MANCHESTER, N.H. – As the Manchester Board of School Committee (BOSC) prepares for what will likely be a difficult budget season, they took up a potentially contentious money-related topic during their Dec. 22, 2025 meeting: a growing amount of student unpaid meal debt.
The topic was brought up by Ward 9 BOSC member Bob Baines, referencing an update from the Dec.10,2025 BOSC Finance and Facilities Meeting by Manchester School District Chief Financial Officer Karen DeFrancis. During the Dec. 10 meeting, DeFrancis reported that there is currently about $300,000 of meal debt, accrued by students unable to pay for school meals without corresponding subsidies making up for the loss of revenue into the district’s food service account. DeFrancis added that last year that total was at $250,000 and during the COVID pandemic the total was at approximately $50,000 to $75,000.
In the past, students who were unable to pay for meals or had yet to repay previous meals were given cheese sandwiches or sunflower seed butter sandwiches, but that practice was discontinued to prevent students unable to pay for meals from being harassed by their peers. Now, students in that situation are entitled to any item outside of specialty “a la carte” offerings.
DeFrancis’ update came at the request of Manchester School District Director School Food and Nutrition Services Jim Connors. She also noted that if the amount of meal debt becomes too high, federal accounting guidelines would require that the amount be written off into district’s general fund, impacting the district’s overall budget.
Ward 7 BOSC member Chris Potter noted during the Dec. 10 meeting and again during the Dec. 22 meeting that families can avoid a negative balance if they apply for the free and reduced cost school lunch program, providing government assistance for school lunches for families making up to 185 percent of the federal poverty line. BOSC Vice Chair Jim O’Connell noted that in 43 states, Medicaid funding can also be allocated toward free and reduced cost school lunches, but not in New Hampshire. Ward 8 BOSC member Jess Spillers also indicated that SNAP-eligible families can participate in the free and reduced cost school lunch program.
Ward 5 BOSC member Jason Bonilla expressed his frustration with the situation that poor families in Manchester face regarding not being able to afford school meals for their children, with shame from filling out forms and constant notices about meal debt.
“I think the fact that we’re having this discussion is disgusting,” he said. “I mean, every child should get whatever they want, whenever they need to eat.”
Bonilla also opposed the specialized sandwiches in the previous version of the policy, referring to them as “tiered” meals in potential reference to “levelled” classes prior to 2021 in Manchester that were seen by many as discriminatory.
Baines noted that this topic was brought up not as an attempt to deny school meals for students, but as an alarm regarding a significant amount of money that could eventually impact the district’s overall financial state.
The topic is expected to be discussed further at the next BOSC Policy Committee meeting on Jan. 21, 2026.