MANCHESTER, NH – While the mandatory public hearing for the annual City and School budgets, occurring at 6 p.m. on Tuesday inside the auditorium of Manchester Memorial High School, is the focal point of this week in Manchester municipal governance, the Board of School Committee will also be holding a meeting a day earlier. Here’s a look at some things the Board of School Committee will be taking a look at during this meeting.
A proposed survey on school start and end times
Assistant Superintendent Kelly Espinola will be presenting a survey for parents requesting their input on school start and end times during the 2026-’27 school year.
Currently, Manchester’s public elementary school days last from 8:20 a.m. to 2:50 p.m. while the middle school days last from 7:25 a.m. to 2:20 p.m. and high school days last from 7:38 a.m. to 2:55 p.m. Manchester School District administration is recommending changing the start/end times to 7:25 a.m.-2:10 p.m./8:25 a.m. to 3:05 p.m./7:58 a.m. to 3:05 p.m. for elementary, middle and high schools respectively. This proposed change comes from research made by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in 2014 recommending that middle school days begin after 8:30 a.m. and younger children can begin their days earlier since they are more apt to rise earlier.
Benefits for district employees joining their spouses health plans
The Board of School Committee’s Finance and Facilities Committee recommended a proposal that would reimburse school district employees if they leave their school district health insurance plans and obtain coverage through health insurance plans of their spouses.
The concept is known as a spousal incentive health reimbursement account or SIHRA, and it would provide $125 in potential reimbursement for any employees joining this approach, with the district choosing healia as its SIHRA provider.
According to a letter from Manchester School District Chief Financial Officer Karen DeFrancis, the district would save $500,000 if 5 percent of employees sign up for the benefits from July 2026 to June 2027.
Central Robotics honored
Manchester Central High School’s U.S. FIRST Robotics Competition team, CHAOS 131, was one of 12 Impact Awards, one of the most prestigious awards in U.S. First Robotics. Representative of the team will be giving a presentation about their activities, which include not just FIRST competitions but also included 16 community service events, 46 engineering demonstrations, 4H club activities and other initiatives.
More information on CHAOS 131’s statistics in their FIRST competitions can be found here.