Portsmouth schools facing roughly $1.9 million shortfall; board reviews program-cut options

The Portsmouth City Public Schools Board heard a budget update from Superintendent Dr. Michael Bracey on potential cuts to close a remaining shortfall after state and city funding adjustments.

In a presentation to the board, Dr. Michael Bracey said the division had been facing a $6,000,000 shortfall before a change in state funding reduced the gap. "The governor's budget came in and ... the support cap ... gave us an additional $3,000,000 to our budget," Bracey said, and the city manager told the superintendent the city could provide $1,500,000 of the remaining need, which "would leave us a $1,900,000 shortfall." He cautioned the state amount remains an estimate pending a formal calculation tool.

Why this matters: board members said protecting salary step increases for employees is the division's top priority and that meeting that commitment may require cuts to programs that are not state-mandated.

Dr. Bracey presented four example scenarios that, in different combinations, would close the shortfall. Option 1 would pause Starbase (an enrichment program) and the leased mobile classrooms at Victory, and delay expansion of dual-language immersion kindergarten-to-first-grade rollout; the superintendent said those three items together would reduce expenses by about the amount needed. "If Star Base is not there, we don't need the mobile classrooms because the students can now use the space the Star Base has," Bracey said. Option 2 would prioritize keeping Starbase and instead cut New Directions (an alternative placement program), which Bracey said is a larger operation that costs about $1.3 million. Option 3 would pause planned moves to convert 13 part‑time school security officers to full time and delay adding three full‑time middle‑school security officers; the budgeted amount for converting part time to full time was presented as $439,000. Option 4 would cut extracurricular and instructional extras, including middle‑school sports, after‑school activity transportation and certain supplemental programs.

Board members repeatedly stressed that salary step increases for staff — which the board said teachers have not received for eight to nine years — are the division's priority. "We're committed to ensuring that our staff receive their proper step increases this year. So we're gonna do whatever it takes to make that happen," Chair Miss Cheeks (board chair) said during the discussion. Several members, including Miss Shumate and Miss McSwain, expressed frustration that the city initially appeared prepared to make a larger contribution and then reported a smaller figure.

Board members flagged programs and services that would be particularly painful to remove: Starbase, dual-language immersion expansion, Communities In Schools contracts, middle‑school athletics, and transportation for after‑school activities. Board member Miss Battle warned that cutting transportation would reduce participation for students whose families lack a way to bring children to practices. Several members noted the effect on competitiveness and recruitment of teachers and families.

Superintendent Bracey said some cuts would reassign current staff to state‑mandated positions rather than create layoffs. For example, personnel supporting Starbase could be reallocated to cover required English learner/ESL positions: "We're required to have 10 additional ESL teachers. So pretty much what you're doing, you're moving it from STAR based personnel into what the state's requiring that we need to do with the ESL teacher student ratio," he said.

No formal vote or cuts were adopted at the meeting. Board members asked staff to refine options and to return recommendations at a subsequent meeting. Dr. Bracey and staff said the city council will finalize its budget on May 13, and the final state funding calculation has not been released; both could change the division's final figures.

Board members invited public transparency: Miss McSwain asked that the superintendent's presentation be posted to BoardDocs so the public could review the options. Several members encouraged colleagues and the public to contact the city council liaisons before the council's final vote.

The board directed staff to continue refining scenarios, to identify precise school sites and program locations that could be affected, and to present concrete recommendations at the next meeting so the board can vote if necessary.