Portsmouth residents, educators oppose council budget cap; mayor withdraws motion to convene special meeting

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.

Speakers and main points

- Brianna Martin, a lifelong Portsmouth resident and parent, urged the council to reject a cap. “I am deeply dismayed that this is something that you need to be preparing for,” Martin said, arguing capping the budget would force staff layoffs and reduce services students need.

- Erin Bauchum, president of the Association of Portsmouth Teachers, said the timeline and communication about potential staff reductions left teachers and new hires uncertain and urged better alignment between city and school budgeting to avoid forcing teachers to seek jobs elsewhere.

- Byron Maddow, a Portsmouth School Board member, told the council the board has already issued an early-retirement buyout that 11 employees accepted and said, “as it stands, our schools will be weaker next year and our students will have fewer resources, a direct result of guidance from this council.”

- Nancy Kleeberg, chair of the Portsmouth School Board, summarized the district’s fiscal pressures and noted rising special-education costs and COLA pressures; she said administrators were working with city leadership and that a budget presentation would be made to the board the following night.

What the council did or did not decide

- At the meeting’s start, Mayor McEachern asked to suspend the rules to advance a motion under his name. The council approved suspending the rules. Later he said he would not pursue a separate meeting and withdrew the motion to create a special council-level meeting on the school budget, returning the matter to the school board and the normal budget schedule.

- Council members repeatedly emphasized that the school board will prepare its budget and that the council will review it after the board’s vote.

Context and specifics mentioned by commenters

- Multiple speakers warned that special-education placements and transportation are rising, fixed costs that drive school budgets upward and cannot be trimmed easily.

- Commenters said Portsmouth’s per-pupil spending is comparable or lower than nearby towns that still maintain higher staffing levels; one speaker contrasted Portsmouth’s per-pupil figures (cited as roughly $25,000–$28,000 at elementary level in her remarks) with higher per-pupil costs in neighboring communities.

- Several speakers urged improved timing and transparency so school staff would not be notified of employment uncertainty before district budget decisions are final; Erin Bauchum noted contracted deadlines (e.g., April 1 notification obligations) that create hiring and retention risks if decisions are delayed.

Ending: The school board is scheduled to continue its budget work and present a proposed budget back to the council. Councilors and the mayor said they expect to review the board’s voted budget through the usual process rather than by an expedited council meeting.