Doris Hohensee Courtesy photo

NASHUA – Having served on the Board of Education from 2016 to 2019, Doris Hohensee is looking to return to the board to focus on the challenges of middle school redistricting and elementary school closures.

“As a former school board member, I voted against the Nashua middle school construction project in 2019,” she said. “The former superintendent believed that middle school students from private and home schools would enroll in the new middle schools, if they were built — clearly, that didn’t happen.”

Hohensee said that during her time on the board, demographic studies revealed a steady decrease in student enrollment.

She also spoke about the importance of having special education services in the district rather than paying thousands of dollars to send those students to schools outside of Nashua.

“If we have the space to provide in-district specialized classes, Nashua could become a destination for students from nearby districts, reducing or balancing out the cost of hiring specialized teachers,” she said. “It would also eliminate long commutes for these special education students, not having to travel so far for their lessons and allow them to become part of the Nashua school community.”

Since the last election, Hohensee said many parents have grown tired of being ignored by the Board of Education.

“There was a concerted effort by parents to speak up, especially during the [COVID-19] pandemic and the school shut down,” she said. “Some parents actually tried to run for school board to make a difference. Voters elected a slate of union-endorsed candidates in 2021 which did little to nothing to address these problems. It only ensured that the board would put the interests of the union above those of students.”

Hohensee holds a Bachelor’s Degree in mathematics from the College of Mount Saint Vincent and has worked as a software engineer. She is also the chairwoman of New Hampshire Families for Education.

“I’ve been a political activist, working to improve New Hampshire education laws, starting with the home education law and other laws to protect the rights of parents with students in public schools,” she said.