Portsmouth Public Schools is asking the city for $14.6 million to fund two new school buildings, state-mandated teacher pay increases, and a wave of new staffing needs, but the city has so far proposed only half of what the district says it needs.
Superintendent Dr. Eli Bracy and School Board Chair Dr. Cardell Patillo outlined the district’s priorities in a recent interview, saying the funding gap could force painful cuts if city leaders don’t come to the table with more money.
At the center of the budget request is a plan to build a new K-8 school that would serve as the district’s fourth middle school…