Manchester Essex School Committee Moves Toward Dedicated Middle School Principal Search

ESSEX — November 4, 2025 — Manchester Essex School Committee reviews student achievement data and signals opposition to elementary school reconfiguration options. At the November 4 meeting, Superintendent Ben Bowden presented a preliminary operational cost analysis showing that splitting grades 4 and 5 from Essex Elementary to Manchester Memorial would cost approximately $225,000 more per year, while consolidating all elementary students at Memorial would save only about $32,800 annually before accounting for tennis court displacement costs of up to $100,000 per year. Committee members expressed near-unanimous opposition to both alternatives, with one Essex-based member calling the split model "a non-starter on all fronts." Separately, the district's curriculum team reported that students identified as high needs now represent 30.1 percent of enrollment — 358 students — up from 19.3 percent in 2015, with low-income identification as the primary driver. The regional high school was named a DESE School of Recognition for 2024-2025, and 86 percent of 390 Advanced Placement tests taken last year received a passing score of 3 or above. Finance Director Pam reported the district finished fiscal year 2025 with $68,000 in turnbacks on a $32 million budget, leaving the excess and deficiency reserve at a projected 5.67 percent of budget, down from 8.42 percent the prior year, with health insurance projected to rise as much as 20 percent heading into fiscal year 2026.