MANCHESTER, N.H. – On Tuesday night, the Manchester Board of School Committee (BOSC) Teaching and Learning Committee recommended giving New Hampshire Listens $19,950 in Title II funding to develop a Lau Plan, but only if a representative of New Hampshire Listens attends the full BOSC meeting on Monday.
Lau plans, named after a 1973 U.S. Supreme Court case regarding students with limited English proficiency, is a requirement for public school districts to provide details on how they would provide adequate specialized education for students who are not fluent in English.
New Hampshire Listens is a project of the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire that specializes in outreach efforts to historically underserved minority communities, with the BOSC Special Committee on Superintendent Search requesting their efforts to solicit opinions from across the city in finding a new Manchester School District Superintendent.
Like in that committee, At-Large BOSC Member Peter Argeropoulos requested more information on specifics behind what the group would do with the funding to obtain more feedback from historically underserved minority communities, although he was not opposed in supporting the request if he could obtain that information.
Ward 6 BOSC Member Ken Tassey expressed concern over a meeting held by New Hampshire Listens that got heated, with Manchester School District Chief Equity Officer Tina Philibotte explaining that a question regarding Black Lives Matter was asked to a panel member that was African-American, leading to tense and personal questions regarding race.
Philibotte, who also serves on the board of New Hampshire Listens, echoed the sentiments of several BOSC members in praising the work of New Hampshire Listens. She also acknowledged the concerns of Tassey and Argeropoulos and said she could not guarantee that representatives of the organization could attend the full BOSC meeting on Monday.
She added that if funding was not provided on Monday, it would delay efforts to build trust among historically underserved minority communities in Manchester who may retain lingering doubts that their children are beneficiaries of the district’s stated goals of providing quality education to all Manchester students.
Argeropoulos provided the Monday attendance proviso as a compromise amendment, noting the urgency stated from Philibotte as well as his own concerns over spending money without obtaining specifics on how it would be used.
Manchester School District Clerk Angela Carey told the committee that if no member of the organization was in attendance on Monday, the motion could be tabled.
The recommendation was approved unanimously with the exception of Tassey, who voted in opposition.