Manchester athletics leaders warn budget squeeze could stall planned expansions; transportation and coaches remain constraints

Manchester School District athletics staff told the Special Committee on Athletics on April 9 that spring sports have largely started as planned but that a constrained city budget, persistent driver and coach shortages, and venue and volunteer limits threaten proposed program expansions for 2025–26.

At a committee meeting Wednesday, Ms. Teljohn, athletics department staff, reported that middle school spring offerings currently include four softball teams, three baseball teams and four track-and-field teams, and that all high school teams are “fully rostered” except one junior-varsity baseball squad at Central West, which had 20 registered players. She said flag football registrations were among the highest at the middle school level and that Memorial High School had about 36 girls who want to play softball.

The program’s growth is colliding with operational limits, Teljohn said: “There continue to be challenges with filling coaching positions,” and district officials are also contending with bus-driver shortages and scheduling limits that force many spring contests into the same late-afternoon window. She said the district has hired additional larger buses and was awaiting a small-bus delivery, but driver availability remains the principal constraint.

Why it matters: Committee members and staff said the city’s decision not to fund a roughly…