Episode 72 "Claremont III" - Steve Rand Steps into the Breach

"Claremont III" Steve Rand Steps into the Breach

Steve Rand is not what one might describe as an educational zealot or a fellow who tilts at windmills.  His family is about as steeped in tradition within the town of Plymouth as it gets. He took over the family business in Plymouth from his dad and, despite Walmart, the migration of business away from the town center, and all the odds, Rand’s Hardware continues to thrive on the main street in Plymouth. He is a blend of pragmatic Yankee and street-smart entrepreneur. But behind that wry smile lies a philosopher and a visionary; a man who wants to “leave the woodpile just a little higher” when his days are done. 

So when the opportunity arose for him to be a plaintiff in New Hampshire’s ongoing litigation over educational funding he did not hesitate. The lawsuit, we’ll call it Claremont 3, though, to my knowledge, no moniker has yet been assigned to it - may be the culmination of more than 3 decades of legal action (and political inaction) based on the New Hampshire constitutional obligation to provide funding for an adequate education to all public school children.

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I wanted to speak with Steve Rand, not because he can recite chapter and verse about the legal history of the Claremont cases or the numeric minutia of tax disparities between towns or their relationship to the quality of schools from high-income or low-income school districts. Rather, I wanted to speak with someone who came at this from an experiential basis; someone who has lived the disparities on a day-to-day and year-to-year basis. Someone who has seen how the system short-changes our kids and our communities.

There are many heroes in the long arc of this story. The late Arpiar Saunders, who (perhaps purposefully) cornered Andru Volinsky, stark naked, in the gym locker room to recruit him to the Claremont team. Andru Volinsky of course. John Tobin, who has spent his life advocating for those living in the shadows of life. Senate President Ralph Hough (R-Lebanon) who despite being named as a defendant in the second suit, filed an Amicus brief and testified on behalf of the children of New Hampshire against the state. 

Today, Steve Rand and the other plaintiffs have stepped into that line. But, they would all be the first to say that the greatest heroes of this story are the good people of towns like Claremont, Berlin, Plymouth, Rochester, to name a few towns, who despite having to dig four to five times deeper into their own pockets to fund education in their communities, continue to step up for their kids, to make sure that they have a shot at a future worth living. 

A procedural history of the Claremont lawsuit

Staff WriterPortsmouth Herald

https://www.seacoastonline.com/story/news/2003/04/09/a-procedural-history-claremont-lawsuit/51281033007/

30 Years Since Claremont: The Monumental Ruling and the Work That Remains

ANDRU VOLINSKY

https://indepthnh.org/2021/06/15/30-years-since-claremont-the-monumental-ruling-and-the-work-that-remains/

Nebraska Law Review

2005 New Hampshire 's Education-Funding Litigation: Claremont School District v. Governor, 635 A.2d 1375 (N.H. 1993),modified, 703 A.2d 1353 (N.H. 1997) 

Andru H. Volinsky Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer and Nelson, P.A., avolinsky@bernsteinshur.com

https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1281&context=nlr

EP 60 :Michael Fischler: 50 Years of Giving, Caring and Empathy

Episode 60

Michael Fischler: 50 Years of 50 Years of Giving, Caring, and Empathy

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In the midst of hate, I found there was, within me, an invincible love.

In the midst of tears, I found there was, within me, an invincible smile.

In the midst of chaos, I found there was, within me, an invincible calm.

I realized, through it all, that…

In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.

~ Albert Camus

Michael Fischler: 50 Years of 50 Years of Giving, Caring, and Empathy

When Michael Fischler retired in 2017 after 50 years of dedicated service to the Plymouth State College Community he was at the height of his career, when a firestorm erupted over allegations against a former graduate student for whom he (along with dozens of other former teachers and mentors) had written glowing recommendations. He did nothing wrong but the toxic atmosphere on campus and a timid board of trustees allowed a a hostile environment to be churned up on campus.

