MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Manchester Board of School Committee (BOSC) will hold a special meeting next week to determine whether Manchester schools will go remote for six weeks starting on Nov. 30.
As of Nov. 9, Manchester has seen 10 of the last 14 days in the “red” tier of the district’s re-opening metrics, with 14 days automatically triggering remote learning for all public school students in the city with very limited exceptions.
The special meeting request came at the behest of Manchester School District Superintendent John Goldhardt, who expressed concerns that 14 straight days of “red” appear likely given current trends and enough staff members may need to be quarantined after leaving New England for the holidays that even partial in-person instruction will be infeasible.
Goldhardt added that if teachers forced to quarantine previously had in-person classes and continue to teach remotely while the students remain in school, a staff member would be required to be in the classroom while the teacher teaches.
Dr. Nicole Leapley (Ward 11) expressed frustration on the possibility that schools may need to go remote while other parts of the state such as bars, gyms and restaurants are not being forced to close despite the spike in new COVID-19 cases across the state. She also expressed frustration that the decision seems to be based on a lack of staff capability rather than safety and that remote learning has inordinately impacted students from disadvantaged students.
William Shea (Ward 7) said that he felt it was unfair to punish those who have been following appropriate social distancing protocols and refraining from travelling. Kathleen Kelly-Arnold (Ward 2) also voiced frustration with the feeling that this decision sounded like a foregone conclusion, but hoped that going fully remote could reduce an even larger outbreak as a silver lining.
“The numbers are going up, people are going away, there are many teachers out there that would rather be remote due to the situation going on. Perhaps everyone would just rather stay remote because they don’t feel safe,” she said.
Goldhardt said he prefers to have a hybrid system, but cannot force employees not to travel and cannot feasibly hold in-person classes with a significant number of staff members forced into quarantine.
Additional information needed for a decision on winter sports tabled earlier in the meeting would not be likely available at the special meeting, which does not currently have a date next week, with a decision on winter sports expected at the BOSC’s Nov. 23 meeting.
In the tabled proposal for winter sports (see below), the winter season would begin near Jan. 17, the suggested end date of the remote learning.
Leapley added that if the district does decide to go fully remote, she could not support winter sports.
Arthur Beaudry (Ward 9) expressed concern with delays regarding the hiring of several coaches for fall sports, adding that no coach should be allowed to coach during the school year until confirmed by the BOSC due to liability issues. Assistant Superintendent Amy Allen replied that in some situations, sudden resignations cause time constraints and a promotion with the Manchester West football team also played a role in delays during the fall. She added that proposed coaching hires for winter sports were included in Monday’s BOSC packet.
Earlier in the evening, the Nashua Board of Education also tabled a final decision on winter sports.
