MANCHESTER, N.H. – While discussion over the upcoming Fiscal Year 2026 budget dominated the Monday, April 14 Board of School Committee (BOSC) meeting, a review of the district’s paraprofessional educators was also presented on that night.
Monday’s presentation followed concerns regarding a “reset” of the Manchester School District’s (MSD) paraprofessional needs the previous month, with BOSC members seeking additional information on the current state of this class of educators that assist teachers in classrooms, often with special education students.
In the presentation (see slides at the top of this story), MSD Assistant Director of Student Services Aisha Weaver, MSD Director of Human Resources Michelle Evans and MSD Executive Director of Finance Karen DeFrancis providing details on the district’s special education population, information about self-contained classrooms for special education students and fluctuations in MSD’s paraprofessional compliment, including a look at voluntary and involuntary termination data.
According to the presenters, one of the key components in addressing the district’s paraprofessional needs comes from the integration of registered behavior technicians alongside more traditional paraprofessionals as well as augmenting the existing paraprofessional cohort with outside contractors. While the amount of outside contracted paraprofessionals are easier to find given that they are paid more than the average $17.50 per hour that in-district paraprofessionals make, they are not provided with any benefits such as health insurance or retirement funding that in-district paraprofessionals receive.
Ward 1 BOSC Member Julie Turner asked if homeless students identified under the McKinney Vento Act are classified under the district’s special education population, being told that some are, but the key task with McKinney-Vento students is determining district liability, as students with families that are homeless in another community may be eligible for school transport to Manchester if that was the location of their last stable housing or it is determined that transport to Manchester would be in the best interests of that student.
Given that in-house paraprofessionals would likely cost less than contracted paraprofessionals, Ward 5 BOSC Member Jason Bonilla asked how many paraprofessionals would be needed for MSD to fully meet its needs and how much that would cost. A cost estimate was not immediately available and an exact number of how many paraprofessionals needed was in flux given that not all special education students need paraprofessional assistance, but the population of special education students that do need assistance constantly varies.
BOSC Vice Chair Jim O’Connell requested details on how those needs are determined on a short-term basis if overarching staff quotas may not be an obtainable target. MSD Superintendent Dr. Jenn Chmiel said those short-term figures come from discussions with individual school principals and district special education leaders, with budgetary resources then allocated as needed to meet those requirements.
O’Connell also asked for more details regarding in-house and contracted services as well as space requirements for the contained classrooms, which are limited to a maximum of 12 students under state and federal guidelines, adding his belief that such data would likely show that MSD has been more prudent with taxpayer funds in recent years and rumors of empty space in Manchester public schools are not accurate given the need for these self-contained classrooms.