MANCHESTER, N.H. – It’s been said countless times in 2020 and 2021, but the COVID-19 pandemic has created new realities that otherwise may not have been there, including four candidates for Ward 2’s Board of School Committee (BOSC) seat this fall.
Jim Lupien was motivated to run for the seat after what he saw from the BOSC during the pandemic, disagreeing with decisions such as calling for snow day cancellations despite students learning remotely, stating that the board’s decisions were focused primarily of the interests of teachers at the expense of families and students.
Lupien said that while he received immediate responses from At-Large BOSC Member Jim O’Connell, he disagreed with the responses he received and he never heard back from Ward 2 BOSC Member Kathleen Kelly-Arnold.
“There are a lot of advocates for the teacher on the board, but there is a gap for parents and families. A lot of the decisions that were made had a heavy impact on families and I don’t think there was a lot of appreciation of that regarding things,” he says.
That, along with seeing the candidates on the second-to-last day of the filing period and feeling that conservative voters needed an alternative was enough to drive him to put his name on the ballot.
Lupien’s hope is to change the board’s approach to create what he sees as a balance between the interests of teachers, parents and students. However, he also believes that there are many good teachers in the Manchester School District and they have done a good job with the resources they have, particularly in terms of helping students learning English as a second language.
With a child in Smyth Road Elementary School, this will be Lupien’s first run for a municipal elected office in Manchester. Lupien served as a state representative for two years in the 1990s, but otherwise was not involved in politics outside of volunteering for Phil Gramm and Bob Dole’s presidential campaigns, quitting entirely by the late 90s.
Professionally, Lupien has 30 years of experience in materials management. Currently he serves as the Southern New Hampshire supply chain manager for Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health.