At last Monday night’s school Board meeting, a vote was taken to split the voting on the redistricting lines. Now, it is expected that the Board will vote on the middle school redistricting on June 26th. It is expected that the Board will vote on the elementary school redistricting on July 24th. It was not explicitly stated that the vote on Mt. Pleasant would be on July 24th, but I suspect that it will also happen on July 24th.

There were a lot of questions about the make-up of the elementary schools: the number of students with IEPs, 504s, ELL services, guidance services, reading specialist services, etc. There was also discussion about district-wide programs, the space they require in a building, and how that impacts the school as a whole.

I spoke at the second public comment about the make-up of each school, the services needed for students, and the support needed for staff. I also addressed the Title I funds the district currently receives. In the draft lines, it appears we would drop from five Title I schools to four. How much money does the district risk losing from the Title I formula? I have asked that question and not received an answer. Title I schools are determined by Free and Reduced Lunch numbers (not sure this is the best metric, but it is the current law). In a draft that closes Mt. Pleasant, students go to Dr. Crisp, Amherst Street, and Charlotte Avenue. Crisp and Amherst are already Title I schools, Charlotte is not and would not be with the proposed configuration. This could be significant dollars lost to the district when we will also be losing ESSER funds (COVID relief money). Title services do not follow children if they are moving to a non-Title I school. Is the operating budget going to pick up some costs of additional resources at Charlotte Avenue? I don’t know, but I did ask that question too.

If you’re interested in the video of last night’s BOE meeting, it should be posted on YouTube at some point today or tomorrow. Search Nashua BOE Meeting.

Be sure to sign the petition in support of the students, families, and staff of Mt. Pleasant Elementary School!

https://chng.it/dddbGJdNV4

The AFT-NH Legislative Committee will be meeting by zoom on Jun 22th at noon.

Topics:

• Developing AFT-NH issue survey for members.

• Identifying pro-education and pro-public employee candidates for municipal elections 2023.

• Endorsement process for statewide Gubernatorial primaries 2024.

• Other?

Any member in good standing of an AFT-NH local may participate in the legislative committee.

Interested in attending? Email me at president@aft-nh.org to request to be added to the Legislative Committee zoom invite!