Contact Name: Marina Altschiller

Phone: (603) 271-3266

Email: marina.altschiller@leg.state.nh.us

CONCORD - Yesterday, during Governor Sununu’s press conference, the governor criticized the City of Manchester’s requests for additional education funding following the reallocation of State Adequate Education Aid funding. The motion to apply the $3.5 million in State Adequate Education Aid to the school budget was made by Alderman Kevin Cavanaugh on June 9th and failed in a 7-7 party line vote with Republican aldermen voting against the motion.

Senator Lou D’Allesandro (D-Manchester), Senator Kevin Cavanaugh (D-Manchester), and Senate President Donna Soucy (D-Manchester) issued the following statements in response:

“As the largest school district in the state, Manchester is facing extreme funding challenges in order to meet the safety requirements necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic,” stated Senator Lou D’Allesandro (D-Manchester). “In recent testimony provided to the GOFERR Legislative Advisory Board we heard how The School Superintendents Association and the Association of School Business Officials International estimated how an average district of 3,600 students would require an additional $1.8 million dollars to cover the costs of health monitoring, cleaning and disinfecting protocols, hiring additional staff, providing adequate PPE, and transportation. Manchester is four times that average. As a former schoolteacher, I recognize what it’s like to be in the classroom and understand that when our educators say they need additional funding, it is to ensure our students' education is being delivered in the best possible manner given this unbelievable situation. I fully support Manchester’s requests for additional education funding and am disappointed to hear the Governor publicly criticize their efforts to support our students.”

“The Governor’s comments criticizing Manchester’s request for additional funding to support our students, while spreading misleading information about previous allocation decisions, helps no one,” added Senator Kevin Cavanaugh (D-Manchester). “When the city was unable to apply the additional $3.5 million to our school budget, it created a funding gap that has only been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. The city of Manchester will continue our efforts to do right by our students, both for their safety and their education. As elected officials it is our job to do everything we can to support that mission. If the governor has questions about why the $3.5 million in State Adequate Education Aid wasn’t applied to our school budget, I would suggest he reach out to the members of his own party who sit on the Board of Aldermen.”

Senate President Donna Soucy (D-Manchester) added, “After hearing public testimony as a member of the GOFERR Legislative Advisory Board, Manchester's requests are keeping in line with what the city needs to meet the requirements to support our students’ safety and education.”

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