New year. New school board. Same topic.

City school board members voted last week to move ahead with plans to include fifth-grade students at Southside Middle School, beginning in September of 2021 — despite the lack of financial support by the aldermen.

BEGINNING in early 2020, Memorial High School and Manchester School of Technology will be home to a new private/public partnership learning opportunity.

A vote by city aldermen last week rejecting a request from school officials to authorize a $2.2 million bond to renovate three middle schools on Manchester’s east side to prepare for redistricting has angered school board members who backed the proposal.

Potential changes to the city’s bus services being discussed by transit officials include increasing frequency, lowering the cost or extending service hours.

CITY health officials went before aldermen last week to discuss a grant that could fund two new positions, and hopes for a dashboard offering real-time data related to the opioid crisis.

THE Manchester School District is restricting student access to Wi-Fi on a one-month trial basis to address complaints, concerns and frustration, including students accessing pornography.

Chronic absenteeism among Manchester teachers has surpassed 50% at many schools over the past three years and is rising, according to a report released while teacher contract talks remain stalled.

Trinity High School Athletic Director Mike Connell will go before city aldermen this week with a request to name the new Trinity athletic field after legendary coach and player Dick Powers.

NOW that the dust has settled, the political signs put away (well, most of them), here are a few post-election tidbits from the tiki bar:

When city voters head to the polls to vote in the non-partisan municipal general election on Tuesday, they should remember to turn over their ballots and vote on three important questions.

The chairman of the city’s Republican Committee has filed a complaint against Ward 10 Alderman Bill Barry, requesting an investigation by the city’s conduct board into a photo posted on social media showing Barry posing with a group of Manchester High School West football players, wearing We…

MANCHESTER — Mayoral challenger Victoria Sullivan railed at Mayor Joyce Craig’s support of a commuter rail service to Boston and the city’s approach to crime and homelessness during their first debate Wednesday.

School officials have announced a date for a community presentation on a new program in Manchester schools designed to prevent teen vaping.

“It’s a sad, sad night.”  Those words were uttered in frustration by Mayor Joyce Craig towards the end of last week’s school board meeting; a motion to add an inspirational quote to board agendas had failed on a roll call vote.

The number of sworn police officers in Manchester will increase in the months ahead after city aldermen voted last week to approve the hiring of 10 additional officers.

WHEN THE LIST of candidates in the 2019 Manchester municipal primary election was finalized back in July, one name was noticeably missing.

A DATE for a formal public hearing for the I-293 Exits 6 and 7 project has been set.

Assistant City Clerk JoAnn Ferruolo reports the Board of Registrars met Wednesday night to set the checklist, which shows 58,540 registered voters in Manchester heading into Tuesday’s municipal primary election.

MEMBERS of the Aldermanic Committee on Administration and Information Systems, at the request of Mayor Joyce Craig, have asked city assessor Bob Gagne to prepare a report on the disabled veterans property tax credit and veterans tax credit in Manchester and similar communities across the sta…

AN ESTIMATED 80 people attended a welcome reception for new Superintendent of Schools John Goldhardt at the Millyard Museum last week.

IN RESPONSE to an uptick in violent crime in the Queen City, and as a way to reduce overtime costs and the stress of double shifts, Mayor Joyce Craig will ask city aldermen this week to authorize the Manchester Police Department to hire up to five officers above the currently approved comple…

MANCHESTER OFFICIALS have submitted an application for nearly $20 million in federal money to fund plans to transform the South Commercial Street area, including plans for a pedestrian bridge across Granite Street.

ALDERMEN WILL HOLD a second public hearing this month on a proposed charter amendment involving changing ward boundaries, after a state review of the proposed ballot question resulted in some suggested revisions.

Members of the city’s Heritage Commission are continuing efforts to save the manager’s residence building at the Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center from being demolished as part of a planned expansion of services at the site.

More than 100 people turned out last week for the grand opening of Mayor Joyce Craig‘s campaign office at 264 Mammoth Road.

Last year, city aldermen amended the City Hall Care & Use Policy to create a policy on the use of flagpoles on City Hall property.

“Are you in favor of a student from each high school having a seat on the School Committee as a non-voting member?”

RESIDENTS and stakeholders are invited to take part in a visioning session for the proposed redesign of the city’s South Millyard this Thursday at the DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester Downtown hotel on Elm St.

Mayor Joyce Craig announced last week that a community meeting on the homeless in downtown Manchester will be held June 3 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester Downtown hotel from 5-7 p.m., a discussion Ward 3 Alderman Tim Baines has been requesting for weeks.

The hot issue? The lack of a new contract with city teachers.

At a meeting of the Manchester Police Commission earlier this month, Capano said the permanent cameras will go up in the area of City Hall.

The number of days left for Dr. Bolgen Vargas as superintendent of the state’s largest school district is dwindling, but one doesn’t get the impression he’s in any hurry to leave.

LESS THAN A WEEK into the 2019 mayoral race, both candidates for office are ramping up hirings within their campaigns.

Ahead of a mediation session this Tuesday between representatives of the Manchester Education Association (MEA) and the school district’s negotiations team, a newsletter sent by union leadership updating the membership on the talks contains some interesting tidbits.