Somersworth School Board adopts six policies, approves E‑rate vendor and one‑year preschool tuition pact after budget update

The Somersworth School Board on Monday approved six policy revisions, authorized staff to move forward with SourceOne as the vendor for a federally funded E‑rate Category 2 network upgrade and approved a one‑year preschool tuition agreement with SAU 104 for the 2025–26 school year after hearing a budget update that identified just under $250,000 in unanticipated special‑education costs.

Board members and staff said the E‑rate project is already budgeted and will be reimbursed in part through the federal E‑rate program; the board approved naming SourceOne as the service provider to complete the Category 2 RFP filing so the district can secure a vendor quote and return to the board with final cost details.

The budget update that set the meeting’s tone came from the district business administrator, Katie (last name not specified), who said the district had incurred about $250,000 in additional obligations since the last report. “We were hit with, quite a number of additional special ed costs we weren't anticipating, just under $250,000 since the last update,” Katie said, and itemized the main drivers: contracted services for three Registered Behavior Technicians totaling over $100,000; three out‑of‑district placements totaling about $115,000; and transportation costs for three additional homeless students of roughly $30,000. Katie also reported an invoice from another district for…