New Hampshire House Speaker Bill O’Brien says the University of New Hampshire and its workers need to be more efficient. O’Brien, while speaking on NHPR’s the Exchange, defended lawmaker’s nearly fifty percent cut to higher ed funding, the largest in the nation. The Speaker also criticized UNH for increasing its tuition and, he says, not making the cuts necessary to become efficient.
“Its union is seeking a 16 percent increase in its pay. Its workers are inefficient and unproductive. They don’t teach as many hours as they can.”
While Speaker O’Brien was critical of UNH he applauded the Community College System of New Hampshire for providing higher education for a, quote, “reasonable amount of money.” Last year, the state legislature passed a budget that cut state support for the university system from a hundred million dollars to fifty-two million.