Carleigh’s husband is a public middle school teacher. Their kids go to public school. She will fight voucher schemes that drain resources from the schools our communities depend on and work to ensure every child, including students with disabilities, gets the education they deserve.

Carleigh and her family live in Hampton, which is home to the first public school in New Hampshire. The kids in Hampton are part of a tradition of public education that stretches back 376 years. This is because in the 1600s – even before the United States was founded – the people who lived here recognized their obligation to “teach and instruct all the children of or belonging to our town.” 

Despite our proud tradition of public education and generations of public school graduates who have gone on to do incredible things in our communities and our country, our state is last in the nation when it comes to state support for public education. 

The voucher program devised in NH has been taken nationwide by the Trump administration. This scheme takes money from public schools and transfers it to wealthy families, the vast majority of whom already send their children to private and religious schools. The program has blown past its initial budget, leaving public schools with even less than expected – which means that local communities will have to cover the shortfall by raising property taxes. As Chair of the Hampton Select Board, Carleigh sees how irresponsible budgeting downshifts costs to municipalities and harms our communities.

And, as the product of a public education, a mother of two young kids, and the wife of a public school teacher, Carleigh knows the value of a public school system that teaches our children the skills they need to thrive and contribute meaningfully to our society and that encourages them to learn from and alongside people who are different than them. 

In Congress, Carleigh will fight to roll back Trump’s national voucher program, fully fund IDEA, and protect the constitutional rights of every student and teacher.