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 PROMO!!!!!!!!!Return to index of stories... |
Governor Lynch outlines his 2- year budget Lawmakers weigh in on the Governor's blueprint for the state. And, we'll take you to the first public forum on education adaquecy. |
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Governor John Lynch lays out his budget plan. And, the public weighs in on the issue of Education Adequacy. That's Now, On NH Outlook, where NH talks. |
| Hello/Intro Budget Return to index of stories... |
Hello, I'm Beth Carroll. Welcome to NH Outlook. We're coming to you from outside the House chamber where Governor Lynch just concluded his budget address for fiscal years 2007-2008. During his speech before a joint session of the Legislature, the Governor outlined his spending plan. We'll get reaction to Lynch’s 2-year budget in a moment, but first, some highlights of what the governor proposed. |
| Lynch Budget Return to index of stories... |
IN: 10:22:45 I am pleased to present to you today a balanced, honest and fiscally responsible budget - one that addresses our state's priorities without new taxes. This is a budget that uses taxpayer dollars wisely to meet state government's most fundamental responsibilities: caring for our most vulnerable citizens; educating our children; strengthening our economy; protecting our environment and natural resources; and ensuring the safety of our citizens. In balancing this budget, we faced significant challenges. Non-discretionary costs - costs we are obligated to fund - increased by $300 million. Benefit costs alone, including retirement costs, for state employees increased by $95 million. The state contribution toward retirement costs for local teachers, firefighters, and police officers increased by $38 million over the biennium. Costs for our retirees' health insurance increased by $19 million. To balance this budget, we made tough choices. We cut agency budget requests by $291 million. We asked agencies to justify every dollar, to be more efficient, and to direct more of their resources to areas that directly serve our citizens. Traditionally agencies have kept vacant positions on their books as a way of returning money to the general fund at the end of the year. Funding long-term vacant positions makes no sense, which is why we eliminated 321 vacant positions - most vacant more than six months, some as long as six years. We estimated revenues carefully, assuming modest economic growth. They are sound estimates, consistent with historic trends. We invested in increased advertising dollars for the Liquor Commission, Lottery and tourism promotion to increase expected revenues. And we funded auditor positions at the Department of Revenue Administration. OUT: 10:25:24 IN: 10:27:25 To encourage innovative companies to create jobs here in New Hampshire, this budget allows us to institute a research-and-development tax credit. OUT: 10:27:43 *******TIME CODE BREAK****** IN: 0;06:29 Once we have completed a definition of an adequate education, we must ensure that every community has the resources it needs to provide that education for its children. To do that, we need the flexibility to target aid - lifting up the communities that are struggling to provide a quality education. That is why I will soon present to you a constitutional amendment that allows us to target aid, affirms the state's responsibility for education, and ensures that the state cannot walk away from that responsibility. 0:07:16 I do not believe we should put in place a new school funding formula until we have defined an adequate education and passed this constitutional amendment. Nor do I believe we should simply go forward with the current law. Under the current law, some communities would see dramatic swings in the amount of aid they receive, undercutting our goals of sustainability and predictability, which should be an integral part of any education funding solution. We should not subject our communities to these major changes when we know we will put a new funding law in place by the end of the biennium. That is why this budget guarantees that for the next two years every community will receive the same amount of education aid they received this year, plus an increase of five percent. This interim measure will allow our communities to plan and will give the legislature the time necessary to develop a better and more permanent education funding solution. OUT: 0:08;27 IN: 0;09;29 Right now, nearly 20 percent of our students are dropping out before they graduate from high school. This budget invests the resources necessary to help turn these young lives around by providing real alternatives for students who don't do well in traditional classrooms. This budget provides $4 million to increase tutoring and one-on-one assistance to help at-risk students stay in school; it expands access to our career and technical educational centers; it expands our investment in night school and in apprenticeship programs. And the capital budget provides more than $13 million for renovations at the regional vocational schools in both Manchester and Exeter. In all, we will spend more than $54 million in state and federal funds this biennium on alternative programs to help keep our kids in school. This budget provides the resources to help our young people stay in school. Now we must show we have the will to help make it happen. We must increase New Hampshire's compulsory attendance age from 16 to 18 this year. OUT: 0:11:16 IN: 0:18:22 Every child in New Hampshire should have access to health insurance. Health insurance for children is relatively inexpensive, and it will save us money in the long term. We all pay when families are forced to seek more-expensive emergency room