Aldermen join School Board opposition to SB 193

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MANCHESTER, NH – On Tuesday night, the Manchester Board of Aldermen voted to support a letter asking legislators to oppose Senate Bill 193.

The letter, drafted by Manchester School District superintendent Bolgen Vargas, was approved by the School Board a 10-3-1 vote last week.

No formal roll call was taken on the motion to support the letter after it was clear a majority of the Aldermen backed the School Board’s decision, although the voice vote was not unanimous.

However, those voicing opposition to the motion did not speak in favor of Senate Bill 193, instead urging patience.

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Alderman Tony Sapienza on January 16, 2018

Alderman John Cataldo told the board that he was not prepared to vote on the matter, which was discussed in the board’s general legislative update, while Alderman Barbara Shaw said that the legislation may soon be tabled or radically altered by the legislature, making the letter a moot point.

The most vocal opponent to the motion was Alderman Joe Kelly Levasseur, who supported the concept of school choice espoused by the bill, but was uncertain about the bill’s details and requested an expert provide clarity to the board before acting on the letter.

Levasseur also questioned whether drawing back students leaving the school district could counteract any negative impacts the legislation may have.

Supporters of the letter were less equivocal, seeing little grey area on legislation they believed would harm Manchester’s public schools.

“You either support SB 193 or you support the Manchester School System, (but) you can’t support both,” said Alderman Tony Sapienza. “It’s obvious.”

Mayor Joyce Craig, who spent much of the day in Concord Tuesday testifying against the bill, indicated it would take away approximately $400,000 in funding currently allocated for Manchester’s public schools if 35 students took advantage of it.

Supporters of the letter also indicated that the legislation could violate the state constitution’s prohibition on giving public funding to institutions of any particular religious denomination.

The bill is currently in the hands of the Finance Committee of New Hampshire House of Representatives after being transferred, following recommendation from the House’s Education Committee.

After amendments, the bill passed the State Senate last March, with Manchester senators Donna Soucy and Lou D’Allesandro voting against its passage.

 

About this Author

Andrew Sylvia

Assistant EditorManchester Ink Link

Born and raised in the Granite State, Andrew Sylvia has written approximately 10,000 pieces over his career for outlets across Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. On top of that, he's a licensed notary and licensed to sell property, casualty and life insurance, he's been a USSF trained youth soccer and futsal referee for the past six years and he can name over 60 national flags in under 60 seconds according to that flag game app he has on his phone, which makes sense because he also has a bachelor's degree in geography (like Michael Jordan). He can also type over 100 words a minute on a good day.