MANCHESTER, NH – The long-awaited Phase Two of the Manchester School District’s Long Term Facilities Plan is set to be discussed at the Manchester Board of School Committee’s meeting on Monday Dec. 9.
In this new phase, all of Manchester’s 12 existing public elementary schools will receive updates – excluding for Beech Street Elementary School, which was proposed to be rebuilt across the street from its current location as part of the first phase of the facilities plan. That proposal is dependent on a land swap which stalled out two weeks ago after the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted 8-7 to “pause” the project.
In addition to Beech Street, there will be new buildings at Bakersville, Gossler Park, Jewett Street, Smyth Road and Webster Elementary Schools. Weston, Northwest, McDonough, Parker-Varney, Highland-Goffes Falls, and Green Acres will receive renovations.
The schools will be rebuilt or renovated in four phases: Gossler Park, Jewett Street and Smyth Road in the first group (2026-2032), Bakersville, McDonough and Webster in the second group (2033-2039), Highland-Goffe’s Falls, Northwest, Weston in the third group (2040-2046) and Green Acres and Parker Varney in the final group (2047-2053).
With the first phase of the facilities plan finalizing the transition of fifth grade public school classes into the city’s four public middle schools, there are no further plans for the middle schools in Phase Two. However, the city’s public high schools will receive a complete update.
Manchester West, Central and Memorial High Schools will remain at their existing locations, with Career and Technical studies offered at the Manchester School of Technology distributed among Central and Memorial, with a Magnet School for the Arts joining the general studies program at West.
Central in particular will be completely rebuilt, either on its current campus or at an alternative location not mentioned in the agenda materials for next week’s Board of School Committee meeting.
Plans for both potential rebuilt Central High Schools are projected at five stories tall, with the option remaining at the current campus removing existing underground parking.
Memorial would also be rebuilt on its current campus along the edge of Weston Road, with parking and athletic fields placed at the current location of the school building.
Central’s design and construction would take place from 2026 to 2033, followed by Memorial (2033-2040) and West (2040-2047).
The current Manchester School of Technology building would be transformed into potential central offices for the district, a special needs school for Grades 5-12, transportation offices, adult education services. This transformation would take place only after conclusion of the Central and Memorial plans.
Costs for the elementary school proposals in Phase 2 range from $852 to $894 million. The high school cost will range from $1.365 to $1.433 billion.
Manchester School District Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Chmiel released the following statement on the information set to be presented at next week’s meeting.
“We are looking forward to bringing our roadmap for the long-term facilities planning to the Board of School Committee on Monday, December 9th. This roadmap is the result of months of work between the district, community and our expert consultants, SMMA. We have approached this work with a respect for studies of the past along with changes in educational practices to better align the district with 21st Century learning.
The recommendations contained within this long-term roadmap can serve as a guide to help both current and future city leaders plan for and invest in our District school buildings, which benefits our city as a whole. 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.
We fully understand the ongoing need to work to identify funding options and strategies for this roadmap to ensure the level of affordability needed for the greater community. Our primary focus at this time continues to be the Priority One projects – specifically the previously approved additions and renovations of the four middle schools and construction of the new Beech Street elementary school.”
A full copy of the presentation can be found below.