Local business and school leaders talk about the state of city schools at Chamber event

MANCHESTER, NH – Manchester School District Superintendent Dr. Jen Chmiel held a question-and-answer session at the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce Office on Hanover Street on Tuesday morning, seeking to serve as a resource for local business leaders looking for knowledge about the current state of Manchester’s public schools.

Most of the discussion centered around the ongoing deliberation of the school district’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget, with the figure recommended by the Manchester Board of School Committee (BOSC) coming in at approximately $9.5 million more than what was recommended by Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais.

Chmiel and her leadership began the event with presentations on the proposed budget recommended by the BOSC and likely reductions coming if the mayor’s final bottom line is approved by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen without amendment.

Chmiel made a point to the audience that although the initial proposed mayoral budget would see eight administrative position reductions and 38 teaching position reductions that these were not layoffs and if any reductions are needed, they would come through not replacing retiring district employees, other attritional means or transferring employees to different parts of the difference.

She also made it clear these reductions and other proposed reductions such as the freezed expansion of middle school sports offerings and reduced transportion offerings for students were not recommendations, as she came to these conclusions not out of preference, but necessity and that any reductions would potentially undo hard-fought gains achieved in recent years. The superintendent also stated that if efficiencies are needed, its her hope to continue collaboration with school principals and ask for their input on how to best move forward on anything that could impact their schools rather than take a top-down approach.

Chmiel also hoped to address concerns regarding waste in the district’s budget, using the Manchester School District Human Resources Department as an example, stating that the district has five human resources employees for 2,000 employees and 900 retirees while the City of Manchester has a human resources staff of the same size for approximately half as many employees and retirees.

In response to a question regarding how taxpayers can track the progress of student achievement metrics, which remain in the bottom quartile among New Hampshire school districts, Manchester School District Assistant Superintendent Nicole Doherty advised to look for growth between testing results. Doherty stated that there had been some growth in recent years thanks to the addition of a standardized curriculum across the district and the increase of professional development although that growth had been slowed due to learning loss suffered during the COVID-19 epidemic. Chmiel added that achievement growth was also coming in part thanks to district’s “ABC” (attendance, behavior and curriculum) approach that aims to take the whole child into account.

The uniqueness of Manchester among New Hampshire’s school districts was also noted, with the fact that students speak 60 languages in the city’s public schools put as a key example.

There were concerns regarding students not reading at grade level and continuing to advance to higher grades despite this deficiency, potentially leading to students becoming discouraged at being expected to read at a level beyond their competency. Chmiel said that any discussions relating to retaining a student in a grade occur as early as possible and seeks to include as much parental involvement as possible to address the student’s deficiencies.

Chmiel added that the district seeks to facilitate communication with parents however possible, realizing that the work schedules of many parents can make it difficult for them to be involved in the education of their child despite their desire to get involved.

Members of the audience who sought to know more on how they or others in the community could support the school district were advised to explore the Manchester Proud Compass or email Chmiel directly at superintendent@mansd.org.