MANCHESTER, NH – The Manchester Board of School Committee’s Committee on Finance and Facilities narrowly recommended a new Fiscal Year 2027 contract with Aramark during their April 8, 2026 meeting after promises of a “reset” in terms of communications and expectations.
Aramark, the Manchester School District’s current custodial services and preventative maintenance provider provided the lowest bid in a recent request for proposals providing custodial services for 32 school and city buildings totaling approximately 2.79 million square feet as well as preventative maintenance and life safety testing across 56 facilities.
The bid, proposed at $5,630,843.79; also provided more full-time staff than the other bids coming from ABM and SJ Services. That amount represents a $789,642 increase over the final total given to Aramark in Fiscal Year 2026, with that final total reduced by $392,400 from an earlier amount.
In the new proposal, Aramark representatives promised to fill an empty general management position and a higher emphasis on addressing various concerns that have plagued the relationship between Aramark and the Manchester School District in recent years.
Aramark Vice President Brian Bilthuis told the board that the new proposal veers away from APPA standards: the generally agreed upon metrics for school custodial services which he said could become subjective in many circumstances. Instead, his goal if a new agreement is reached would instead be to create and meet expectations through continual dialogue and assessment of needs.
“If we’re not delivering on something, that’s our responsibility,” he said.
The new proposal also notes that Aramark will introduce cleaning robots into schools for more mundane tasks to free up staff for other issues of higher importance. The proposal also has a one-year trial period provision.
Ward 1 Board of School Committee Member Julie Turner has frequently voiced frustration with Aramark’s inability to meet standards set by the district, but during recent discussion responses to concerns she saw from Aramark, she told other members of the committee that she could support Aramark’s bid.
“I know the folks in this committee have heard me over a year with some displeasure and I’m here tonight to say that I am pleased moving forward with Aramark,” she said.
In addition to Turner, At-Large Committee Member Jim O’Connell and Ward 2 Committee Member Sean Parr supported the recommendation while it got opposition from Ward 10 Committee Member Gary Hamer and Ward 7 Committee Member Chris Potter.
Given the district’s current approximately $15 million shortfall that needs to be overcome if staff reductions are to be avoided, Potter was upset that the new proposal came in at a higher number than earlier years, especially when the board had expressed its dissatisfaction in the past.
Manchester Department of Public Works Director Tim Cloughterty, one of the individuals testifying to the committee regarding the bid, stated to Potter that the request for proposals was an open and public process, with the three proposals and their amounts being the only ones that were submitted.
Final approval of the contract will be determined by acceptance of the committee’s report during the full Board of School Committee Meeting on April 13.