District administrators told the budget committee Oct. 10 that they will present personnel recommendations in late November or early December and that some staffing and health-care uncertainties will affect the final budget.

Why it matters: Personnel and health-insurance costs are central drivers of the district’s final budget; administrators said health-plan rate notices remain incomplete and that personnel changes will be presented as a separate package once rates are known.

Key points presented by staff: Maria (administrator) told the committee that the packet now includes a tally of operating budgets presented to date. She said the table is organized by account type and will be updated weekly as additional building presentations are added. Maria reported receiving two health-insurance rates that day but not the third; she said three existing plans are being discontinued for fiscal 2026 and one new plan is being introduced, and that the district will not finalize its health-insurance presentation until it has all the rates.

A district staff member told the committee that administrators have “repurposed 13 positions” since last year and that these were all professional roles (special-education facilitators, social workers, child-find coordinator, interventionists). The staff member said the district currently has “the shortest job posting list that we’ve had” since the HR director (named in discussion) started, indicating improved staffing stability.

State context: A staff presenter summarized two facts for the committee: “New Hampshire is the 50th. We rank last across the nation in state funding per pupil,” and, he added, “we're also... in the top quartile consistently of total spending per pupil as a state.” The presenter said the delta is largely made up by local taxpayers and said the district plans a public presentation about state funding mechanisms; he also noted two lawsuits at the state level and two amicus briefs (one labeled Democratic, one labeled Republican) that are underway regarding school funding mechanisms.

What’s next: Administrators said they will present a personnel package when the health-insurance rates are complete and will continue updating the budget-assumptions list in the packet. The committee asked for full-rate information before personnel-level decisions are presented.

Ending: Administrators reiterated that operating totals discussed in the meeting cover only operating expenses and do not include personnel, which will be handled separately once the insurance rates and final personnel recommendations are available.