Shulman Announces State Rep. Run
NEWINGTON - Board of Education member Josh Shulman is entering the House race, with his eye on the state’s education funding structure-an area that he thinks could use an overhaul.

       Shulman, who works as an attorney in Manchester, made the announcement in a Puerto Vallarto restaurant room packed with members of the Democratic Town Committee and other supporters. The party can officially nominate him on May 18. The convention will be held at Fire Grille in Newington.

       â€"I’ve put myself in a position over the past few years to be qualified for this,” Shulman said. â€"I’m a practicing attorney-I know the law. I’ve been involved with politics. I know what it takes to make change.”

       And while Shulman’s envisioned change pertains to the state’s education funding approach-for both K-12 and public colleges-the issue, he says, ties back to numerous areas related to the economy.

       For example, he pointed to rising college tuition costs and the burden of student debt-a problem that he says spills over into the real estate market.

       â€"Everything has a ripple effect,” Shulman said. â€"People are going to go to places where they can pay off their student debt.”

       Which leads him to property taxes-a source of revenue that Shulman thinks the state relies too heavily on for the funding of local schools.

       â€"In a town like Newington, it’s hard to fund that solely on the backs of taxpayers,” he said. â€"It’s crushing our middle class.”

       It’s also a one-size-fits all solution for a wide spectrum of municipalities with different challenges and needs, Shulman said.

       â€"Rich towns are funding their education in a way that poor towns can’t,” he said.

       Shulman, 27, said that his decision to run was driven by a desire to â€"give back to the community” and address the issues impacting his generation-while protecting the vulnerable senior and youth segments of the population.

       â€"I think the important thing is you can’t do it all yourself,” he said. â€"I will work tirelessly to build relationships and work with people.”

       Shulman, who served as Board of Education Vice Chair as part of last year’s Democratic Majority, is at the very least familiar with school financing at the local level, said former Chair Mark Finkelstein.

       â€"He gave very lucid explanations of Board financials,” Finkelstein said at the event. â€"He’s a smart young guy, and I think everyone would really benefit. I’m very happy for him.”

      
STORY BY MARK DIPAOLA  |  May 05 2016  |  COMMENTS?