care; when preventable illnesses turn into chronic diseases; and when children aren't healthy enough to learn in school. This budget expands outreach so that more families know about our Healthy Kids Children's Health Insurance Program and can get the help they need to enroll. Children's Health Insurance is a smart investment for our state, and the right thing to do for our kids. And with this budget, over the next three years, we will be able to provide health insurance to an additional 10,000 children. OUT: 0:19;15 IN: 0:22:19 And to fund these critical health and human service programs and other services, this budget also includes a 28-cent increase in the tobacco tax. This proposal keeps the rate of our tobacco tax well below those of our neighboring states. And it also allows us to accomplish an important public health goal - deterring young people from smoking. OUT: 0:22:53 IN: 0:27:25 New Hampshire's Fish and Game Department faces financial challenges. We balanced its budget by eliminating long-term vacant staff positions - as we did at many other agencies; reducing the agency's expenses; and by instituting an auction for moose hunting permits, as our neighboring states of Maine and Vermont already do. This budget does not lay off any Fish and Game employees. It preserves conservation officer positions, even those that are currently vacant, and protects the core functions of Fish and Game. It keeps the Fish and Game fund in the black through this biennium, while we continue working on how to best serve the interests of New Hampshire's hunters and fishermen for the long-term, and on the right model to achieve that goal. OUT; 0:28:19 IN: 0;28:49 This budget commits to protecting our environment and natural resources for the future. It funds more than $32 million in environmental grants to communities to help them maintain their clean water and protect water supplies. As our state's population continues to grow, some of our most beautiful places are in danger of being lost to us forever. That is why this budget recommits to the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program with a $12 million investment over the biennium. OUT: 0;29:32 IN: 0:33:32 Working together, Democrats and Republicans, we will enact an honest and balanced budget - a budget that invests in our future and puts the needs of our people first. Thank you all. OUT: 0:33:55 |
| Intro Budget Reax Return to index of stories... |
As always budget reaction from lawmakers was swift. Outlook's Richard Ager spoke with two to get their views on the governor's blueprint. |
| Intro Ed Forum Return to index of stories... |
The governor's budget calls for keeping education aide at the same level as last year plus an increase of 5 percent. This while the Legislature seeks to solve the state's school funding problem The issue is "back" before the Legislature after the state Supreme Court ordered lawmakers to "define" education, and a way to pay for it, by June 30th of this year. Last Monday, the Governor and legislative leaders unveiled a proposed definition of an adequate education -- which includes several subjects including English, math, and science based on existing curriculum taught in grammar, middle school and high school. Now, the public has a chance to have a say on the matter as well. A legislative committee is touring the state and holding 5 forums on adequacy. The first was held last week in Nashua. Here are some of the highlights from that forum. |
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For the complete list of the education adequacy forums with dates and locations--including the ones this week-- just go to our website at: nhptv.org/outlook. There you'll also find streaming video of the entire education forum in Nashua and the Governor's budget address. That wraps up our program from the State House in Concord. Thanks for Watching NH Outlook. I'm Beth Carroll.I'll see you around NH. |
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VERSION ONE: Did you know that New Hampshire Outlook is available online on demand at nhptv.org? We've been streaming our broadcasts since the program premiered in September 2000. Whether you want to watch this show again, email it to a friend, search and watch past programs or get more information on thousands of stories and topics, you'll find it all at nhptv.org/outlook. VERSION TWO: Would you like to watch this show again? Maybe you want to email it to a friend? Are you looking for more information about our New Hampshire stories and interviews? You can do all that and more at nhptv.org/outlook. VERSION THREE: Would you like to watch this show again or email it to a friend? You can do all that and more at nhptv.org/outlook. |
| Ed Adequacy info Return to index of stories... |
For Immediate Release: Contact: Colin Manning Monday, February 12, 2005 271-2121 361-4459 Governor, Democratic and Republican Lawmakers Propose Definition for An Adequate Education CONCORD -Gov. John Lynch and a bi-partisan coalition of House and Senate lawmakers, today presented a comprehensive definition of an adequate education based on New Hampshire's existing school approval standards and curriculum frameworks. "As a State, we have a moral and constitutional responsibility for public education. We must educate all our children so they become responsible citizens and productive members of our society, and can meaningfully participate in our democracy," Gov. Lynch said. "They need broad educational opportunities to meet the varied challenges they will face in today's complex world. That is what this definition will ensure." In September, the state Supreme Court directed the legislature to define an adequate education by June 30. "This is an important opportunity for us to make clear