MANCHESTER — Manchester Citizens for Schools is scheduled to meet tonight at 7 p.m. at Manchester Memorial High School at the same time the Board of School Committee is scheduled to meet at City Hall.

The leader of the group of Manchester parents, formed to spearhead the charge for more money for the city’s public schools, says the group isn’t going away when the ongoing budget rift ends.

“It’s a gathering of parents and an opportunity for people to convey their concern at the current dilemma,” said Hillside Middle School parent Jim O’Connell, one of the group’s founders.

MCS was established in the wake of reports that the budget submitted to aldermen by Mayor Ted Gatsas would lead to the layoff of 161 school employees, including 143 teachers. But rather than going away when the budget issue fades, group leaders say they plan to take an ongoing role in advocating for the schools.

That advocacy will include pushing for what the group considers “adequate” financing of education. The group plans to take an active role in any attempts to change the relationship between city government and the schools.

Voters will decide this fall whether to elect a charter commission to revise what is essentially the constitution of Manchester’s city government.

The charter provides for the voters to decide every 10 years whether to elect a new Charter Commission to consider possible changes for submission to a referendum.

Calls for changes in the way the schools are treated have been heard during the budget rift between the Board of School Committee and Gatsas.

The mayor and some others in city government want to increase city control over schools. A variety of suggestions have been made to do that, ranging from giving the mayor a veto over school board actions to the making school district a department of city government.

At the other extreme, some have staked out a position calling for more independence for the school district, including vesting the district with its own taxing authority, rather than remaining a component of a city-set tax rate. Such a change would also require action by the legislature.

“We want to be engaged in the charter process, we intend to be engaged and ensure that there is adcequate representation of the parents and children of Manchester in the charter commission,” O’Connell said.

But it is the controversy swirling around the school budget that has brought parents together this spring, O’Connell said. He expects the group to continue to work to create a new breed of activist parent.

“Parents have woken up, apathy has dissipated, people are concerned, bordering on cross, about what is going on,” he said.

An outreach effort has also been launched targeting the city’s minority community.

O’Connell says group leaders believe board members are aware of the group’s position on the effect of budget cuts on the quality of education and the safety of students.

O’Connell disagrees with anyone who would speculate that the parents’ group is doing the bidding of the city teachers union in advocating for spending that will save the jobs of teachers.

“I can understand that the interest of parents and the interest of teachers may coincide,” he said. “We are speaking on behalf of the parents, since parents are under-represented in this process.”

bsmith@unionleader.com.