What followed was a three-year struggle to assert his academic freedom and civil rights - with help from nationally acclaimed civil rights attorney John Meyer.  Just when life should have become simpler. Mike Fischler was faced with the challenge of a lifetime. Today, with the worst of it behind, he reflects on his life and - for the first time - on the trauma that almost derailed his legacy. 

 
Michael L. Fischler lives in Holderness and is professor emeritus in the Department of Counselor Education and School Psychology at Plymouth State University, where he taught for 50 years.



Professor of Education; Distinguished Graduate Teaching Award in the MEd Program, 2004

BEd, MEd, University of Miami; EdD, University of Colorado

About Professor Fischler

Dr. Fischler has performed multiple roles on this campus. He currently teaches in the departments of Counselor Education and School Psychology; Educational Leadership, Learning and Curriculum; and Elementary Education and Childhood Studies. In 1975 he founded the Plymouth State University “Counseling and Human Relations Center,” and served as its’ Director from 1975-2015. He has served on PSU’s Homophobia Task Force; President’s Commission on Diversity; and is an advisor to the Black Student Union and Tau Omega sorority. His research interests include: cultural diversity; intercultural communication; social behavior; psychological counseling; multicultural education; and prejudice reduction.

Other achievements/honors:


Founder, PSU “Counseling and Human Relations Center,” 1975.


Co-founder of the “S-O-S” (“Support our Students”) Faculty Scholarship Fund, designed to assist PSU’s most financially at risk students


Creator, Plymouth State’s “A-B-C” (“A Better Campus Community”) program, designed to facilitate intercultural respect, compassion and civility.


“Distinguished Graduate Teacher Award,” 2004


Founder and past President, “First Star Tonight” (supporting area chronically and terminally ill children, young adults, and their families), 1986-2005

Presentations and Publications (recent or noteworthy):


PSU, Counselor Education and School Psychology Honors Society, Chi Sigma Iota, Inaugural Induction Ceremony, Keynote Speaker, “Bigotry and Racism… Time to See, Tell and Do,” April 13, 2012.


PSU, Counselor Education and School Psychology Honors Society, Chi Sigma Iota Induction Ceremony, Keynote Speaker, “Living a Meaningful Life,” March, 2016


Fischler, M. (1992). “Time to Talk Back,” Phi Delta Kappan. V73, 634-635.Fischler, M. (1999)


Fischler, M. (1999). “Reflecting on a Personal Visit with Dr. Viktor Frankl and His Wife Elly,” Education; Winter99, Vol. 120 Issue 2, p281


Fischler, M. (2012) “A Letter Long Overdue,” Annual Editions Multicultural Education. 16th


“The Cultural Triangle,” Invited Workshop, presented November 3, 2011 at the 21st Annual National Association for Multicultural Education Conference, Chicago , IL


CULTURE, CONFLICT AND CHANGE…MOVING FROM CRISIS TO GROWTH, Invited Paper, presented June 11, 2012 at the 12thInternational Conference On Diversity in Organizations, Communities and Nations, Vancouver, British Columbia


“Culture, Conflict and Change (2014), “From Crisis to Growth,” The International Journal of Community Diversity, Volume 12, Issue 2.


“Ethical Living,” presentation, International Conference on Conflict Resolution Education, George Mason University, June, 2015


“Crisis to Opportunity to Opportunity to Change,” paper presented March 22, 2016, “International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences,” Lisbon, Portugal.


Crisis to Opportunity to Change (2016), Published, March, International Academic Conference, Lisbon, Portugal (proceedings)


“From Crisis to Change,” TED Talk, “Outstanding Research Presentation, Certificate of Excellence,” April 11, 2016, Paris, France

Courses Taught


Social Behavior and Diversity


Social Behavior in a Diverse World


Foundations of Diversity


Cultural Diversity and American Society


Leadership in a Diverse World



How a Professor Was Punished for an Act of Citizenship

Decisions made at Plymouth State University threaten to undermine participation in America’s criminal-justice system.

