Both contracts go before the Board of Aldermen later in April, and we reached out to each of them to get their take on what each of them thought.
Ward 1: Kevin Cavanaugh – Cavanaugh could not be reached for comment.
Ward 2: Will Stewart – Stewart believes the MEA contract is long overdue, reasonable, and Manchester’s teachers deserve even more than the proposed contract. He needs more time to investigate the Directors and Coordinators’ contract.
Ward 3: Pat Long – Long could not be reached for comment.
Ward 4: Jim Roy – Roy could not be reached for comment.
Ward 5: Anthony Sapienza – Sapienza will support both the MEA and the Directors and Coordinators’ contracts, believing they are way overdue and the city needs to support its teachers.
Ward 6: Elizabeth Moreau – Moreau remains undecided. She would like to move forward with both proposals and hopes to support teachers, but is also concerned with the financial uncertainty the city now faces.
Ward 7: Ross Terrio – Terrio remains unsure. He is pleased that the proposal can come in within the city’s tax cap limitations, but he is concerned with the fact that starting salaries in the proposal remain under $40,000 and other issues related to absenteeism and athletic programs remain unresolved. He says he will support the Directors and Coordinators’ contract.
Ward 8: Michael Porter – Porter opposes the MEA contract in regard to stipends for student loans incurred by teachers. He also supports simplified bonus structures for long-time teachers versus staggered bonus structures for teachers retiring after 15 or 20 years. He needs more time to investigate the Directors and Coordinators’ contract.
Ward 9: Barbara Shaw – Shaw believes the contract is needed and this one is a good one, but also wants to investigate it further. She also believes she may need to abstain for conflict of interest reasons since her daughter is a teacher with the Manchester School District. She has mixed feelings on the timing of the Directors and Coordinators’ contract, but needs to investigate that further as well before she makes an opinion.
Ward 10: Bill Barry – Barry strongly supports the MEA contract and believes it should be approved quickly due to the approximately two years they’ve gone without a contract. He needs more time to investigate the Directors and Coordinators’ contract.
Ward 11: Normand Gamache – Gamache supports both contracts.
Ward 12: Keith Hirschmann – Hirschmann had no opinion on either contract, citing that his main focus right now is on the plight of Manchester taxpayers and their struggles during the current COVID-19 crisis.
At-Large: Dan O’Neil – O’Neil says he plans on supporting both of the contracts and believes the MEA contract is long overdue, but also says he needs to investigate both contracts more as well, he obtained a copy on April 3 and had not gotten a chance to read through all of it at the time Manchester Ink Link reached out to him.
At-Large: Joseph Kelly Levasseur – Levasseur will oppose both contracts, citing that it is inappropriate to give a raise to any city workers during the COVID-19 crisis, which threatens non-essential city workers with potential furloughs or layoffs and has also significantly impacted the finances of Manchester residents.