Manchester panel advances tax-cap–compliant FY26 budget after district presentation

The Manchester School District finance committee on the evening of the meeting reviewed the district's tax-cap–compliant budget for fiscal year 2026 and voted to forward the general fund, school food and nutrition and capital improvement budgets to the full Board of School Committee for approval.

Superintendent (title listed in the meeting as Superintendent) opened the presentation by outlining the budget's enrollment assumption and strategic priorities. "The budget we are presenting this evening is designed with an enrollment of approximately 11,865 students," the superintendent said during the presentation.

Karen DeFrancis, executive director of finance, walked the committee through the tax-cap calculation provided by the city finance director and the revenue and expenditure projections. DeFrancis said the three-year Consumer Price Index average produced a tax-cap figure of 4.27% for FY26 and that applying that cap to current tax collections would yield about $5.14 million in additional revenue. "That would bring the fiscal year 26 tax cap compliant budget to $246,050,206," DeFrancis said.

Nut graf: The budget package…