Lynch Talks Education, Leaving Office With Rotary

At a time when Gov. John Lynch said high school dropout rates are at an alarming high, he applauded the town of Merrimack for its .7 percent dropout rate.

Lynch said he is pleased with New Hampshire's 1 percent dropout rate, a number that is among the best in the country. He said Merrimack should be proud of its accomplishment of keeping so many students in school.

Lynch addressed the Merrimack Rotary Club at Thursday morning's weekly meeting, the guest speaker of Jane Hoover, and spoke at length about education – the importance of a quality education and higher education as well as keeping costs low.

Lynch, who will be leaving his post as governor at the end of the year, said it is important for New Hampshire to not lose sight of its responsibility to provide an adequate education.

And he pointed to the need for more state support of its higher education system, telling his audience that students leave the University of New Hampshire with more debt, on average, than students graduating from schools like Georgetown, Boston College, Boston University and even Dartmouth.

“It's due to a variety of reasons including the lack of state support for public higher education,” Lynch said.

Lynch, who earlier in his address said he's a firm believer that education drives opportunity, said he's a strong believer in all forms of higher education, pointing out that a four-year college isn't right for everyone. He said not only does the state's community college program serve its students exceptionally well, a large portion of community college students remain in New Hampshire, working jobs right here.

“I think education is absolutely critical in terms of economic develop and creating opportunities for students,” Lynch said.

Lynch also touched on the state budget, the looming $14 million deficit and the possibility of using much of last year's $17 million surplus to fill that hole.

During the question and answer period with the Rotary, Lynch answered follow-up questions about education and responded to one inquiring mind that he's likely headed back to the private sector when he leaves office.

Before ending his speech, Lynch told the club he's enjoyed very much his role as governor and shared a sweet story of a who gave him a wonderful send off after reading to them during Read Across America.

Watch: Lynch tells the story of the surprise a group of fourth grade students gave him recently.