Chariho school budget includes up to $875,000 in savings if Hope Valley Elementary closes; voters to decide in April referendum

Chariho Regional School District officials at a regional finance meeting reviewed a proposed budget that assumes closing Hope Valley Elementary at the end of the school year and includes potential savings of up to $875,000, and they approved establishing a regional school district building committee and a $15,000 transfer to that committee.

The proposed budget — as approved previously by the school committee on Feb. 11, 2025 — set the district’s fiscal-year budget at $69,765,604. Committee members said if the committee finalizes $875,000 in cuts tied to the Hope Valley closure, the recommended FY2026 budget would be $68,890,604 and the combined member-town contribution with debt service would change from an overall increase of 2.67% to an overall increase of 0.68%, with the following town-level impacts: Charlestown, −1.01%; Richmond, +1.62%; Hopkinton, +1.08%.

The meeting chair said the school committee previously approved the budget and that no motions or votes on the budget would occur at the hearing; voters will vote on the budget in an all-day referendum scheduled for April 8, 2025. The chair also said the committee had made the difficult decision to close Hope Valley Elementary at the end of this school year and that anticipated savings from that action could be up to $875,000 if the closure and related cuts are finalized.

During public comment, Sharon Davis of Hopkinton asked for clarification about the $875,000 figure and whether it included savings tied to two items she named — the NESC accreditation savings and a BCI line — and she requested that those line items be removed from the budget if they are not already excluded. Davis also asked that the Town of Hopkinton and the Chariho School Committee meet to agree on the required physical condition of Hope Valley Elementary when the building is returned to the town, and she asked that the district attorney review House Bill 5204, described by the commenter as a measure related to pupil transportation, and report back on its potential fiscal effects and any recommended resolution the towns could send to the state legislature.

The meeting then moved to a separate item required after passage of a bond in November: members voted to establish a regional school district building committee charged under the Chariho Act to carry out responsibilities related to the bond-funded project. The motion to form the committee was made and seconded and carried by voice vote. Immediately afterward, voters present approved a motion to transfer $15,000 from the FY2025 budget to the regional school district building committee to cover necessary and proper expenses the committee may incur in carrying out its duties; that motion was also carried by voice vote.

The meeting closed with a motion to adjourn, which passed by voice vote.

The meeting record shows the school committee is relying on a combination of finalized budget decisions and actions that still require implementation steps: the closure of Hope Valley Elementary remains an approved committee recommendation that affects the proposed FY2026 budget only if cuts totaling up to $875,000 are finalized; the building committee formation and $15,000 transfer were approved at this finance meeting and are now authorized to proceed under the charge described in the Chariho Act.