Also fails to respond to questions regarding Hillside School’s failure to lower flag
MANCHESTER, NH September 17, 2025–Manchester school superintendent Jennifer Chmiel is refusing to answer questions designed to shed light on the Manchester School District’s investigation into Memorial High School history teacher Jason Paige. Chmiel opened a review into the Paige’s classroom conduct after receiving information from Girard at Large concerning his celebration of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, as reported to us by parents in his classes. Paige also vilified Kirk, calling him a “Nazi” and saying he wanted transgendered people “executed,” among other vile things.
The day after our inquiry, Chmiel sent an email saying:
We are aware of allegations of inappropriate behavior related to a teacher in our district. We take these matters seriously and swiftly initiated an internal investigation. The district condemns any and all notions that violence is an appropriate response to political and social disagreements.
A bizarre reply to us inasmuch as we brought it to her attention and was already told she would “open a review.” Was this an attempt to ward off any further inquiry?
Along with the above referenced statement, Chmiel “confirmed” that both flags at Memorial had been lowered to half mast. That they had not been lowered was brought to her attention and questioned. She did not answer whether the flags had been lowered prior to our inquiry; an indication to us that they were lowered at her direction afterward.
In multiple emails seeking comment and requesting information on how the investigation would proceed, when it would be finished and what would be released to the public, Chmiel finally responded:
Rich,
As a prior member of the Board of School Committee, you know I am not able to respond to questions regarding personnel matters.
We replied:
Jenn,
I know you can explain the process the investigation will follow and or how it will be conducted. That is not a personnel matter. That is a process matter.
Chmiel has yet to reply.
As reported in a previous article, Chmiel inferred that the district’s custodial contractor was responsible for the flag at Hillside Middle School not being flown at half mast. We inquired about that after parents at Hillside brought the failure to our attention. In response to a Right to Know request asking for any and all communications between the district and the schools regarding the lowering of the flags, Chmiel sent this notice from Aramark, the district’s custodial contractor, to its employees. She did not reply to further questions asking why Hillside’s flag remained at full mast despite this corporate directive, nor did she reply to our request to confirm that the district sent no communications to the schools regarding the flag lowering directives issued by both President Donald Trump and Governor Kelly Ayotte.
Below is a list of questions posed to Chmiel that remain unanswered. Note well that they all focus on how the invesitgation will be conducted, not about any specific action that will be taken by the district against Paige for his conduct. (We won’t say alleged conduct because we’ve spoken with too many people who witnessed it or had their children come home from school and tell them about it.) That conduct includes a Facebook post urging President Trump’s next would be assasin to “aim better.” We received a screenshot of that post, among others, from a parent and sent it to Chmiel. She has yet to acknowledge it.
Here are the questions Chmiel has yet to answer. They are questions to which every student, parent, taxpayer and citizen deserves an answer.
- Will students from all of Paige’s classes be interviewed about what he said?
- What is the scope of your investigation?
- Do you have a status on the investigation?
- What findings, if any, have you come to?
- If none yet, by when do you expect to conclude the investigation?
- What will be released to the public about those findings and any actions taken by the district?
- Were the flags lowered at Memorial after I made my inquiry or before?
- Why was the flag at Hillside not lowered and what will be done to compensate for Principal Brendan McCafferty’s failure to lower the flag at Hillside?
