Manchester School District reports rise in special-education enrollment, outlines staffing and budget impacts

Assistant Superintendent Roth told the Manchester School Committee on Oct. 1 that approximately 26% of Manchester students — 3,065 in total as of the district’s Oct. 1 count — are receiving special education services through individualized education programs (IEPs). The district reported a 279-student year-over-year increase in special-education enrollment and asked the board for additional follow-up briefings on staffing, transportation and budget implications.

Roth presented district and national trends, saying autism spectrum disorder (ASD) identifications in Manchester rose from 408 students last year to 533 this year (a 31% increase) and that other health impairment (OHI) identifications rose from 520 to 868 (a 67% increase). Speech and language impairment (SLI) cases decreased from 523 to 470 (about a 10% drop). Roth noted the district’s IEP compliance work: last year the district’s IEP submission compliance rate through New Hampshire’s NESIS was 91%.

Roth reiterated core IDEA concepts, noting that FAPE — free appropriate public education — requires services at no cost to families when those services are necessary for a student to access education. "Every student is a general education student first," Roth said, describing the district’s emphasis on providing supports in general-education settings whenever appropriate and using the least restrictive environment (LRE) continuum to guide placement decisions.

The presentation reviewed the special-education process and timelines: referral and disposition (within 15 days), parent consent, evaluation (up to 60 days), eligibility across the 13 IDEA categories, IEP development, and annual reviews with triennial reevaluations. Roth also described deliberation forms the district uses to document decisions tied to more restrictive placements, specialized transportation and paraprofessional supports; she cautioned that adding paras can sometimes make a setting more restrictive if teams do not plan for fading support and student independence.

Assistant Director Ayesha Weaver presented the district’s October 1 enrollments and school-level breakdowns. Weaver said total district enrollment is 11,990 and confirmed the special-education count of 3,065, a net increase of 279 special-education students over the prior year. She clarified that the special-education figure includes students served in Manchester schools and students served outside the district (charters, foster placements, out-of-district treatment programs) and said the district provides services for roughly 294–295 students who are educated outside district school buildings.

Weaver reviewed program placement and capacity across grade bands and schools. She said Manchester has a range of self-contained and specialized placements (from full inclusion with accommodations to residential placements) and that school-level special-education percentages range from about 15.18% to 31.39%. The district added three self-contained classrooms over the summer: two ASD classrooms at Greenacres and one ASD classroom at Northwest; to accommodate these changes the district moved deaf/hard-of-hearing (DHH) and preschool classrooms to Highland Golf. Weaver said most self-contained classrooms are at or near capacity.

On staffing, Weaver reported recent paraprofessional hiring and turnover figures: the district hired 119 paraprofessionals last year, 67 resigned, and 258 were active at the June 30 snapshot. For fiscal 2026 the district has budgeted 324 paraprofessional positions and reported that average paraprofessional pay rose from $21,888 to $27,568. The district said part of the change reflects converting some expensive contracted services to employed paraprofessionals.

Board members pressed district staff for disaggregated data that will inform the budget process. Committee members asked for breakdowns of (a) how many of the 3,065 special-education students are served inside Manchester schools versus outside placements, (b) counts by placement on the LRE continuum (full inclusion, resource pull-out, self-contained, specialized day, residential), and (c) cost-per-student estimates and transportation costs linked to special-education placements. Weaver and Roth agreed to prepare monthly data grids and a separate budget-prep briefing focused on student services, and to schedule deeper dives on paraprofessionals, transportation deliberations and Extended School Year (ESY) services.

The meeting record includes the following district figures presented by staff (as stated during the briefing): total district enrollment 11,990 (10/01/2025); special-education enrollment 3,065 (10/01/2025); ASD 533 (up from 408); OHI 868 (up from 520); SLI 470 (down from 523); out-of-district placements ~294–295; paraprofessional hires 119, resignations 67, active paras at June 30 = 258; FY26 budgeted para positions = 324; average paraprofessional salary ~ $27,568.

Board discussion emphasized that special-education growth drives mandatory district costs under IDEA, can reduce flexibility in other program budgets, and requires clear public messaging to municipal and state policymakers when funding decisions are considered. Roth and Weaver said the district will provide a glossary/FAQ for the public and the board, monthly enrollment and services dashboards, and targeted follow-up sessions to address transportation, paraprofessional deployment and budget scenarios.

Ending note: the board moved to adjourn after the presentation and Q&A; the motion was seconded and carried.