Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin named Rebecca Holcombe, current director of the Dartmouth Teacher Education Program in Hanover, N.H., to lead Vermont's Agency of Education, starting in January. Before going to Dartmouth. Holcombe was a principal at Fairlee School in Vermont and a social studies and science teacher at the Frances C. Richmond School in Hanover, N.H. The governor’s office took over ...
Passage of a budget for FY14 was complicated by action taken on a $1.9 billion transportation bill filed by Gov. Deval Patrick to fund transportation projects and increase funding for education. Lawmakers rejected Patrick’s $1.9 billion request for new taxes and sent back a bill with $500 million in new taxes including a 3-cent hike in the gas tax. Patrick subsequently vetoed the bill admoni...
Maine lawmakers averted a government shutdown, overriding Gov. Paul LePage’s veto of the budget for FY14 and FY15. Both branches exceeded the required two-thirds vote, with the House voting 114–34 in support of the override, and the Senate voting 26-9 in support.
While Democrats won the budget battle in rejecting LePage’s budget plan, they lost a number of battles including a mo...
Granite State lawmakers on June 26 approved a $10.7 billion two-year budget with bipartisan support. Members of the Senate, which is controlled by Republicans, unanimously supported the budget, while more than 300 of the 400-member Democrat-controlled House approved the spending package.
Bipartisan agreement on the two-year plan was bolstered by growth in March and April tax revenues, which gener...
Lawmakers passed a budget totaling $8.2 billion with no new fees or taxes and worked to address the state’s ailing business climate by providing structural changes and government reforms. Gov. Lincoln Chafee opposed the structural changes, but let the bill become law without his signature.
The budget provides for:
payment of $2.5 million related to the state-supported bonds of baseball st...
The school shootings in Newtown dominated the beginning of the 2013 legislative session. Lawmakers passed a bipartisan gun violence prevention bill, the toughest in the nation. The legislation further restricts the use of assault weapons and imposes more background checks and restrictions on the sale of high-capacity magazine clips. In addition, both branches of the General Assembly adopted a free...
NEJHE will report on new education-related laws and other legislative highlights from each New England statehouse, starting with Vermont ...
On May 14, Vermont lawmakers wrapped up their session by passing a $5.2 billion budget for FY14. House and Senate proposals to changes in the income tax fell by the wayside as did proposed increases in taxes on bottled water, soft drinks, candy, dietary su...
When President Obama outlined his higher education agenda in Buffalo last week, commentators tuned out the beat of war drums (this time against Syria) and began dissecting the president's plan on the college front. The overriding question: Can the new models conceived of by consultants and think tanks over the past decade—and now advanced by the president—work to lower cost without sac...
Student loan interest rate bill sent to president. On Wednesday, the House approved the Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act (H.R. 1911) by a vote of 392 to 31. The Senate passed the legislation the previous week and the bill is headed to the president, who has endorsed the legislation, for approval. The bill would modify how interest rates on federal student loans are set, tying interest rates t...
NEBHE is a partner on a new report titled Green Revolving Funds: A Guide to Implementation & Management, which provides practical guidance for designing, implementing and growing a green revolving fund (GRF) at a college, university or other nonprofit institution.
The newly expanded guide establishes best practices from interviews with presidents, facility managers, sustainability directors, ...
Passage of a budget for FY14 was complicated by action taken on a $1.9 billion transportation bill filed by Gov. Deval Patrick to fund transportation projects and increase funding for education. Lawmakers rejected Patrick’s $1.9 billion request for new taxes and sent back a bill with $500 million in new taxes including a 3-cent hike in the gas tax. Patrick subsequently vetoed the bill admoni... 
Maine lawmakers averted a government shutdown, overriding Gov. Paul LePage’s veto of the budget for FY14 and FY15. Both branches exceeded the required two-thirds vote, with the House voting 114–34 in support of the override, and the Senate voting 26-9 in support.
While Democrats won the budget battle in rejecting LePage’s budget plan, they lost a number of battles including a mo... 
Granite State lawmakers on June 26 approved a $10.7 billion two-year budget with bipartisan support. Members of the Senate, which is controlled by Republicans, unanimously supported the budget, while more than 300 of the 400-member Democrat-controlled House approved the spending package.
Bipartisan agreement on the two-year plan was bolstered by growth in March and April tax revenues, which gener... 
Lawmakers passed a budget totaling $8.2 billion with no new fees or taxes and worked to address the state’s ailing business climate by providing structural changes and government reforms. Gov. Lincoln Chafee opposed the structural changes, but let the bill become law without his signature.
The budget provides for:
payment of $2.5 million related to the state-supported bonds of baseball st... 
The school shootings in Newtown dominated the beginning of the 2013 legislative session. Lawmakers passed a bipartisan gun violence prevention bill, the toughest in the nation. The legislation further restricts the use of assault weapons and imposes more background checks and restrictions on the sale of high-capacity magazine clips. In addition, both branches of the General Assembly adopted a free... 
NEJHE will report on new education-related laws and other legislative highlights from each New England statehouse, starting with Vermont ...
On May 14, Vermont lawmakers wrapped up their session by passing a $5.2 billion budget for FY14. House and Senate proposals to changes in the income tax fell by the wayside as did proposed increases in taxes on bottled water, soft drinks, candy, dietary su... 
When President Obama outlined his higher education agenda in Buffalo last week, commentators tuned out the beat of war drums (this time against Syria) and began dissecting the president's plan on the college front. The overriding question: Can the new models conceived of by consultants and think tanks over the past decade—and now advanced by the president—work to lower cost without sac... 
Student loan interest rate bill sent to president. On Wednesday, the House approved the Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act (H.R. 1911) by a vote of 392 to 31. The Senate passed the legislation the previous week and the bill is headed to the president, who has endorsed the legislation, for approval. The bill would modify how interest rates on federal student loans are set, tying interest rates t... 
NEBHE is a partner on a new report titled Green Revolving Funds: A Guide to Implementation & Management, which provides practical guidance for designing, implementing and growing a green revolving fund (GRF) at a college, university or other nonprofit institution.
The newly expanded guide establishes best practices from interviews with presidents, facility managers, sustainability directors, ...