MANCHESTER, N.H. – On Monday, the Manchester Board of School Committee (BOSC) approved spending money on a new two-way communications tool district leaders believe will drastically improve communication between teachers and parents.
The tool, made by a company called TalkingPoints, defeated three other applicants putting in a bid to help the district consolidate its current disparate assortment of teacher-to-parent communication platforms.
In addition to its ease-of-use, district leaders were impressed with the tool’s ability to communicate with families in over 100 languages, something that was seen as a bonus given the wide array of languages spoken by families within the city.
Manchester School District Executive Director of Information Technology and Cyber Security Stephen Cross also said that consolidating the various applications currently used such as ClassDojo and Remind would make it possible to create consistent messaging to parents across the district. He said this was particularly important in reminding parents that the two-way communication tools are not monitored 24 hours a day and they should not be used for things like medical emergencies. Cross said a consistent notification regarding the tool’s purpose could provide protection from legal liability for the district.
The expenditure for the tool – set at $42,796.88 – received a negative recommendation from the BOSC Finance Committee. Ward 9 BOSC Member Bob Baines, who chairs the Finance Committee, said that even though the amount for the tool was relatively small in terms of the over 200-million-dollar school budget, the addition of a new item while cuts had to be made this year leading toa potentially difficult budgetary year next year made going forward with the new tool seem inappropriate.
Cross told the board that savings from a new staff member eliminating the need for costly technical support for certain cyber security processes as well as a new module developed in house for the district’s Aspen system freed up more than the proposed amount for the two-way communication tool.
The board unanimously approved the expenditure, which will pay for a year’s subscription to the tool, but concerns about potential budget difficulties arose again during the next item in the agenda: cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) increases for non-affiliated employees in the district.
This group of employees includes the district’s directors and coordinators, support staff and food service employees, with an increase of $410,548 for the entire group based on the Fiscal Year 2026 4.27 percent city tax cap, following an agreement approved in 2013 that non-affiliated employees would receive COLA increases equivalent to the city’s tax cap in lieu of step, longevity and other increases.
Baines initially believed that Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais stated that it would not be appropriate to give these raises now given the current reality the district faces, although it was clarified that Ruais actually said that it would not be appropriate to delay these raises given encouraging statements from New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte on protecting the Manchester School District from new state aid cuts in the near future.
Before the clarification, Baines made a motion to table the decision. That motion failed 9-3, with Baines joining Ward 10 BOSC Member Joy Senecal and Ward 8 BOSC Member Jessica Spillers in favor of tabling.
Another roll call to pass the COLA increase passed 9-2-1. Senecal and Spillers voted in opposition again, with Spillers’ concern coming from unexpected cuts in the future imposed on the district by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen. Baines abstained, stating he needed more information before being able to make a decision.
Baines also stated that if the school district were a private company, there might be no COLA increases at all for employees given the district’s dire budget projections. He also asked if there might be any recommendations on the closure of a high school related to upcoming budgets, with Manchester Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Chmiel stating that an analysis on the future of the high schools is expected in August.
Ward 1 BOSC Member Julie Turner, Ward 6 BOSC Member Dan Bergeron and Ward 7 BOSC Member Chris Potter were absent for both votes.
The tool, made by a company called TalkingPoints, defeated three other applicants putting in a bid to help the district consolidate its current disparate assortment of teacher-to-parent communication platforms.
In addition to its ease-of-use, district leaders were impressed with the tool’s ability to communicate with families in over 100 languages, something that was seen as a bonus given the wide array of languages spoken by families within the city.
Manchester School District Executive Director of Information Technology and Cyber Security Stephen Cross also said that consolidating the various applications currently used such as ClassDojo and Remind would make it possible to create consistent messaging to parents across the district. He said this was particularly important in reminding parents that the two-way communication tools are not monitored 24 hours a day and they should not be used for things like medical emergencies. Cross said a consistent notification regarding the tool’s purpose could provide protection from legal liability for the district.
The expenditure for the tool – set at $42,796.88 – received a negative recommendation from the BOSC Finance Committee. Ward 9 BOSC Member Bob Baines, who chairs the Finance Committee, said that even though the amount for the tool was relatively small in terms of the over 200-million-dollar school budget, the addition of a new item while cuts had to be made this year leading toa potentially difficult budgetary year next year made going forward with the new tool seem inappropriate.
Cross told the board that savings from a new staff member eliminating the need for costly technical support for certain cyber security processes as well as a new module developed in house for the district’s Aspen system freed up more than the proposed amount for the two-way communication tool.
The board unanimously approved the expenditure, which will pay for a year’s subscription to the tool, but concerns about potential budget difficulties arose again during the next item in the agenda: cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) increases for non-affiliated employees in the district.
This group of employees includes the district’s directors and coordinators, support staff and food service employees, with an increase of $410,548 for the entire group based on the Fiscal Year 2026 4.27 percent city tax cap, following an agreement approved in 2013 that non-affiliated employees would receive COLA increases equivalent to the city’s tax cap in lieu of step, longevity and other increases.
Baines initially believed that Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais stated that it would not be appropriate to give these raises now given the current reality the district faces, although it was clarified that Ruais actually said that it would not be appropriate to delay these raises given encouraging statements from New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte on protecting the Manchester School District from new state aid cuts in the near future.
Before the clarification, Baines made a motion to table the decision. That motion failed 9-3, with Baines joining Ward 10 BOSC Member Joy Senecal and Ward 8 BOSC Member Jessica Spillers in favor of tabling.
Another roll call to pass the COLA increase passed 9-2-1. Senecal and Spillers voted in opposition again, with Spillers’ concern coming from unexpected cuts in the future imposed on the district by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen. Baines abstained, stating he needed more information before being able to make a decision.
Ward 1 BOSC Member Julie Turner, Ward 6 BOSC Member Dan Bergeron and Ward 7 BOSC Member Chris Potter were absent for both votes.