MANCHESTER, N.H. – New Hampshire Listens was the primary topic among Manchester Board of School Committee (BOSC) members on Monday night, following a trend in recent weeks at committee level, with the UNH-based group receiving funding approval on a pair of items.
The first item referred to a request by the BOSC Superintendent Search Committee, which requested up to $10,000 for outreach efforts in the search to replace former Manchester School District Superintendent Dr. John Goldhardt. This funding would be added to the $2,000 already spent in those efforts.
While funding is going toward placing advertising in various areas, the BOSC Superintendent Search Committee has indicated that increased input from Manchester residents, especially underrepresented communities within Manchester such as the BIPOC community, must be obtained during the search process through a neutral and experienced organization.
The second item requested approximately $20,000 to help develop the Manchester School District’s Lau Plan, a requirement for school districts to provide a learning plan for students who are not fluent in English. The Manchester School District has not updated its Lau Plan since 2013.
New Hampshire Listens, a project of the University of New Hampshire Carsey School of Policy developed to create dialogue about civic engagement at the local level, has been praised by several members of the BOSC for their efforts in the past engaging and obtaining opinions from hard-to-reach members of the public in Manchester and other parts of the state.
At-Large BOSC Member Peter Argeropoulos and Ward 6 BOSC Member Ken Tassey Jr. have been the primary opponents of recommending funding for New Hampshire Listens at the committee level, although both men were not necessarily opposed to the group as much as they sought more information.
Tassey Jr. expressed concern about a meeting held by New Hampshire Listens in Exeter where things got heated to the point where police were required to arrive at the event.
New Hampshire Listens Director and Co-Founder Michele Holt-Shannon told Tassey Jr. that there are events held by the group where a host requests that local police be informed due to fears of violence, with the meeting Tassey Jr. mentioned became heated due to discussion of race. However, police officers at that event were able to calm the crowd and dialogue was able to resume.
Tassey Jr. also expressed concern regarding Manchester School District Chief Equity Officer Tina Philibotte, who serves on the board of New Hampshire Listens. Philibotte has been one of the major advocates of bringing New Hampshire Listens on board for increased community outreach in recent weeks. Manchester School District Attorney Katherine Cox-Pelletier noted that Philibotte’s role with the group is comparable to a consultant than an employee and she has not engaged in work with the group within Manchester, precluding any conflict of interest.
Argeropoulos’ main concern has been the lack of a specific strategy or tangible goals from the group on how they would obtain opinions from Manchester residents, stating that he could not support giving funding to the group until they provided details.
Holt-Shannon appeared to answer Argeropoulos’ questions on Monday, marking what was the first appearance by a New Hampshire Listens member before a BOSC hearing this year. She told Argeropoulos and other members of the board that the group proactively seeks out members of the community and then obtains “artifacts” from dialogue sessions with those community members, crafted toward questions that are requested to be answered by local officials.
Members of the BOSC reiterated their support for New Hampshire Listens’ work in the past, with Ward 4 BOSC Member Leslie Want also noting that the BOSC has spent $50,000 for outside consultants during previous superintendent searches.
The time-sensitive nature of both requests was also noted, with a new superintendent recommendation due by June 1 and the revised Lau Plan due by August.
Both requests were approved without roll call votes.
Due to the group’s role in both items on the agenda, Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig had to step in at times to remind BOSC members to focus specifically on the item being discussed at that moment. She also urged BOSC members to attempt to keep such in-depth discussions on certain topics before they come to the full board.
