challenges facing New Hampshire schools. But rather than deal with reality, Commissioner Edelblut has made it his mission to make teachers an election-year scapegoat for his own failures.
We call on Governor Sununu to appoint a qualified Education Commissioner who has the education of New Hampshire’s children as their primary objective, and not political self glorification.
The Undersigned,
Representative Mel Myler
Representative Dave Luneau
Representative Patty Cornell
Representative Marjorie Porter
Representative Linda Tanner
Representative Art Ellison
Representative Steve Woodcock
Representative Muriel Hall
Representative Sue Mullen
Senator Jay Kahn
Senator Suzanne Prentiss
Background:
Concord Monitor: Education Commissioner says ‘activist educators’ are betraying trust and families’ values
InDepthNH: Education Commissioner Edelblut Under Fire For Speech at ‘Fringe’ Group Meeting
Valley News: Education Chief Edelblut Used Position to Help Croydon Board Member’s Husband
NHPR: At conservative forum, Education Commissioner Edelblut lends support to parents fighting masks, other school policies
Granite State Progress: Governor Sununu’s Handpicked Education Commissioner Still Engaging in Partisan Politics, Keynote Speaker at Meeting to “Further the Right’s Agenda Within the State”
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