Shaheen: Parents want kids in school only if it's safe

MANCHESTER — U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen visited the Chamberlain Street School in Rochester on Wednesday to discuss the challenges New Hampshire schools throughout the state face as they prepare to reopen in the fall. The visit came amid the COVID-19 pandemic, whose ongoing financial fallout has resulted in state and local governments grappling with massive revenue shortfalls that jeopardize school budgets, even as districts work to adequately prepare for either in-person classes, remote learning or a combination of the two during the coming academic year.

During her visit, Shaheen was joined by local Rochester officials and school employees, including Mayor Caroline McCarley, Superintendent Kyle Repucci and Principal Jen Hersom, and received a briefing on the district’s reopening challenges, participated in a tour of various classrooms that have been modified to meet social distancing guidelines and shared a legislative update from the Senate on her efforts to include additional resources for New Hampshire schools in the next round of COVID-19 response legislation.