659:44-a Electioneering by Public Employees. –No public employee, as defined in RSA 273-A:1, IX, shall electioneer while in the performance of his or her official duties or use government property, including, but not limited to, telephones, facsimile machines, vehicles, and computers, for electioneering. For the purposes of this section, "electioneer'' means to act in any way specifically designed to influence the vote of a voter on any question or office. Any person who violates this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
As the IB Coordinator at Bedford High School I have seen the first hand benefits of the program. It prepares student for college by providing assessments that you can't fake your way through. Whether it is a recorded conversation in a World Language or being asked to design your own science experiments these requirements develop critical thinking skills. It also allows for tremendous local control over what we teach and how we deliver the information. Our English teachers pick the books we read, our school decides what part of the world we want to study in History Class. How would limiting the number of nationally accepted honors programs that schools can choose to offer improve our national security? If you have any questions about how we deliver this program feel free to contact me at gagnonp@sau25.net
Bedford IB Coordinator electioneering on Facebook?
Greetings: I am a teacher from MVSD. It was really nice to see how many students showed up at the recent hearing. HB1403 is just the tip of the iceburg, though. It is one bill out of many in this state and beyond that challenge public education as we know it. How do you feel about expanding your passion for protecting your quality education in Bedford to advocating for quality public education for all? We could use your passion and energy! There are so many ways to get involved. Here's one possibility:http://www.saveourschoolsmarch.org/
Bedford IB World School Promotes Political Activism
Apparently, a "rigorous" IB education involves school officials posting fliers to lure students away from their studies to protest HB 1403 at the State Capital. Note the disingenuous inclusion of AP on the flier.
Controversy has increased dramatically in the state of New Hampshire since HB 1403 passed the House by a vote of 209 to 102. From local LTEs to a pro/con two hour TV feature, both sides are gearing up for Senate testimony next week. Here are some of the recent exchanges. The Concord Monitor requires a paid subscription for its articles, so unfortunately, TAIB cannot share most of what has been written on that site.
And of course there is this parent website at http://www.mvsd-ib.org/ where they pull info from the IB website that cannot be refuted as it's from their own mouths.
MVSD Update
March 9, 2012 - Much has transpired since TAIB paid a visit to MVSD in October, 2011. The Concord Patch gave Lisa McLoughlin's op-ed front page billing. NH Republican Representatives Laurie Pettengill, Gregory Hill and Seth Cohn have worked tirelessly to introduce a bill before the Assembly which would allow New Hampshire parents the ability to "opt out" of an all IB district.
"House Bill 542, which the Legislature passed over Gov. John Lynch's veto earlier this month, allows parents to pull their child from a class if they deem the material objectionable. But objections to IB aren't about a single book or class discussion, and HB 542 requires the parents to pay for the alternative materials, Cohn said."
While the final version of the bill does not specifically name International Baccalaureate, it provides a venue for parents to object to course material.
Several LTE's and op-eds began to appear in the Concord Monitor beginning in February, leading up to the biggest public turn out for a budget hearing meeting in MVSD's history. Here are some of the op-eds and LTE's:
TAIB would have loved to have featured the terrific pic of Heidi Martin featured , but it is copyright protected. Love the looming shadow behind her!
Merrimack Valley SD Called Out on Districtwide IB Takeover
TAIB was honored to be invited to a meeting held in the Merrimack Valley High School library on October 12, 2011. The ride up from NY was delightful and upon entering the state of New Hampshire, the roads were lined with signs supporting various Republican candidates who were arriving for that night's Republican Presidential debate.
For the most part, it would appear that the parents of children actually enrolled in MVSD have been kept in the dark about what their district is planning. A quick look at the MVSD website reveals that anyone interested in "relevant documents" will be directed to a "page not found".
Right away, that tells TAIB that the district is attempting to hide information and is not being transparent. Before the meeting, TAIB prepared a packet of the following documents and THIS ARTICLE by Dr. Thomas Sowell, which are referred to in the video that follows:
We were somewhat shocked (but not entirely) to learn that the "Committee" decided to make the meeting only one hour in length and had not bothered to place the meeting on the district's website schedule of committee meetings. Other than the Republican Representatives, TAIB and my gracious hostess Jane Aitken, the only members of the audience were handpicked pro-IB staff members.
It is unfortunate we did not capture on video the one committee member claiming, "Only one person has complained to me about IB so far!" While TAIB fully expected the Delphi Technique to be employed, the faux-parliamentary procedure (in other words, rudeness and arrogance) displayed by this committee should make any open-minded parent and taxpayer's toes curl.
TAIB and NH citizen watchdogs will endeavor to increase awareness among MVSD parents about what is happening in their district. This is much too beautiful a district to allow it to waste millions of dollars and indoctrinate an entire generation of public school children.
