Please share the link below, this blog, or copy and past the article below and send it to family and friends who live in Manchester. We need to let everyone in Manchester know the Aldermen are going to vote on whether or not the 5 part question, at the end of this article, will appear on our ballot in November.

Please join us at the Aldermen meeting, on July 11th, at 7:00 pm, at Manchester’s City Hall, to let them know we do not want this question on our ballot.

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Aldermen to hold public hearing on proposed charter amendments next month

• By Paul Feely Union Leader Staff
• Jun 6, 2023 Updated Jun 7, 2023

Aldermen will hold a public hearing next month on proposed charter amendments that would allow Manchester’s school board to set its own budget, the first step in a process to put the issue before voters this fall.

The amendments mirror ones officials decided against sending to voters two years ago.

A motion to hold a public hearing on the amendments passed on a voice vote Tuesday, with three aldermen opposed — Joe Kelly Levasseur, Ed Sapienza and Crissy Kantor.

“What this vote is tonight is to send this to a hearing,” board Chairman Pat Long said. “I’m of the opinion this process is a good idea, so I want to start the process and leave it up to the voters to make that decision.”

Supporters say the amendments do much more than allow Manchester’s school board to set its own budget, override the city’s tax cap without input or approval by aldermen, and removing the mayor from the school board.

Several people spoke out against the amendments during the public-comment portion of the meeting.

“This is like putting the fox in charge of the hen house,” said Joanna Brown. “Checks and balances are not only a good practice, and not only ensures accuracy, but keeps people honest. Enrollment is down. Literacy and proficiency are incredibly low, but costs are up. The problem is not budget autonomy. It’s poor management.”

Will Infantine, who served on the past two charter commissions, told aldermen it’s “not as easy as it seems to just wash your hands of it” and give the school district and school board the ability to set a budget.

“In life we have checks and balances,” Infantine said. “In government we have checks and balances. I think you’re trying to throw that away here. Governing is not easy — you are the check and balance.”

Long said the amendments are the same as those recommended in 2021, when aldermen voted 7-5 against putting them on the ballot. At the time, several aldermen cited concerns from residents following a recent citywide revaluation that produced a 40% increase in the tax base, including a 46% rise in the value of single-family homes.

Besides setting its own budget, the school board would be able to borrow money for the school district and override limits on budget increases with a two-thirds vote of its members, under the proposed amendments.

“For years, we have heard various initiatives that were brought forward by Superintendent (Jenn) Gillis and her predecessors,” Long wrote in a memo to aldermen. “I believe that these charter amendments would help the Board of School Committee realize some of those initiatives, which in turn would add academic value to the children in the Manchester School District.

“I am confident that our students and parents would benefit from these charter amendments, should the voters approve them.”

Following Tuesday’s approval by the board, the charter amendments will be the subject of a July 11 public hearing.

Board members will then direct City Clerk Matt Normand to send the amendments to the Attorney General’s Office, Secretary of State and the Department of Revenue Administration for approval, likely on July 12.

If state officials sign off, aldermen will vote in early September whether to place the amendments on the November ballot.

Proposed amendments

The proposed language for a summary of the charter amendments that would appear on municipal ballots this fall states:

“Shall the City of Manchester approve amendment to the City of Manchester Charter summarized below:

“1. The Charter is amended throughout so that the ‘School Committee’ is referred to as the ‘School Board,’ a ‘School Committeeman’ is referred to as a ‘School Board Member,’ consistent with the State law.

“2. The School Board shall elect from among its members a chairman to serve for a term of two years. In the event of a vacancy, the School Board shall appoint a replacement to serve for the remainder of the term.

“3. The School Board shall have fiscal autonomy and be responsible for overseeing the administration of the School District’s budget. It shall have the authority to borrow money on behalf of the School District. The School Board shall be subject to the existing limitation on budget increase but shall have the authority to override that limitation with two-thirds super-majority of its membership.

“4. Various provisions of the Charter are amended to provide that the School Board shall comply with the laws of the State of New Hampshire for the adoption and accounting of its annual budget and its capital budget and for the issuance of a debt instrument; to authorize the School Board to appoint an independent auditor, a clerk, and a treasurer.

“5. Effective Date: Upon Passage

“If you favor this proposal, vote YES; if you do not favor it, vote NO.”

pfeely@unionleader.com Previous