Bipartisan Concern Over Loss Of Educational TRIO Program For Low-Income Youth

By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH

MANCHESTER, NH — Gov. Kelly Ayotte said she will reach out to federal officials to express concern about a notice she received Tuesday of the non-continuation for the TRIO program, which helps 1,200 poor middle- and high-school students from New Hampshire achieve their educational goals and is administered at UNH.

Speaking with the press after an Executive Council meeting Wednesday, which was held at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at St. Anselm College, Ayotte said she will be reaching out to U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and will advocate for a reversal of the reductions.

During the meeting, Executive Councilor Karen Liot Hill, D-Lebanon, questioned Commissioner of Education Caitlin Davis about the matter and asked the governor to reach out to the Trump Administration's U.S. Department of Education.

Liot Hill said these students will lose out on vital services and the federal delegation is supportive of an effort to get the continuation. Davis said she was aware of the issue but that information came directly to the University System of New Hampshire.

Ayotte said Davis will also be reaching out separately through her contacts in other states to see what actions New Hampshire can take.

This impacts middle and high school students served by UNH TRIO Educational Talent Search across New Hampshire (see full list of schools served here: https://www.unh.edu/ets/about/ets-staff-contact-information) which will lose services if the program is not reinstated.

The Department’s non-continuation notice claims New Hampshire's grant was cancelled due to this language:

"...Coordinate with target school departments and faculty and community organizations for assistance in proactively identifying and recruiting students of color and non-Caucasians."

That language is not in the state grant proposal or plan of operations, she said.

In an email to Liot Hill from Adam Howard, associate director of New Hampshire Educational Talent Search at the University of New Hampshire (who said he wrote to her as a private citizen and concerned constituent that, "It appears only on our required General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) Section 427 form, where applicants are asked to explain how they will remove barriers to access (including race/color).

"In other words, we are being cancelled for answering a question they require us to answer, and for language taken out of context from a required form — not our program plan."

STATE EMPLOYEE HEALTH CARE CONTRACT FOR NEXT FOUR YEARS PULLED BY GOVERNOR

The Council was asked to approve a $27.4 million, four-year contract with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield to cover 27,000 state employees and eligible dependents.

Ayotte said she was going to pull the item from the agenda "for a minute" because she has some questions. At the press conference, she said, "I need some further information," as it relates to healthcare rates.

"I know that people are concerned about the higher costs and I want to make sure that any insurance companies that do business in our state that they are consumer friendly and that they are accountable," Ayotte said.

Ayotte noted that the current contract with Anthem expires on Dec. 31, 2025, and there is still time to get her questions answered.

GRANT TO HELP STATE WITH NEW CIVICS HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION REQUIREMENT

New Hampshire now has a requirement to graduate from high school: a civics test.

On Wednesday, the Executive Council passed a $809,000 contract to construct, administer and report out the digital U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services test for the state.

State Education Commissioner Caitlin Davis confirmed that this will be a test that every student must pass for graduation and they can take the test multiple times if they initially fail.

A fact sheet on the matter is here https://www.education.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt326/files/inline-documents/sonh/civics-competency-assessment-ta.pdf.

In 2023, former Gov. Chris Sununu signed into law a bill that created the requirement. It has 128 questions and 90 questions or 70 percent must be correct to graduate.

Funding for the contract with Cambium Assessment Inc. of Arlington, Va., the successful of two bidders is through 2029.

There are 13 states that have passed mandatory civics tests for graduation. In addition to New Hampshire they are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Missouri, Nevada, North Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.

There are 57 questions about principles of American democracy, system of government, and rights and responsibilities; 30 questions covering topics from the colonial period to the past few decades and 13 questions about geography, holidays, and national symbols.

Questions include what are the two longest rivers in the country, what states border Canada, why does the flag have 50 stars and when do we celebrate Independence Day? Also what do we call the first 10 amendments of the Constitution?

Ayotte said as a parent, she is extremely pleased that the state has this graduation requirement.

JUDICIAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE DATA CONTRACT CONFIRMED

A Wyoming firm that had been selected to do an in-depth data analysis regarding domestic violence cases in the state courts, but due to a lack of staffing at the courts and a time constraint to use the federal ARPA money, was unable to do the contract is now back, because of efforts to revive it by Attorney General John Formella.

Executive Councilor Janet Stevens, R-Rye, criticized the court system for dropping the ball on the grant at the July 30 Executive Council meeting in Pittsburg in the wake of a Berlin murder-suicide.

On Wednesday the Council approved the $130,000 grant.

Stevens, said in July the state’s law enforcement community and the Judicial Branch are not doing enough to help save domestic violence victims from further harm, like Sandra Marisol Fuentes Huaracha, 25, of Berlin, who was killed by her husband in July while he was out on $5,000 bail on felony charges alleging he assaulted and raped her and stole her money.

COMMENDATIONS

The Executive Council honored Crispin's House Board President Lauren Tennell for her work. The governor also honored the Pittsfield Fire Department, including Chief Peter J. Pszonowsky, Deputy Chief Robert Freese, Lt. Jeremy Yeaton, Firefighter/AEMT Eric Nilsson, Firefighter Aime Dalbec and Paramedic Jennifer Tedcastle. The six responded to a recent call involving two individuals with multiple injuries and extricated and transported both to the hospital was instrumental in improving the medical outcomes by their timely and careful response.

This article first appeared on InDepthNH.org and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.