MANCHESTER, N.H. – On Wednesday, the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BMA) will hold a special hearing to consider the allocation of $6,517,315 in supplemental appropriations from the State of New Hampshire.
This funding has been provided as a result of higher than expected free-and-reduced lunch aid, which the Manchester School District has requested the BMA to accept and forward to the district’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget, with that fiscal year having begun on July 1, 2024.
During a discussion with Ward 8 Alderman Ed Sapienza on the Oct. 15, Manchester School District Karen DeFrancis indicated that if the funding was not provided to the school district, it would go to lower the city’s local school property tax rate, which as of 2023 was set at $7.31 per thousand dollars of property valuation.
Manchester School District Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Chmiel said during that same BMA meeting, the funding would likely go to one-time funding priorities.
Originally the meeting was to be held on Nov. 19. A special hearing for public input on the request will begin at 5 p.m., followed by a public meeting. The public meeting will begin with a vote to rescind the Nov. 19 date. If this is approved, it would be followed by a recess to review the request in the BMA Committee on Finance and a return to the BMA itself to take action on the request.