2 weeks Ago
Reaction from Manchester school board members to Phase II of the school district’s Long Range Facilities Plan — which includes new construction and renovation work totaling more than $2 billion — was mostly positive, while some members of the public aired concerns over the cost. The plan references a new Central High School, and renovation and new construction at West and Memorial, with cost estimates ranging from $911 million to $1.3 billion.
Phase II also recommends closing Manchester School of Technology and redistributing Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses among the three remaining high schools, as well as between $852 million and $894 million in construction and renovations to elementary schools. Monday’s meeting featured a presentation by representatives from SMMA, conversation and questions on them, but no votes. Board member Julie Turner said her children attend math class on the third floor of Central High School’s “classical building,” which opened in 1897.
“It looks identical to what it did in the 1800s,” Turner said. “This plan is a long-term plan over the course of 29 years. I am 46 years old.
If I keep getting voted into this seat, I will be 85 years old when this plan is realized. I keep hearing, ‘well, now is not the time. We can't do it now.
We've got different things that we should look at. We need to look at our buildings. “Nothing has been touched on these buildings since I moved here in 2002.
” Board member Leslie Want said Manchester students are “very deserving of excellent school buildings.” “Last year, looking up the per-pupil spending in the state, Manchester was the fifth from the bottom in per pupil spending,” Want said. “So we are not wasting money.
We're not extravagant. We're not spending money like water running through, you know, whatever — a sink. We have been very frugal with the money that we've been given by this city and this state.
We’ve spent it well ...
it is past time for us to invest in our schools.” Last week, Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais said while he needs to review the plan more deeply, “I cannot support a multibillion-dollar spend that will undoubtedly be borne by Manchester taxpayers,” adding “these undertakings must always be done with taxpayers in mind.” Alderman Joe Kelly Levasseur was stunned at the cost, saying the “tone-deaf big spenders on the school board have proven they cannot be trusted with money or even the basic educational needs of our students.
” “Bricks and mortar will not improve test scores,” Levasseur said. Phase II follows the previously approved $306 million first phase of the school district’s long-term facilities planning project, which includes the closure of Henry Wilson Elementary School, construction of a new elementary school near the current Beech Street School, shifting Hillside and McLaughlin middle schools to the grade 5-8 model, and additions and renovations at all four middle schools to accommodate fifth-grade students. Phase II includes building a new Central High School at a site to be finalized, serving 2,000 students (Central’s current enrollment is 1,129).
Building a new 445,000-square-foot high school at Central’s current location would require a five-story building and removal of all existing buildings and no on-site athletic fields. The plan mentions additions and renovations to Memorial High School, which would be home to 1,200 students (current enrollment 1,302) and additions and renovations at West High School to better serve 800 students (current enrollment 767 students). Estimated costs for the high school plans are pegged at $560 million for a new Central, $442 million for Memorial and $363 million for West, totaling more than $1.
36 billion. Phase II references looking at ways to repurpose the Manchester School of Technology building (current enrollment 305 students) following completion of a new Central High, along with additions and renovations at Memorial. Potential opportunities include creating a special-needs alternative middle/high school (which could generate tuition from neighboring communities), or a possible site for offices for the Manchester School District’s transportation office.
During the public comment portion of Monday’s meeting, former school board member Rich Girard referenced a 2021 study conducted on the condition of city schools. “If this board were to revisit that study and update the numbers, there's no doubt that we could rehabilitate Manchester's schools, as many in Manchester have, with buildings much older and not for the same use, at a fraction of the cost of the $2.3 billion proposed and at a fraction of the “306 million that's already been approved,” Girard said.
Sue Hannan, president of the Manchester Education Association, said she’s hearing the “same tired arguments that come to us over and over again that really have no weight behind them.” “It's very frustrating to hear that some people are still not understanding what the importance of bringing our schools up to date is,” Hannan said. “Yes, we do need to do a lot of renovating, and we do need to make some changes, and we do need to build some new schools.
And yep, that's going to be a lot of money down the pike. This is a 25- to 30-year plan. “Our kids and our future is what's at stake here.
” Patricia Anglin, a school nurse at Central High School and the union rep for school nurses in Manchester, said she hopes people will hold judgment until after they hear the plan. “It is a recommendation — nothing's been voted on, nothing’s solid,” Anglin said. “ And it unfortunately appears that people have made their decisions already regarding our buildings and wanting to put off funding on buildings for immediate needs.
Our students deserve to not have a school where sewage comes up into the main office in the nurse's office. They deserve to have a school where the roof doesn't leak, so the nurse has to cover her computer every day with a garbage bag. “So yeah, putting off the buildings is not viable.
” School board Vice Chair Jim O’Connell said the fact officials are “going through this process” represents a “momentous day” in Manchester. “I would hope that our community can rise to the level of conversation that you have in this room tonight, where people with different perspectives and different ideas can talk, give their point of view and listen and engage.” Superintendent of Schools Jennifer Chmiel said Phase II is a “roadmap for the long-term facilities planning” for the district, the result of “months of work between the district, community and our expert consultants, SMMA.
” “This is not an ‘everything right now’ plan, rather it is a staggered 25-30 year guide for our school facilities, serving multiple generations and ensuring we are constantly moving forward while investing in our facilities.”.
