As a father of five children, I know how important it is to have both a quality public education system as well as opportunities for our young people to succeed. This means New Hampshire needs a strong small business environment that provides good paying jobs and a growing statewide economy in addition to an affordable education that prepares the next generation of New Hampshire students to enter the workforce and compete in a global economy.

The amount of debt from higher education has reached a tipping point for students and families. With some of the highest college tuitions in the nation, there is much work to be done to make tuition affordable for New Hampshire students. That is why I supported reasonable funding increases for the University System and Community College System, ensuring a two-year freeze on tuition at our community colleges was put in place.

I do believe that the University System bears some responsibility in the high cost of education. We heard this past year that a $17,000 table was purchased as part of a $28,000 per seat dining hall expansion. I am deeply concerned about this publically funded institution’s priorities when it comes to spending.

The current budget increased funding for the University System by 8 percent and, unfortunately unlike the Community College System, the University System chose to raise tuition. The University System of New Hampshire, as other schools have done, should work to reduce costs and offer more cost effective education options such as online and distance learning programs.

Furthermore, the colleges in New Hampshire should continue to work with the business community to develop courses to train workers for the high pay high tech fields. Programs like these will help meet the significant need for these highly trained employees in the state, helping to fuel economic growth which is a throughout New Hampshire.

While a traditional college educated workforce is important, there are many well paying jobs that only require technical training. As a state, we know employers are facing a shortage of a skilled workforce which is why I was proud to expand state support for Career and Technical Education programs last session. I believe we should continue to focus on this type of training, while expanding partnerships between employers, technical education programs and community colleges. This will help our employers and students stay local providing the quality, high paying jobs our young people want.

As a member of the Senate Education Committee, we dealt with many issues relating to K-12 education. Last year, I voted to remove the cap on public school funding for K-12, increasing resources for our public schools and charter schools. I also sponsored legislation to prohibit the State from requiring schools to adopt Common Core in order to restore local control let the parents and local school boards determine the best curriculum to fit their needs. I also supported legislation to strengthen parental rights and encourage involvement in their child’s education by giving them the ability to opt-in to taking invasive non-academic surveys or opt-out of sensitive course materials and lessons. Restoring local control and parental involvement in our children’s education will strongly benefit our children and is what I am fighting for.

While New Hampshire has some of the top performing students in the country, our track record of keeping these young people who graduate from the University or Community College systems is abysmal. We know that the lack of good paying and diverse jobs market for recent graduates is driving away young talent from our workforce.

Engaging students in New Hampshire early on in the prospect of attending school in New Hampshire and reinforcing this idea with an abundance of good jobs for recent graduates will help turn the tide on an aging population. But in order to achieve that end, we need to have more of these jobs available in the first place. We can do so by encouraging job growth through lower taxes, reducing energy costs, worker’s compensation rates and healthcare costs. We have made great progress but need to do more next session to remove unnecessary bureaucracy and stifling regulation that continues to burden small businesses.

I’m committed to seeing these barriers to education and good jobs removed and will continue to do my part in the Senate to find balanced ways to reduce the cost of higher education, while ensuring that our students have the good paying jobs they need in order to stay in our state and help expand our economy into the future.

State Sen. Kevin Avard, R-Nashua, represents the communities of Brookline, Greenville, Hollis, Mason, New Ipswich, Rindge, and Wards 1, 2, and 5 in Nashua.

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