Manchester Essex School Committee approves procurement cards, backs hockey host-school shift

ESSEX -- June 17, 2026, Manchester Essex School Committee votes unanimously to authorize a new procurement card program and correct feasibility study language at its June 17 meeting. The committee approved a resolution to issue individual P-cards through BMO to each school, replacing a single shared credit card and consolidating student activity checking accounts under the business office, with an expected small annual rebate. A revised appropriation for the Essex Elementary School feasibility study, reworked at the request of the Massachusetts School Building Authority to specify grant funds as the source, also passed unanimously. In a straw poll, all members signaled support for the district to take over as host school of the regional ice hockey cooperative from Rockport, which is projected to have only two participating athletes next year while Manchester Essex fields 10 returning players; the program also includes Hamilton-Wenham and Ipswich. The committee unanimously endorsed four updates to the elementary student handbook covering energy drink restrictions, a longer pertussis exclusion period of at least five days, revised head lice screening guidance, and new language on MCAS non-participation. The business director projected a year-end operating surplus of $300,000 to $500,000, with five deficit areas, including roughly $350,000 in special education contracted services and $142,000 in out-of-district placements, expected to be covered by savings in other budget lines.