MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Manchester Board of School Committee (BOSC) decided to send a message to Concord over the issue of unfunded mandates on Monday night, albeit a more generic one than Richard Girard might have hoped.
Girard, one of the board’s two at-large members, asked the BOSC to file suit against the State of New Hampshire in regard to RSA 189:16-a, a new state law effective on July 17.
In that law, school districts are required to make menstrual hygiene products available at no cost in female and gender-neutral bathrooms in schools, with districts required to bear the cost related to the menstrual hygiene products.
In Girard’s view, the new law violated Article 28a of the New Hampshire State Constitution, which prohibits the state from mandating programs on local governments without a vote of that local government. Specifically, he indicated that required efforts to come into compliance with the new law will cost Manchester Public Schools $150,000 that was not allocated into this year’s fiscal budget.
Although the board generally agreed with Girard’s stance that any attempt by Concord to force the district to implement a policy without providing funding for that implementation is wrong, the general consensus was that it was not appropriate to push back on this specific topic.
Ward 1 BOSC Member Sarah Ambrogi asked if her name could be removed from any efforts on behalf of the BOSC should the motion pass, with Ward 11 BOSC Member Katie Desrochers noting the new law’s attempt to correct psychological damage faced by many young women regarding the issue of menstruation.
“There’s a stigma to going to the nurse for an 11, 12, 13-year-old woman,” said Desrochers on the issue of menstrual hygiene products. “It’s something that young women are awkward to begin with and if not addressed properly, it goes on throughout their life. This is not the thing we should be focused on.”
In response to other BOSC members, Girard noted that he has three daughters in the school district, but he felt it was not appropriate to not oppose certain laws that can be construed as unfunded mandates just because they are popular.
“If we pick and choose, we’re really saying we’re not serious about the 28a issue,” he said.
Ward 5 BOSC Member Lisa Freeman had concerns over mischief that could arise among students from hygiene products provided under the law, but praised the Manchester Health Department for ensuring that young women in Manchester’s schools could obtain menstrual hygiene products without cost.
For the rest of the board, there was a general consensus that a broader approach should be taken in warning the state legislature that future unfunded mandates would face local opposition.
“We don’t have to fall down on this sword,” said Ward 10 BOSC Member John Avard. “There are many (unfunded mandates) and they keep coming.”
Girard’s motion was amended into a letter from the BOSC to the New Hampshire School Board Association (NHSBA) requesting that the NHSBA investigate potential violations of Article 28a by the State Legislature, not mentioning any specific violation.
That motion passed on a voice vote, but not unanimously.
A related motion by BOSC Vice Chair and Ward 9 Member Arthur Beaudry asking the NHSBA to help oppose any legislation that fiscally impacts local communities without providing state funding also received approval.
