MANCHESTER —— The first month of a voluntary donation program for Manchester public schools has brought in a sum close to the annual property tax bill for one typical single family home in the city.

In its first month, the program drew donations totaling $4,341.35, according to Karen Defrancis, business administrator for the Manchester School District. The smallest donation was $1, the highest was $1,000.

The schools received donations averaging just over $100 from 43 people willing to pay more for the schools than is reflected on their property tax bills. Additional checks, which had not been tallied as of Thursday, were also received in the first days of July, Defrancis said.

The voluntary donation program was initiated when the Board of School Committee and the Board of Mayor and Aldermen were grappling with school funding under the city's property tax cap. Aldermen agreed to allow the assessors to include instructions on making donations to the schools in the same envelope as property tax bills that went out at the end of May.

Alderman Pat Long, who first proposed the voluntary donation program, said he chipped with $300 of his own money.

“I can afford $300, but I know my neighbor can't,” Long said. “If everybody could afford it, great. But, that's just not the case.”

The money donated for the schools is equivalent to property taxes at last year's rate on a Manchester home valued at $197,694. Sixty homes within 10 percent of that price were sold in the city last year. The donations can also be seen as reflecting the combined state and city school taxes on property valued at $472,914 — close to the valuation of a 5,600 square foot warehouse building in one of the city's industrial districts,

Decisions on spending the money are up to the school board.

“I'm sure board members will have ideas on what to do with it,” said school board Vice Chairman Dave Gelinas. “We have some goals that the board will be discussing at the next meeting.”

At its meeting next Monday, the board will take up suggestions from its subcommittees for short-term priorities that can be accomplished by the end of the current school board term.

“We will probably direct it to a committee, probably the subcommittee on finance, or the board might just decide to do it right there,” he said.

Under school district policy and procedures, gifts of up to $1,000 can be accepted by Superintendent Thomas Brennan. The school committee must vote to accept gifts of more than $1,000, and a public hearing must be held for donations of more than $5,000.

“No action by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen is required.” said city Finance Director Bill Saunders. “The schools are a separate entity, they are self-governing,”

While the sum raised may seem modest, Long said the donations do not reflect the total financial contribution parents make to city schools.

“We've got to keep in mind that parents are giving to PTOs, band clubs, sports clubs and whatever other fund-raisers that they have,” he said.

Long noted that funding the schools for the $162 million seen as needed to continue programs at current levels would have required a 4.5 percent tax increase. He challenged school advocates to total all their donations to school fund-raisers and give enough to the donation fund to bring the combined total to the equivalent of a 4.5 percent tax boost.

“It's just not fair to say you're not giving any money unless you're charging everyone,” Long said.

wsmith@unionleader.com