By Conor Friedersdorf



Stephane Mahe / Reuters

SEPTEMBER 18, 2018

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About the author: Conor Friedersdorf is a California-based staff writer at The Atlantic, where he focuses on politics and national affairs. He is the founding editor of The Best of Journalism, a newsletter devoted to exceptional nonfiction.

Michael Fischler is an award-winning professor emeritus of education at Plymouth State University, a public institution in Plymouth, New Hampshire. He founded its Counseling and Human Relations Center, led it for four decades, and ultimately saw it officially renamed in his honor.

Highland Storm 4 - Glow in the Lupine

Against All Odds

Reflection of a Chapel in Autumn Water

Chapel of the Woods, Camp Mowglis

Chapel in the Blue Lupine

Plymouth State University and NH Electric Coop Launch Pilot Vehicle to Grid Project

Donald Kreis, Wayne King
Brian Callnan, Bill Johnstone

Plymouth State University and NH Electric Coop Launch Pilot Vehicle to Grid Project

Will Electric Vehicles form an important Component of Energy Storage in the Future?

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Hosts Wayne King and Don Kreis - NH Consumer Advocate before the Public Utilities Commission - speak with Bill Johnstone, business development executive, and Brian Callnan, VP of Power and Resources Access at the NH Electric Cooperative about a pilot project with big implications for energy storage and cost control with respect to electric rates.  

In a recent conversation I had with musician and environmentalist Livingston Taylor when he was scheduled to perform at the Flying Monkey in Plymouth, Liv posited that his chief concern regarding our way to solving the climate crisis was the ability to store energy so that we could rely more sustainably on renewable sources of energy. The challenge, of course, being that most renewable sources of energy are what we call "intermittent" meaning that we can only count on them under certain conditions: For wind turbines to produce energy, the wind must be blowing. For solar, the sun must be shining, etc. Taylor was talking about improving upon ways to effectively store energy so that we can use it when we need it to accommodate the lives we lead.

Now I could have just said that my co-host on this podcast episode Don Kreis, NH's Consumer Advocate before the Public Utilities Commission, and I have discussed this because we have. But now when you think of the brilliant mind of Don Kreis, you'll also associate it with the humor and musical stylings of Livingston Taylor and that will make it all the sweeter.

When I spoke with Livingston about this at the time, he was advocating for a "Manhattan Project" for energy storage to bridge the gap but Don assures me that the "holy grail" of energy storage is - in fact - something that both the private sector and the civil society sector are both in hot pursuit of and doing quite nicely.

 If you listen to the last two interviews that I did on the "Radical Centrist Podcast with Don Kreis you'll recall that Don spoke at length about interactive ways for private utility companies, cooperatives and consumers to be collaborating to minimize energy usage during peak times and shift it instead to times when energy rates could be more affordable.

Almost all of this comes under the rubric of the "Smart Grid" a term that refers to the interoperability of the nation's electric grid. The ability of the grid to interact with consumers and generators of power, especially as more and more consumers begin to serve the dual role of both consumers and generators of power.

The brilliant scientist Jeremy Rifkin coined a word for this. "ProSumer" Do you have solar panels on your home? Then you are both a consumer and a producer. Viola! A Prosumer.

Luckily for some of us who are served by the more responsive and responsible utility companies and cooperatives the majority of these companies in New Hampshire - with one notable exception -  are seeking out ways to create avenues for consumers to actively participate in the process of creating more sustainable approaches to energy use, particularly electing to use energy in ways that reflect the need to reduce energy use during peak hours and participate as prosumers in the process of leveling out supply and demand.

Today's podcast features a new pilot project that is a collaboration between Plymouth State University and the NH Electric Cooperative. Utilizing electric vehicles in the University fleet as both users of energy from the grid and contributors of stored energy that is able to be called on by the grid during peak hours.

It is a small project but its implications are huge. The next time you drive by a massive parking lot at a university or high school or business, imagine all those vehicles as one giant battery that reduces the need for other sources of energy because the vehicles in that parking area are serving as both an energy source and a consumer.