Voters in Manchester overwhelmingly approved a ballot question that allows aldermen to propose changes to the school district's charter for next year's city election.
Mike Lopez, chairman of Manchester's school district charter commission, is one of the officials backing this legislation. He says now the district will have more control because any proposed changes to the charter will head directly to voters without needing the approval of the state legislature.
"The question is something the attorney general said we had to have to change anything on the school committee," he said.
While at the polling location, some residents reported receiving ballots that were already filled in. The clerk's office said they did not send ballots that were pre-filled. The town's moderator, Jim Gaudet says it was the “innocent mistake” of a poll worker placing marked ballots on top of a box of uncast school charter ballots. He says this did not impact any state ballots.
“As moderator, I accept full responsibility for this situation but remain confident that no fraud was involved,” Gaudet said. “I appreciate how this appeared to many voters and apologize causing them and the City Clerk’s staff increased anxiety in what is an already stressful time. “
Lopez says that under this rule school budgets could be approved faster. As a result, he says the district could retain more teachers, and there could be less overspending.
