MANCHESTER — Teachers packed into City Hall Monday to speak out against crowded conditions in city schools and being scape-goated for the problems facing the district.

The teachers also received support from several parents who spoke at the Board of School Committee meeting.

The parents echoed charges they made last week to the aldermen over class sizes exceeding 40 students, and other problems they said have plagued the district since the start of the school year.

Ben Dick, president of the Manchester Education Association, the city teachers union, was the first to address the school committee.

Most of the teachers followed a similar script, describing the personal and monetary sacrifices they make to improve their skills and equip their classes. Many ended their comments by saying, “I want people to know that even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, my colleagues and I are giving everything to provide the best possible education to all the students of Manchester, much as we always have.”

The teachers also gave their perspective on coping with the start of the school year, which most members of the school committee and administration acknowledge is among the most challenging the city has faced.

“Once again, after 24 years of teaching, my enthusiasm was quickly quashed, as I confronted 25 to 35 students,” said Baron Richardson, a science teacher at Hillside Middle School. “Our classes are underfunded and under-supplied. Please help.”

Corey Doherty, a teacher at Central High who is also a lifelong city resident and parent of city students, said the school district is “on the verge of collapse.”

Still, she said, “my dedication to the city is unwavering. I have to applaud my peers and the students of Manchester who have been admirably rising to the occasion this year.”

Several members of Citizens for Manchester Schools, a group recently formed to advocate for more school funding, also spoke.

“I'd like to thank the teachers for their outstanding effort,” said Nick Want. “No one works harder in this room than the teachers ... They get called on to make concessions, when one of the greatest concessions they make is working for this district.”

In the debate over school funding, the teachers union has come in for criticism from the mayor and others for rejecting concessions on health care coverage.

More than 100 teachers were laid off this year due to budget cuts.

Neither the mayor nor school committee members immediately responded to the comments, which were made during the public participation session before the board took up its agenda.

tsiefer@unionleader.com