Study recommends closure of four schools, building new school and renovating others

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MANCHESTER, N.H. – On Wednesday, the Manchester Board of School Committee’s Finance and Facilities Committee will take a look at the draft of a school district facilities capacity and utilization report.

The full report and meeting agenda can be found below, here are some of the highlights from the report.

Enrollment

  • Total enrollment in Manchester’s public schools have decreased by 20 percent over the last ten years, with high school enrollment decreasing by 30 percent during that time frame (page 11).
  • Looking at high school senior classes over the past seven years, approximately 60 percent of incoming freshmen do not stay in the district for four years, although this year’s figure has jumped to 77 percent (page 19)

Facility Status

  • In an assessment study of educational suitability, building condition and technological readiness at the city’s schools, not one was classified as “excellent” overall, with only six of the 22 schools classified overall in the “good” range. Hallsville Elementary was the only school to receive an unsatisfactory overall grade, also receiving unsatisfactory grades in building condition and educational suitability.
  • The average school building age in the Manchester School District is 70 years, well beyond the 46-year-old average school age across the northeast. In buildings planned and built before 1980, space was not included for Title I, English Language Support, Special Education, current technology or the flexible learning spaces needed to support various learning styles. (page 17)

Fiscal Analysis

  • To get to the mid-range of the “good category in all three categories and the overall category would cost $92.7 million, ranging from $16.7 million at Manchester Central High School to just over $256,000 at Highland/Goffe’s Falls Elementary. (Page 18)
  • The school district has deferred $158 million in maintenance, lifecycle and capital improvement costs. (page 20)

Recommendations

  • Closing four elementary schools: Hallsville, Gossler Park, Smyth Road and Wilson for re-purposing or sale. Doing so would reduce the excess number of seats by almost half and save the district $18.3 million in deferred maintenance, systems upgrades and capital improvements as well as $200,000 annually in utility costs. Redundant staff would also likely be let go, providing more cost savings. (Page 21).
  • A brand-new school at the site of Smyth Road with the savings accrued from the four school closures and then merging Webster and McDonough Elementary Schools’ students into the new school. This would add another $9.6 million in savings (Page 22).
  • A brand-new school at the site of Smyth Road with the savings accrued from the four school closures and then merging Webster and McDonough Elementary Schools’ students into the new school. This would add another $9.6 million in savings (Page 22).
  • Merging Memorial and Manchester School of Technology and renovating West and Central High Schools and provide specialized alternative schools within Central (Page 24).
  • All other schools should also be renovated and made more efficient. (Page 25).

 

About this Author

Andrew Sylvia

Assistant EditorManchester Ink Link

Born and raised in the Granite State, Andrew Sylvia has written approximately 10,000 pieces over his career for outlets across Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. On top of that, he's a licensed notary and licensed to sell property, casualty and life insurance, he's been a USSF trained youth soccer and futsal referee for the past six years and he can name over 60 national flags in under 60 seconds according to that flag game app he has on his phone, which makes sense because he also has a bachelor's degree in geography (like Michael Jordan). He can also type over 100 words a minute on a good day.