Denise Doyle: Voters should educate themselves on Amber Schaefer

To The Daily Sun,

On Nov. 3, voters in Center Harbor and New Hampton have the opportunity to turn the page and elect new representation. New Hampshire-raised Amber Schaefer is a bright healthcare professional and mom to two kids who attend our public schools. Amber cares passionately about education, our environment, the health of our communities and is ready to be a positive voice in Concord.

The Free State movement has aggressively pushed bills to redefine the “cost of an adequate education," support public funding of private schools, and overall reduce funding. Their end game for public education isn’t reform ― it is elimination. The Republican Legislature has voted with them, including our current Rep. Tom Ploszaj. NH contributes the least to public education of any U.S. state ― yes, we rank 50th and contribute just 27% to public education. Federal sources contribute 6% leaving local funding required for the remaining 67%. The fact is that 85% of students rely on public schools and that will not change. Shouldn’t the focus of our elected representatives be to support what the overwhelming majority of families rely on? That is public education.

Over the last 10 years, the Republican majority in Concord have eliminated $800,000-1.1 billion in cumulative state revenue, cutting business tax rates and eliminating the Interest and Dividends Tax. This revenue is permanently lost with no or little new revenue to compensate so we can expect the state to continue to downshift costs and for our property taxes to continue to rise to cover these costs.

I encourage all voters in Center Harbor and New Hampton to learn more about Amber at Amber4NH.com. Amber will bring a fresh mind and positive perspective to Concord, and she'll vote for accessible healthcare, quality public education, affordable housing and making NH a place for all to thrive.

Denise Doyle

Center Harbor