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Portsmouth residents, educators oppose council budget cap; mayor withdraws motion to convene special meeting
Summary
Dozens of residents, teachers and school board members urged Portsmouth City Council not to impose a 2.9% cap on the school budget. Mayor McEachern withdrew a motion to convene a separate council meeting and directed the process back to the school board.
Dozens of residents, teachers and school board members addressed the Portsmouth City Council on March 3 to oppose a proposed 2.9% cap on the Portsmouth School Department budget and to urge the council to accept the school board’s proposed spending plan.
The city’s mayor, Mayor McEachern, opened the discussion by asking to move a council motion up on the agenda but then withdrew a later request for a separate meeting on the schools; he said the council would proceed through the normal budget process and allow the school board to complete its review. “We’re gonna hear the school board. The school board is gonna vote on their budget and we are going to have a conversation around their budget,” the mayor said during the meeting.
Why it matters: Public commenters said a cap at or near 2.9% would force staffing cuts, reduce services for students with special needs and undercut recent investments the community has made in schools.
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