what we believe all students need to know by the time they graduate from high school in order to succeed in today's economy," Gov. Lynch said. "We offer a definition that is simple and significant." Under the proposal, an adequate education in New Hampshire is defined as an education in grammar, middle school and high school and is based on the existing state curriculum frameworks and school approval standards. The subject matters of English/language arts and reading, mathematics, science, social studies, the arts, world languages, technology, health and physical education are included in the proposed definition. Senators Joe Foster and Bob Odell and Representatives Emma Rous and Nancy Stiles will sponsor the legislation proposing the definition. "This definition offers our children an education beyond mere competencies in reading, writing and arithmetic. It is a definition of adequacy that also offers broad exposure to the varied educational opportunities that are essential in today's world," Gov. Lynch said. The Governor, along with a bi-partisan group of legislators in the House and Senate, and officials from the state departments of Education and Justice, worked together on developing a definition. "As Chair of the House Education Committee, I applaud the efforts of everyone on this work group. We will continue to seek input from many sources on this important issue," Rep. Rous said. Rep. Stiles added, "We are proud of the product of this work group, and hope that it continues to further the discussion of defining an adequate education," "I'm proud to be a sponsor of this legislation. I think it's a very good start toward meeting our obligation to define an adequate education," Sen. Foster said. Sen. Bob Odell said, "Working on this over the past few weeks, I think we started to build a consensus that hopefully will allow us to fulfill our responsibility. Bringing people together is certainly a major step. I like the approach of building on the rules that our schools currently operate under." Tonight in Nashua, a Joint Legislative Task Force on Adequacy, involving Senate and House members, will begin holding regional public hearings on defining an adequate education. Hearings will also be held in Plymouth, Manchester, Dover and Claremont. "Today, the general court will begin a public dialogue across this state to identify and define what constitutes an adequate education for our children. It is a goal that is clearly achievable if we remain focused on the educational needs of our students," Gov. Lynch said. "I applaud this comprehensive legislative outreach effort. I welcome further discussion of this proposal and other proposals during the upcoming months." # # # Colin Manning Press Secretary Office of Gov. John Lynch 271-2121 colin.manning@nh.gov |
| Key: state politics / government Return to index of stories... |
NEW HAMPSHIRE OUTLOOK Air Date/Time: 02/18/07 HOST: Beth Carroll Length: 12:00 Now on New Hampshire Outlook -- where NH talks: Governor John Lynch lays out his budget plan. And, the public weighs in on the issue of Education Adequacy. Hello, I'm Beth Carroll. Welcome to NH Outlook. We're coming to you from outside the House chamber where Governor Lynch just concluded his budget address for fiscal years 2007-2008. During his speech before a joint session of the Legislature, the Governor outlined his spending plan. We'll get reaction to Lynch’s 2-year budget in a moment, but first, some highlights of what the governor proposed. PRODUCER/REPORTER: NAME OF PARTICIPANTS: Gov. John Lynch\ New Hampshire |
| Key: state politics / government Return to index of stories... |
NEW HAMPSHIRE OUTLOOK Air Date/Time: 02/18/07 HOST: Beth Carroll Length: 4:30 Now on New Hampshire Outlook -- where NH talks: Governor John Lynch lays out his budget plan. And, the public weighs in on the issue of Education Adequacy. Hello, I'm Beth Carroll. Welcome to NH Outlook. We're coming to you from outside the House chamber where Governor Lynch just concluded his budget address for fiscal years 2007-2008. During his speech before a joint session of the Legislature, the Governor outlined his spending plan. As always budget reaction from lawmakers was swift. Outlook's Richard Ager spoke with two state representatives -- to get their views on the governor's blueprint. PRODUCER/REPORTER: Richard Ager NAME OF PARTICIPANTS: Rep. David Hess\Deputy Republican Leader, Rep. Susan Almy\ House Ways & Means Cmte. Chair |
| Key: education Return to index of stories... |
NEW HAMPSHIRE OUTLOOK Air Date/Time: 02/18/07 HOST: Beth Carroll Length: 10:00 Now on New Hampshire Outlook -- where NH talks: Governor John Lynch lays out his budget plan. And, the public weighs in on the issue of Education Adequacy. Hello, I'm Beth Carroll. Welcome to NH Outlook. We're coming to you from outside the House chamber where Governor Lynch just concluded his budget address for fiscal years 2007-2008. Last Monday, the Governor and legislative leaders unveiled a proposed definition of an adequate education -- which covers several subjects including English, math, and science based on the existing curriculums taught in grammar, middle school and high school. Now, the public has a chance to have a say on the matter as well. A legislative committee is touring the state -- holding 5 forums to discuss the "adequacy" issue. The first was held last week in Nashua. Here are some of the highlights from that forum. PRODUCER/REPORTER: NAME OF PARTICIPANTS: Randy Benthien\Forum Moderator, Sen. Iris Estabrook\Co-chair Adequacy Task Force, Peter Morgan\Secretary, Salem School Board, Mark Johnson\Hollis Budget Committee, Nathan Greenberg\Superintendent, Londonderry Schools, Alphonse Haettenschwiller\Nashua, Cynthia Billings\Concord, Robert Hallowell\Nashua |