Sarah Ambrogi and other key board members understood that there was really no choice in the end. Here is how the Union leader reported the meeting:

MANCHESTER — The Board of School Committee reversed its collision course with state education officials on Wednesday and voted to adopt the Smarter Balanced statewide assessment test.

The vote brings to an end a months-long standoff between Manchester and the state Department of Education, which has insisted that the city’s refusal to participate in the test could threaten millions of dollars in federal education aid not only for the city, but the state as a whole.

The board voted 9-4 to direct the superintendent to administer Smarter Balanced over the heated objections of Mayor Ted Gatsas, who has asserted the district’s right to go its way with the Smarter Balanced test and the controversial national Common Core standards with which it is aligned.

The motion to adopt Smarter Balanced was made by Ward 1 school board member Sarah Ambrogi, who said the board had initially opted to reject the test back in August when it believed the state would grant the district a waiver from the test.

“As was made clear, no wavier is forthcoming, and there’s a significant amount of funding the district stands to lose that will create severe problems for the district going forward,” she said. “To administer the Smarter Balanced test this year … is the fiscally responsible choice.”

via Manchester Board of School Committee votes to adopt statewide test | New Hampshire.