CONCORD, NH – The State Board of Education marked its 100th anniversary at this morning’s meeting at the Department of Education headquarters in Concord.
The Legislature created the State Board of Education by statute in the spring of 1919, with the new board taking over “the business now performed by the superintendent of public instruction, the trustees of the state normal schools, and the state board of vocational education” on September 1, 2019. The Board was given authority over “Management and supervision of all public schools” in New Hampshire.
The Legislature created the State Board in order to provide volunteer citizen oversight of public education in New Hampshire, providing that members “shall not be technical educators nor professionally engaged in school work, but public-spirited and interested citizens willing to serve the state without pay and to give the time necessary for an understanding of the education needs of the state, and of the best way to supply them.” – Chapter Law 106, 1919
“For the past 100 years, New Hampshire has remained committed to the principle that public education must be overseen by the people themselves. In the words of a legislator at the time, the State Board of Education was to be ‘a more representative expression of the people,’” said State Board Chairman Andrew Cline. “That bipartisan, democratic principle has served New Hampshire well and will continue to guide our work as the board enters its second century.”
For more information on the State Board of Education, including minutes and future meeting dates, click here.
