Letter: Do the difficult thing

The op-ed by Reps. Vose and Hill (Monitor, Feb. 27) stands the school-funding argument on its head. There is no encroachment on regulatory authority here. The NH Supreme Court was just doing its job when it ordered the state to pay for an adequate education, declaring that inequities in educational opportunity and funding were due, at least in part, to the state’s failure to cherish education. That would be cherish, as in the state’s constitutional obligation to cherish public education. What definition of cherish would these two gentlemen prefer? Using a watered-down definition of the word would not remove the problem.

The writers state: “The real supreme authority in the state, the voters, continue to elect governors and representatives who they direct to avoid passing broad-based taxes. Without such taxes, state funding of an adequate public education will be difficult, if not impossible. As a result, the legislature cannot deliver the results mandated by the court.”

By this, I have to assume these two representatives will continue to be okay with defying the court order. They will continue to be okay with extreme disparities among school districts. They will continue to be okay with excessive reliance on local property taxes to pay for our schools. And they will continue to be okay with the sacrifices and turmoil engendered by such taxes within many communities across the state.

Legislation is hard. Do the difficult thing. And explain to your voters why you are doing it.

Charles Martone

Concord