MANCHESTER, NH – The Manchester Board of School Committee (BOSC) is holding their final meeting of the year on Christmas week and one item in their action agenda could have an impact of the future of children’s basketball in the city.
During the BOSC Finance and Facilities Dec. 10th meeting, Assistant Superintendent Kelly Espinola put forward a request from Chris Morgan of the Manchester Basketball League to waive custodial fees when the league uses Southside Middle School and Parkside Middle School.
Now in its fifth year, the Manchester Basketball League provides an opportunity for elementary school students to continue playing basketball throughout the winter if they do not make their school teams. The cost of custodial services has been indicated as a significant amount by the league given that approximately 80 percent of the 400 student participants in the league are given some form of scholarship.
Basketball custodian cost impact
Espinola put forth three options to the board (see financial impacts below), the first option would be to completely remove the custodian during hours when the league is using school facilities, saving them $15,474.40 in fees. The second option would be to continue charging the league that amount and keep the custodian in place during those times. The third option is to hire a custodian for only four hours per day on the days when the league is using the facilities, which would cost the league $6,403.20
These three options did not come with any recommendation from Espinola. When asked by Ward 9 BOSC Member Bob Baines which option Espinola would prefer if she came forward as a school principal rather than an assistant superintendent, she said that she would be willing to allow the league to perform its own custodial services as long as the agreement could be waived if something went wrong.
Baines also noted that custodians also play a security role on weekends when the league is using the facilities in addition to their primary cleaning role.
BOSC Vice-Chair Jim O’Connell acknowledged that the league holds a positive role in the city, but feared that approving a full or partial waiver of the custodial fees could a precedent where other worthy non-profit youth organizations would also ask for full or partial waivers of custodial fees or rental fees.
Ward 1 BOSC Member Julie Turner voiced concern that approving a full or partial waiver could impact ongoing negotiations with Aramark, the district’s contracted cleaning service.
“It seems very weird that we’re struggling with consistency and then we’d ask another entity (to clean the facilities),” she said. “I don’t like putting ourselves out there and having someone else clean the buildings when we already have a contracted cleaning service.”
There were also concerns over what would happen if the league did not adequately clean the facilities after they use them, impacting the appearance and utilization of the schools during normal school hours.
Morgan told Manchester Ink Link that proposal is designed to help the league given the large number of children playing for free. He added that he is amenable to any help that the school district can give and that there is generally not much to clean after the league’s game days.
While Baines requested that the matter be tabled, O’Connell noted the time sensitivity of the request given that the season has already begun.
The committee did not provide any recommendation on the request, which appears as Item 9d on the board’s Dec. 22 meeting.
UPDATE: In the December 22, 2025 BOSC Meeting, Manchester School District Administrators requested that the matter be referred back to committee.