Controversial House Finance Committee chair Rep. Ken Weyler (R-Kingston) slammed New Hampshire’s local school boards as “corrupt,” inspiring howls of rage from Democrats during Wednesday’s hearing on Education Freedom Account (EFA) legislation.
The committee was debating SB 295, which increases the number of students eligible for EFAs by removing household income thresholds while capping total EFA enrollment at 10,000 in the upcoming academic year. Democrats, who’ve been adamant critics of the school choice program, hammered away at EFA spending, arguing it should be pared back to match the cuts Republicans have made in the rest of the budget. And they continued to argue, without evidence, that EFAs are cutting into funding for public schools.
In response, a visibly annoyed Weyler took the microphone.
“The thing that I have not heard mentioned is that this education system we have in our state is a failure,” Weyler began. “It just keeps going up in costs, and no increase in testing results.
“There’s no discipline at all in education because the school boards are just corrupt. They don’t do anything about the failures.”
Rep. David Luneau (D-Hopkinton) promptly denounced Weyler’s comments as “offensive.”
Weyler ignored complaints from Democrats on the committee, instead pressing his case for the EFA program.
“It’s quite a sacrifice for a parent to do this because they have to provide the transportation and all the other things involved,” Weyler continued. “Meanwhile, there should be savings from every child that leaves.”
He went on to point out the ballooning per-student cost of attending New Hampshire public schools, which has increased on average from $16,800 to around $22,000 over the last five years, according to state data.
“When that student leaves the local schools, there should be a big savings in property taxes,” Weyler added. “That’s never mentioned. But you’ve got thousands of people working for this corrupt system, and they’re the ones making the phone calls.”
After the vote, Rep. Rosemarie Rung (D-Merrimack) demanded an apology.
“I can’t let this opportunity go by without asking you to apologize to the hundreds of school board members across the state, people like I was,” Rung said following Wednesday’s vote. “We are not corrupt. We’ve done our best for the children in our community.”
Weyler appeared unmoved but acknowledged his remarks were “perhaps an exaggeration.”
“I haven’t seen any movement in the last 20 years on improving both the operations of the schools and the accomplishments of the students,” he said. “It’s perhaps an exaggeration, but (school performance) is a failure.”
“I’ve watched the scandal in my local school board, and I’m disappointed in all that’s going on,” Weyler added.
A special education teacher at a Kingston elementary school has been charged in a case of alleged abuse of children, a case that rocked the small community and resulted in the resignation of the school district’s superintendent.
Rung pleaded with Weyler to visit her school district.
“Please come to Merrimack,” she said, before inserting an apparent deal-sweetener. “There are some really good microbreweries.”
“Is there room for all of us?” quipped Rep. Rich Navalenko (R-Alstead) in response, prompting a few chuckles from fellow committee members.
It was far from Weyler’s first political firestorm. During the debate over vaccine mandates in 2021, Weyler distributed a discredited conspiracy theory manifesto that included the claim that observing the vaccine under a microscope revealed “a living organism with tentacles. This creature moves around, lifts itself up, and even seems to be self-aware.
“The sight of this and the thought that these unknown, octopus-like creatures are being injected into millions of children worldwide, caused [the doctor] to weep,” the manifesto read. It also predicted governments will “steal our very own thoughts and feelings through 5G,” and claimed that in addition to the Pope, the Catholic Church has spawned an evil “Black Pope” and a “Grey Pope.”
Weyler claimed he had not read the entire document before distributing it to fellow House members.
Meanwhile, SB 295’s lead sponsor, Sen. Victoria Sullivan (R-Manchester), expressed optimism following the 14-11 party line recommendation of ought-to-pass from the committee on Wednesday.
“Almost there,” she posted on social media. “I don’t think I have worked harder on a bill than I have this one.”
