Superintendent says it’s legally required to pay for it when “medically necessary.”
Chmiel: District must pay.
MANCHESTER, NH June 4, 2026–As the budget battle rages and school advocates are urging the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen to significantly increase school funding, Girard at Large has been informed that the Manchester School District has been and continues to pay for surgical and other medical interventions for at least one teacher transitioning from one gender to another.
As a condition of receiving the information, trusted sources with first hand knowledge of the situation, required Girard at Large to withhold the identity of the teacher and the subject they teach. We are allowed to disclose that the teacher works at Central and we share that information for no other reason that to demonstrate the level of detail we have about the individual, which includes who it is, what they teach and and the procedures the district has and will continue to pay for. The person’s social media pages are full of transgender advocacy images.
We emailed the following question to Superintendent Jennifer Chmiel after hours on May 29:
Does the Manchester school district health insurance policy cover surgeries or other medical treatments for transgendered people? It’s been brought to my attention that a member of the high school staff at Central has had several procedures with several more scheduled and I’m wondering whether or not the taxpayers are paying for that. Please advise.
After hours on June 1, in response to a follow up inquiry earlier that day, we received the following:
Good afternoon-
Upon review, our plan administrators have affirmed that Anthem approves all claims based upon medical necessity. Information regarding individual treatment provided to staff is protected by HIPAA and therefore I cannot confirm that any particular staff member is receiving, or has received, any specific care that was covered by the district health plan. What I can tell you is that we are not allowed under law to discriminate based upon gender identity and therefore we do not have a blanket exclusion for gender-based care which is deemed medically necessary.
We thank her for the reply and noted we did not request any information about a specific individual, we knew they wouldn’t answer, simply whether or not the plan allowed it.
Many consider the transition procedures to be elective, not medically necessary. Regardless, the school district is self-insured, meaning taxpayers are on the hook for every claim dollar paid. The plan is administered by Anthem as what’s called a Third Party Administrator and costs are split between the employees and the school district based upon prior and expected costs divided by the number of participants. So, while the programs works like an employer sponsored insurance plan, the school district’s share of the cost, which is at least 80%, is borne entirely by the taxpayers.
In using Grok AI to research the cost of such procedures, Girard at Large discovered the cost for this transition could cost up to $150,000 if done as a “package” of surgeries over time and could be more or less if done “a la carte,” depending on which procedures are done. We will not share the costs of the specific procedures to honor our commitment to not divulge any personally identifiable information about the teacher in question. According to sources, “lots and lots” of procedures have been done over three and a half years this person has worked for the district, with more come.
In addition to surgical costs, hormone therapy, blood tests, procedures needed to maintain the surgical interventions can cost up to $15,000 per year, according to our research.
None of the people Girard at Large spoke with had a “problem” with the person or the transition, it was the cost, with all noting that the surgery is expensive and the district is self-insured, meaning that taxpayers are paying the claims. One person wondered how the district could pay for this but not for GLP-1 drugs, which are expensive, but have helped many in the district who are not diabetic, lose weight. GLP-1 drugs primary use is to help Type 2 Diabetics control their blood sugars by controlling their appetite, leading to weight loss. Because of that, it has been prescribed “off label” to help overweight and obese people lose weight. The district covers the drugs if prescribed for Type 2 Diabetes, but not for weight loss, which some consider at least as necessary for some as transgender transition surgeries are said to be.
