Manchester Essex Residents Urge 9 Percent Budget Increase, Override at School Meeting

ESSEX — February 5, 2025 — Manchester Essex School Committee hears near-unanimous public demand for 9 percent budget increase. More than a dozen residents and educators addressed the committee Wednesday, pushing back on two lower budget proposals — a 2.5 percent and a 5.4 percent increase — and calling for the full 9 percent, which speakers described as the only scenario that maintains current staffing and avoids further program cuts. High school social studies teacher Jennifer Rowley warned the committee that a second consecutive position cut in her department would reduce elective section offerings from 11 to 6, affecting AP Government, AP Psychology, and other courses that regularly fill to capacity. Manchester Town Administrator Greg Fetterspiel called the 9 percent figure impractical in a single year, saying "we can't race out of this," and urged work on a multi-year incremental plan through a proposed inter-municipal financial modeling group. A Manchester parent advocate for students with disabilities called 9 percent "educational equity," and Lindsay Banks of Manchester warned that continued reserve drawdowns — projected at $500,000 under the 5.4 percent scenario after $350,000 was drawn the prior year — would undermine favorable borrowing terms for a planned Essex Elementary School rebuild.