Special Board of Aldermen Public Hearing Page 44
We’re creating a culture that fits what we think is our need. The needs today are the same as the
needs that were here 20 years ago, 30 years ago, 40 years ago and we had none of this nonsense.
Chairman Dowd
Any other comments on education?
Gloria Tenmans
Gloria Tenmans, Nashua, NH, 3 Worthing Drive. After hearing all this stuff and who pay taxes and
who don’t taxes. | pay taxes. | want you to know we do need full day kindergarten. | have 16
grandkids. So let me just tell you I’m kind of angry right now. So let me calm down. | have two kids
in Title | schools and two kids that are not in Title | schools. So two went to half day kindergarten and
two did not go. Two went to full day kindergarten. The one that was in the Title | school out
surpassed the one that went to half day kindergarten. | know that for a fact. As far as the
classrooms, | have kids in Nashua North, Nashua South, Ledge Street, Fairgrounds, Elm Street, you
name them. Sixteen schools. | know what they’re doing. They’re doing a great job and | am sick
and tired of hearing about what about the money. | pay taxes. | am a taxpayer. The kids are getting
a good education. We do need full day kindergarten because | can tell the difference between the
one that did not have full day kindergarten versus the one that did have full day kindergarten. So
we’re putting a value on education and that shouldn’t be right.
As far as ESL, yes they do need ESL. Yes we do need all those programs. | see the difference. I’ve
been here all my life. | didn’t just immigrate here. Neither did my mother and neither did her mother.
I’m very, very angry with oh we’ve got to worry about money. We have to worry about this. We have
to worry about our children. That’s what we have to worry about. Full day kindergarten is the way
that we need to go and they do need to read to be competitive with other kids throughout the world
and not just in Nashua, through the State, through all the States. I’m a Veteran, a retired one. | work
for the federal government and the State government. So I’m very angry about demanding answers,
can’t do this, can’t do that because you put a value on every single penny. While | pay pennies. |
pay taxes as well. It really sickens me when you put a value on my grandchild’s head. | don’t like
that. It's not about one being smarter than the other. One has a better opportunity than the other.
That’s the difference.
You talk about fairness. The fairness if full day kindergarten period! Thank you Mayor Donchess.
Thank you Chief Lavoie. Thank you to the Fire Department. Thank you for everybody that does
public service because without them, it wouldn’t be us. I’m very angry to hear people demanding
answers for things that you can’t answer. We’re wasting time. We're here wasting a bunch of time
for what to get no answers. Now if you want to know about the school the Board of Education, then
go to those meetings and see what’s happening there and question that there. Governor Sununu
happened to pass all-day kindergarten. We should have full day kindergarten and | have to say this
now I’m calming down a little bit. My two kindergarteners that went to the Title | schools, they actually
learned more than the ones that one to half day kindergarten. They knew their alphabet frontwards
and backwards. They knew not how to count by one, they knew how to count by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
| was amazed. Not the one that went to half day kindergarten. So |’d say oh wait a minute. These
kids here who went to Title | schools and these kids who did not go to the Title School knew way
more than these because they had more time. Not because they were smarter. Not because one
was unequal than the other. I’m just wanting you to know that we do need full day kindergarten. We
have a great public school district. | had my children. They’re all educators. They all went to college
— Ivy League schools because we had good public education right here. Thank you all for that.
