With the Manchester Board of School Committee having announced several times they would not authorize the dissemination of 80 pink slips to teachers in Manchester schools this year, communities holding tuition contracts with Manchester’s school district are breathing a wary sigh of relief as they wonder how the funding will play out.

“I’m guardedly optimistic,” said Elaine Hobbs, chairman of the Auburn School Board. “I think that the Manchester Board of School Committee is working really hard to make sure that the students within the Manchester school district are provided with the best education they could possibly get.”

The deadline for layoff notifications has come and gone, but a few teachers have left for other positions in anticipation of losing their jobs.

Hooksett, Auburn, Candia and Bedford all have tuition contracts with Manchester that stipulate class sizes remain under 30 students and that nothing happens that jeopardizes Manchester schools’ accreditation.

Since the city of Manchester’s public budget meeting on April 28, which about 2,000 people attended, the Manchester Board of School Committee has reiterated three times that they would not issue pink slips to teachers in the district.

The Board of School Committee asked for $153 million to cover the costs for the district in 2008-09, but Mayor Frank Guinta cut that to $140 million.

While school expenses comprise about half of the city’s overall $276 million budget proposal, the school budget number is $7.3 million less than the district’s 2007-08 appropriation.

Manchester’s Board of Aldermen must approve a budget for the city, including the school district’s portion of the budget, by June 10.

Some aldermen have said they would be happy with tax increases of between 2 to 4 percent, or a budget around $145 million, for the school district. A school appropriation of $145 million would still be $2.3 million less than what they’ve been authorized to spend this year.

The sending towns had scheduled a non-public meeting with Guinta on Tuesday, May 13, to discuss the budgetary impacts on students from those towns. While not all board members from the sending towns would be attending the meeting, Hooksett School Board Chairman Maura Ouellette said she would be there.

“I don’t think it’s my place to comment on what dollar amount the Manchester School District budget should be. I think it’s our responsibility as a sending town to be sure that Manchester is adhering to the terms of the tuition agreement,” said Ouellette.

“My concern is with the quality of the educational experience of our students attending Manchester high schools. The sending towns have lived up to their end of the tuition agreement and we fully expect Manchester to do the same,” she added.

All four school districts sent letters from their attorneys to Manchester reminding them of their obligation to maintain class sizes and accreditation status in keeping with the terms of their contracts.

While the boards of the sending towns agreed it is a waiting game for them, they added they are watching the situation closely to see what direction should be taken.

“Passing a budget of any number does not put Manchester in violation of the contract,” said Candia School Board Chairman Ed Caito. “At this point, I think we have to let the budget process play itself out in Manchester.”

Ouellette said part of the problem may lie in Manchester’s timing in developing their budget.

“If it were done earlier in the year, as is done in Hooksett, there wouldn’t be the need to even consider pink slips to the staff. Everyone would know well in advance what the budget would be for the following year,” she said.