Manchester, NH - Victoria Sullivan issued the following statement on continued violence in Queen City schools after the student assembly at Memorial High School was canceled today because of safety concerns from the Manchester Police Department. Sullivan said the following:
"This incident is the latest in a string of headlines highlighting the failed leadership of our school district. Our city is in chaos under Mayor Joyce Craig, and it is now impacting our students at every level. Memorial High School is no longer permitted to have Friday night football games because violence has broken out repeatedly at the games. Student assemblies are now deemed too dangerous to hold. Parents contact me almost daily about the violence and bullying happening in our schools.
"Joyce's solution is to put all of our high school students into one building when they cannot even control schools with smaller populations. This is unacceptable. Our students lost a year of their education and are now unable to assimilate back into the full-day school structure because the district failed them.
"At the end of the day, Joyce Craig serves as the chair of the Manchester Board of School Committee. The responsibility for providing a safe learning environment where our children are thriving falls squarely on her shoulders, as well as those serving on the school board. I have witnessed parents bring concerns before the school board where they were completely disrespected and dismissed.
"What should we have done?
"In August of 2020, I presented a plan to the school board that would have allowed every child in the district to return to in-school learning on a daily half-day basis. The Mayor and the Board of School Committee ignored my recommendations.
"When the ARPA funds were being distributed, I suggested that part of the funds be used for family events at the schools where the parents and teachers could help reassure the children that it was safe to come back to school and re-assimilate with their classmates. That suggestion was also denied.
"Instead of alienating our parents, we should have utilized the programs available through the New Hampshire Department of Education - programs such as the dual capacity, Dr. Karen Mapp framework for parental engagement. This would have helped close the learning lag we are seeing from remote learning and aided in a smoother transition back into the school buildings.
"Put simply: The district should have worked to get the students back into school much sooner than they did. Manchester was one of the last districts to return to full-day in-person learning.
"My education plan builds on my experience as a legislator on the House Education Committee, as a parent, classroom volunteer, PTA president, and advocate for parents and children - as well as through my work on the state level in education. My plan has a comprehensive approach to combatting discipline issues, engaging parents, and supporting our students in an academically strong education. The simple fact is we
cannot afford to allow this kind of negligence and mismanagement to continue.
"It is time for a serious change in Manchester. It is time to save our schools."
