After receiving the full ESSER I, II, and III expenditure files, I’ve completed a detailed and source-cited analysis of Nashua’s COVID-era funding, current fiscal management, and the broader demographic trends that have been repeatedly ignored. What emerges is a pattern of short-term financial decisions, politicized narratives, and resistance to data-driven planning that has left taxpayers and staff paying the price. I have broken it out into five bolded points below, all citations/sources are listed below for your review as well.
ESSER Funds: Legally Allowable, Fiscally Imprudent
Between 2020 and 2025, Nashua Public Schools received nearly $44 million in ESSER relief funds.
- ESSER I (CARES) — Roughly 75% coded as supplies (computers, PPE, etc.) while schools were closed from March 16, 2020 – April 19, 2021. Allowable, yes, but misleading to represent in-person supply spending when buildings were closed to students and majority of staff.
- ESSER II (CRRSA) — Nearly half spent on payroll and benefits, despite repeated U.S. Department of Education warnings that this would create a fiscal cliff once funds expired.
- ESSER III (ARP) — Dominated by two “Other Professional Services” contracts, $6.35M (Birch Hill) and $6.15M (Main Dunstable), leading to the $4.5M shortfall questioned by aldermen in 2024. This is poor stewardship at best, even if the project spends were “allowable” the scope should have been tight, documentation right and comms for this big ESSER III contract.
These choices were technically compliant but fiscally imprudent … one-time federal relief was treated like recurring revenue, and the resulting payroll expansion is now being rebranded as “cuts.”
The Ignored 2023 Demographic Study: A Missed Opportunity
In 2023, Nashua commissioned a Demographic and Facilities Utilization Study by Business Information Services, LLC (Preston Smith) an independent firm with over 200 school district analyses nationwide.
Its findings were unambiguous:
- Projected enrollment decline: 11–19% over the next decade.
- Births: down 36% since 1995, the largest drop the firm had seen in any U.S. district.
- Private school enrollment: up 23%, versus 15% statewide.
- Family demographics: 38% of households have no families, of the 62% that do, only 41% include children.
- Building capacity: schools can hold 14,799 students, current enrollment ≈ 9,849 (66% utilization).
- Even with six schools closed, the district would still have ~700 seats to spare.
Instead of using those facts to ‘right-size’ the system, leadership dismissed the report as basically a “doomsday study” that “would eliminate jobs.” It did not. It recommended consolidation to preserve classroom-level resources and protect sustainable staffing. Ignoring it allowed inefficiency and waste to persist, and the costs are now compounding.
Why Nashua Struggles to Budget Responsibly
From a fiscal management standpoint, the problems are structural.
- One time money treated as recurring revenue (ESSER payroll, benefits, and project inflation).
- Fixed costs maintained despite falling enrollment (no closures or consolidations despite 34% unused capacity).
- Political messaging over math (calling data “fearmongering” while pleading poverty).
- Deferred accountability (blaming the state or taxpayers for predictable outcomes).
This is not ideological, it’s arithmetic. A district cannot expand obligations indefinitely while its student population and tax base stagnate.
Statewide Context: Fiscal Stress Everywhere
- Claremont is running a $5M deficit, now under emergency review for financial mismanagement.
- SchoolCare, the public-sector health consortium, has imposed unexpected 2025 deficit assessments on nearly 90 NH districts and municipalities … Nashua included.
When combined with Nashua’s ESSER over reliance, these cost shocks have pushed the city to the breaking point.
The Path Forward
Nashua needs to act on data, not rhetoric. I respectfully recommend …
- A public ESSER reconciliation report showing all positions, contracts, and capital work funded.
- Reinstating the 2023 demographic study as a working guide for 10-year facilities plan.
- Requiring Board level fiscal impact statements/notes before any new staffing or capital decisions. And …
- Launching a genuine, transparent community process on ‘right sizing’ our district.
In conclusion … Nashua’s current fiscal strain was not unforeseen, it was forewarned.
Every local, state, and federal document related to ESSER funding made it clear that these dollars were temporary emergency relief, set to expire in 2024. The district knew this. Every official who signed the ESSER assurances knew this. Every budget vote and payroll decision after 2021 occurred with that knowledge.
To now frame the inevitable expiration of those funds as the fault of the state, the taxpayers, or federal policymakers is not merely inaccurate, it’s financially disingenuous. When leadership knowingly uses temporary revenue to build permanent obligations, and then blames others for the correction, that’s not budgeting, it’s narrative management. In financial terms, it’s structural misrepresentation … in psychological terms, it borders on institutional gaslighting, convincing the public that the pain of correction is someone else’s fault.
The reality is simple … Nashua spent temporary money on permanent expenses and ignored the data that predicted decline. The public deserves honesty about that choice, not spin, not scapegoating, and not selective storytelling.
Our taxpayers, teachers, and families deserve transparency and leadership grounded in fiscal discipline, not damage control. Sustainability is not partisan; it’s responsible governance.
Thank you for your time and your service to the City of Nashua.
Allison Dyer
Nashua, NH
p 603-546-8124
Sources & References
- U.S. Department of Education – ESSER & GEER FAQ (May 2021): https://oese.ed.gov/files/2021/05/ESSER-and-GEER-Funds-FAQ-5.26.21.pdf
- U.S. Department of Education – ESSER FAQs:https://oese.ed.gov/esser-faqs/
- Edunomics Lab – The ESSER Fiscal Cliff (2023 Analysis): https://edunomicslab.org/the-esser-fiscal-cliff-2023-analysis/
- Nashua Ink Link – Aldermen Want Answers on $4.5M ESSER Fund Shortfall (2024): https://nashua.inklink.news/aldermen-want-answers-from-school-board-on-4-5m-esser-fund-shortfall/
- NHPR – Claremont Schools Face Financial Crisis, $5M Deficit (Apr 2025): https://www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2025-04-15/claremont-schools-financial-crisis-deficit
- WMUR – SchoolCare Health-Care Deficits Affect NH Schools (May 2025): https://www.wmur.com/article/new-hampshire-schoolcare-health-care-costs-2025/68100066
- NH Emergency Order #89 – Return to In-Person Learning (April 2021): https://www.governor.nh.gov/news-and-media/emergency-order-89-2021
- Business Information Services, LLC – Nashua School District Demographic & Facility Utilization Study (2023) [attached: presentationnashuastudysummary.pptx]
- NH Department of Education – Building Aid Rule (Capacity Calculations, ED 321): https://www.education.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt326/files/inline-documents/sonh/ed321-buildingaid.pdf
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