Portsmouth schools, Sister Cities Committee prepare for large fall visits; organizers urge quick funding options

Officials and school leaders told the Mayor's Blue Ribbon Sister Cities Committee on May 15 that Portsmouth will host multiple large receptions and student exchanges this fall and that the city and committee must secure reliable funding and quick-spending authority to cover hospitality costs.

Portsmouth High School—s principal outlined trips to two sister cities this year, saying the district is scheduled to host delegations during separate visits and that the school-led exchange remains an important educational program. "We are hosting back-to-back Italy and Japan again," the principal said, describing city and school receptions, family homestays and school events that accompany the exchanges.

Committee members and school staff described several hosting details: last year volunteers and teachers purchased food and arranged logistics; receptions in partner cities can be large (committee comments described an estimated 200-person city reception in Nichinan); this fall the district expects an October school visit of about 18 students with several faculty chaperones and a separate September visit when the sister-city mayor will bring a small delegation that includes three students. The principal said homestays will be needed for the three-student mayoral visit.

Speakers said the intensive local reception work rests largely on volunteers and school budgets. The principal said documenting past costs helped produce a baseline but stressed that unexpected last-minute cost increases can occur. "You plan these things many months in advance. But what if two weeks before they arrive, you realize that the costs were higher than last year's by 5% and you no longer have [funds] and you need to come to this committee? We want to be able to say yes in a quick turnaround," a committee member said.

Committee members discussed options to make fast, smaller-dollar spending feasible for hospitality: create the private gift trust the committee is drafting (discussion documented elsewhere in the meeting), or have the city allocate expendable budgeted hospitality funds for the committee to use. The committee reiterated it will press trustees and staff to return a workable mechanism that avoids month-long waits for City Council action.

The committee also discussed outreach ideas tied to the visits: the Japan America Society of New Hampshire will organize the bell-ringing event for the mayoral visit; members floated an alumni reunion for former student trip participants during the school visit; and committee members suggested students present to the City Council to illustrate benefits of the exchange. Logistics such as allergy cards for student diets and homestay recruitment were mentioned as immediate tasks.

Ending

Committee members asked staff to relay homestay needs and logistics to school partners and to continue work on funding options ahead of September and October visits.