Charter schools in need of help

To the Editor: Open enrollment charter schools are in imminent danger of closing unless the Legislature and governor act quickly to save them.

These innovative public schools were initially given life thanks to a federal grant which sustained them for the first three years of their lives. Federal funding ran out for three of the 10 schools in New Hampshire last year and they were saved at the last minute by emergency one-year state funding passed by the Legislature. Now, seven of the schools face closure.

We need to raise public understanding of the schools' plight. We especially need to raise awareness on the part of our state senators and representatives and let them know that the voters are not complacent about education and that we need multiple options to best meet the demands of the future.

John Sangenario
Hampton

YOU read this week by John Paul Tenchavez