MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Manchester Board of School Committee (BOSC) Finance and Facilities committee recommended a $188,759,220 Fiscal Year 2024 Manchester School District tax cap revenue and expenditure budget on Wednesday night, as well as additional requested funding beyond tax cap limitations and a proposed school food and nutrition budget as well.
That figure comes from Manchester Tax Cap requirements under the city charter, which takes the average Consumer Price Index (CPI) the previous three years as a maximum amount increase the Manchester School District can place either on tax revenue appropriations or expenditures.
That percentage this year is 4.96%, weighed down by a significantly lower CPI in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic (1.4% compared to 7.0% in 2021 and 6.5% in 2022). That 4.96% increase over the Fiscal Year 2023 state and local tax revenues amounts to $118,038,585; and that figure added to expected adequate education aid leads to the $188,759,220 figure.
Those two totals in Fiscal Year 2023 came out to $190,328,128. However, BOSC Vice Chair Jim O’Connell noted that if HB 601 is signed into law by New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, that would bring approximately $2 million in extra funds that could be used toward the FY’ 24 budget as it would be accounted as federal aid rather than tax appropriation not put toward the tax cap, bringing it almost level to FY’ 23’s overall tax cap budget total.
Although a 4.96% increase in district expenditures would come to a total of $199,768,403; that figure must be lowered to the $188,759,220 amount per tax cap requirements.
Those expenditures came down significantly through the replacement of retiring staff members with entry-level replacements hired at a lower salary and the expectation that not all openings will be replaced and thus not placed into the budget this fiscal year, with over 100 openings expected to be filled last year unable to be filled despite district efforts.
A total amount toward the district’s marketing budget has yet to be determined for filling district openings, especially regarding the district’s significant shortage of paraprofessional educators.
A total of $3,997,649 has also been requested in various items should a tax cap override be approved by the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen, with approximately $2.5 million of that amount going toward teaching and learning as well as equity-related improvements, particularly staffing in those areas, which appear to be among the first vacancies that would be put back onto the budget.
Other separate budget appropriations requiring approval include the school food and nutrition budget ($5,819,971) and Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) proposals ($5,819,971) although O’Connell noted that the CIP figure is expected to climb by approximately $300,000 by the end of the budget process.
Adequacy aid expectations fell by approximately $8 million due to lower enrollment figures, and free and reduced lunch applications that have not returned to pre-pandemic numbers, following a pause on free and reduced lunch application figures counting against adequacy aid calculations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While the CPI average will likely increase in future years with that 2020 CPI dropping off, the district is also set to run out of federal assistance from Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding in the near future.
Ward 7 BOSC Member Chris Potter also expressed concern with deferred maintenance being bonded out, which leads to debt service reducing available money for other needed expenses as well as the ability to bond out the large capital projects that will be needed as part of the district’s facilities renovation plan.
Manchester School District Chief Financial Officer Karen DeFrancis noted that the district’s debt obligations were set to drop significantly within the next several years, with current bond requests reflecting that reality.
There were also frustrations with the lack of certainty over several other equity-related expenditures, such as funding for BIPOC-related classes, as well as the district remaining at the lowest cost-per-pupil amount in the State of New Hampshire. However, there was also pride in advancements that had been made, which Ward 1 BOSC Member Julie Turner called palpable.
“I see the growth happening, I reflect back where we were, where we’re growing, and what’s happening now,” she said.
Manchester School District Superintendent Dr. Jenn Gillis noted that these figures are a first step in the process, with additional input and updates to the district’s fiscal data as of yet unknown potentially able to tweak aspects of the budget other than the tax cap figure.
Although only the Board of Mayor and Aldermen can approve a school budget over the tax cap, requiring 10 votes to do so, the BOSC Finance and Facilities Committee recommended to the full BOSC that they request a tax cap budget plus the additional approximate $4 million in additional needs and the food and nutrition budget. The CIP funding has already been acted upon.
The full BOSC will hold a public hearing on the budget next Wednesday, Feb. 22
