MANCHESTER, NH – The Manchester Board of School Committee spent over three hours on Monday night discussing a variety of topics, with five major roll call votes. Here is a list of each BOSC member’s vote during those roll calls, including a roll call mandating that the School District post roll call votes by the next day.
BOSC member Kelly Thomas was not in attendance and did not participate in any of the votes.
School Nurses
Agenda item 14a, reports from the Committee of Coordination and Administration referencing amendments to student health policies, David Scannell requested an amendment to the motion to accept the report.
Scannell’s amendment asked to change one word on Page 3, transforming the sentence “The Board may appoint a school nurse to function in the school health program and provide school health services,” by replacing “may” with “shall,” indicating that having a school nurse should be a requirement.
Opponents of the motion noted that “shall” appeared in the next sentence, with the wording recommended by the New Hampshire School Board Association. The opponents also indicated that having “shall” appear twice could cause confusion and that schools were unlikely to go without a school nurse, making the requirement unnecessary.
Yea: (6) Scannell, Mary Nwganda Georges, Dan Bergeron, Katie Desrochers, Pat Long, Mayor Joyce Craig.
Nay: (8) Sarah Ambrogi, Leslie Want, Lisa Freeman, Ross Terrio, Jimmy Lehoux, Arthur Beaudry, John Avard, Richard Girard.
Health Care Adjustments for BOSC Members
Currently, any BOSC member can obtain health and dental insurance through the district, with the district paying for 75 percent of annual premiums as of July 1, 2018, down from 80 percent of costs prior to this date.
Freeman requested an amendment that would have seen the district share of premium cost go down to 70 percent and instead adjust it to 55 percent, with BOSC members choosing to enroll paying for 45 percent of premiums.
Supporters of the amendment noted that benefits should not be a driving factor of anyone seeking membership on the BOSC and that the money could be used better to support the city’s schools.
Opponents noted that benefits are a key enticement to recruit potential candidates for the board and reducing them could result in a brain drain, denying potential uninsured candidates who may need to choose between the board’s time commitment and finding a second job that offers health insurance among other concerns.
Yea: (6) Scannell, Freeman, Girard, Terrio, Lehoux, Beaudry
Nay: (8) Avard, Desrochers, Long, Ambrogi, George, Want, Bergeron, Craig
Challenging Motion to Rescind BOSC’s Decision to Sever Ties with the H.O.P.E. Program.
Long requested a motion to rescind a motion the BOSC made in August, severing ties with the H.O.P.E. Program, an initiative at West High School aimed at helping at-risk youth stay in school.
Opponents noted that the program was never properly approved by the board, but rather came into existence through an illegitimate memorandum of understanding, making it ineligible for funding from the district.
Additionally, opponents noted a motion in October advising School District Superintendent Bolgen Vargas to seek out three replacement candidates for the program, which Vargas said could be presented to the board by December.
The opponents also questioned the efficacy of the program and notices they received from members of the public supporting the move.
Supporters noted support from the Board of Aldermen for the program, as well as members of the public earlier in the evening and during previous meetings.
Girard believed the motion itself was out of order, believing that rescinding the motion was tantamount to reconsidering the motion, which can only be done one meeting after the motion is passed barring a vote approving suspension of the board’s rules.
A roll call was then taken on Girard’s vote.
Yea: (6) Girard, Terrio, Lehoux, Beaudry, Avard, Freeman
Nay: (8) Craig, Desrochers, Long, Ambrogi, Scannell, George, Want, Bergeron
Tabling Decision on H.O.P.E.
With the motion declared to be in order, later a motion was made to table rescinding the severing of ties with H.O.P.E. until Vargas could present alternatives.
Yes: (8) Girard, Terrio, Lehoux, Beaudry, Avard, Ambrogi, George, Freeman
No: (6) Craig, Desrochers, Long, Ambrogi, Scannell, Want, Bergeron
Publishing Roll Call Votes Within 24 Hours
Scannell, citing a recent announcement from representatives of the New Hampshire Union Leader that they could not obtain roll call votes until public access television replayed meetings several days later, requested that roll call votes become available the day after any meeting on the district’s website.
Girard made a motion to receive and file this requested rule change, which would prevent immediate action on the proposed change and instead note that it had been heard. Girard explained that audio of the meeting was available quickly, also challenging recent allegations that a discussion relating to renewing Vargas’ contract was done in a non-transparent manner.
Beaudry added to Girard’s concerns relating to transparency during the recent Vargas’ contract discussions, disputing claims made by Scannell in a recent editorial in the Manchester Ink Link.
At one point, Craig questioned the relevance of Beaudry’s comments, with Beaudry replying that Scannell’s statements needed to be addressed in relation to the greater assertion that the board was not being transparent.
After the vote did not pass due to a lack of a majority, it was moved to discussion in committee by a voice vote.
Yes: (7) Girard, Terrio, Lehoux, Beaudry, Avard, George, Freeman
No: (7) Craig, Desrochers, Long, Ambrogi, Scannell, Want, Bergeron