Colin Butler

My name is Colin Butler. I am a father of two children currently enrolled in the public school system and I am writing to strongly urge you to oppose HB 1358. This bill seeks to establish a commission to study transitioning all public schools in New Hampshire to public charter schools. As a parent, I find the very concept of this study to be a threat to the foundation of our communities. Public schools are a public good. They are designed to serve every child who walks through their doors, and they are governed by locally elected school boards that are directly accountable to the taxpayers and parents in those specific towns. I am particularly concerned about the portion of this bill that would lower the threshold for converting an existing public school into a charter school. Moving from a two-thirds majority requirement to a simple majority for such a massive, permanent change is dangerous. Decisions that fundamentally alter the structure of a local school should require broad, overwhelming community support, not a narrow majority. Our public schools need our support and our investment, not a state-led effort to study their replacement. I believe this bill creates unnecessary division and undermines the stability of the education my children receive every day. Please vote Inexpedient to Legislate on HB 1358. Thank you for your time and your service to our families. Sincerely, Colin Butler