MANCHESTER, N.H. – Remnants of Primary Night national news stages were still being broken down in the City Hall parking lot on Wednesday night as the Board of School Committee (BOSC) met a few hundred feet away. Fortunately, the parking wasn’t really needed on this night.
The BOSC needed just about 20 minutes to get through the meeting, originally scheduled for Monday but moved to Wednesday due to various downtown closures connected with the New Hampshire Primary.
No one participated in the meeting’s public forum, and the student communication update was cancelled due to the scheduling change preventing the Manchester School of Technology’s representative from coming and the fact that Memorial High School does not currently have a student representative.
Memorial was also the subject of discussion regarding its turf field and athletic track, which are both in need of repair.
Assistant Superintendent Jennifer Gillis told the board that capital improvement proposal will be discussed on Thursday and that will determine whether the field can be used this fall.
According to Gillis, the field is currently four year beyond its expected life span and the track can no longer be used for events due to various pot holes.
Ward 6 BOSC Member Dan Bergeron told the board that organizations frequently rent the field, with At-Large BOSC Member Jim O’Connell recommending that the school’s tennis courts also should be renovated at the same time.
O’Connell also asked about a proposed change that would separate the two BOSC meetings each month into more free-flowing “workshop” meetings more focused on discussion and “business” meetings focused on making decisions.
The matter was supposed to be discussed on Wednesday, but was delayed by Mayor Joyce Craig, who said topic was not yet ready to be discussed by the full board, with the topic expected to be discussed at a future date after more detailed proposals regarding the logistics of the new format can be brought to the board for its consideration.
