Manchester superintendent outlines $9.55 million cuts, urges aldermen to restore funding

Superintendent Camille told the Manchester School Committee on April 14 that the district must prepare to address a $9,550,281 shortfall between the tax-cap-compliant budget the school board approved in February and the mayor's proposed budget.

Camille said the district leadership team had reviewed line by line to find options that would preserve student experience where possible, but that "none of these recommendations I believe are in the best interest of our District or support the work we've been actively engaged in over the past few years." She warned the choices "don't come pain free" and said several proposed reductions would blunt measured gains in graduation, attendance and discipline outcomes.

The superintendent outlined a package of reductions and temporary measures designed to reach the mayor's number if it becomes final. Key proposals included pausing planned athletics expansion, reducing contract-service spending (used for speech, OT, PT, nursing and some special-education roles), a district-office reduction-in-force to be achieved through attrition, a school-based reduction-in-force (also through attrition) of roughly 38 positions, a targeted reduction in facilities contract spending, and additional use of one-time funds. Camille also proposed examining transportation changes including raising walk-to-school distances to two miles and charging high-school students a $10 weekly bus pass as options to reduce a roughly $16 million transportation line item.

She emphasized constraints the district faces: staffing accounts for about 68.9% of expenses and the district is "historically one of the lowest funded districts in the state on a per-pupil basis." Camille noted special education and unpredictable high-cost placements as drivers of the district's need to keep reserves. She told members that the recommended reductions would rely on attrition rather than layoffs, and that no layoffs, "pink slips" or RIF notices would be issued in the course of adjusting staff.

Board members pressed for alternatives and for more detail. Vice Chairman O'Connell, who described the cuts as severe, and committee members repeatedly urged conversations with the Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BMA), noting the budget is iterative and urging the mayor and aldermen to identify revenue or reserves rather than force deep program reductions. Several members said they would not vote to raise class sizes above current policy.

The committee also took several procedural votes tied to the budget process. Members voted to move the superintendent's presentation forward on the agenda so the public and board could respond to the possible impacts immediately. The board approved a motion directing two committee members to draft a letter for the full committee to send to the BMA summarizing how the mayor's proposed reductions would affect students and programs. The committee also approved opening the retirement window for this year's eligible staff to encourage attrition that could reduce the budget gap without layoffs.

Superintendent Camille asked for and received the committee's consensus to exercise her managerial authority to make hiring decisions while the budget uncertainty continues, and she said the administration would hold positions and coordinate with HR so potential attrition could be used to avoid involuntary layoffs. Camille also said she would seek to convert contract-service roles to direct hires where possible because contract services are, on average, more expensive than in-house staff.

During consent items the committee approved a multi-year specialized transportation contract; members discussed termination and notice provisions before voting it into the record.

What happened next: the BMA was scheduled to meet the next day, and Camille told the board that final budget action could extend into June. The committee's letter and the superintendent's calculations will be part of the public record as the two governing bodies continue negotiations.

Ending: The committee voiced strong disagreement with many of the proposed reductions and directed staff to return with more granular plans and the likely impacts on class sizes, services and extracurriculars, while urging aldermen to consider restoring funds before final votes in June.