Hopkinton School Committee approves revised FY26 budget after $415,000 reductions; paraprofessional cuts, ESOL post eliminated, reading tutor trimmed

The Hopkinton School Committee voted on March 13 to approve a revised FY26 budget of $66,775,630 after implementing $415,000 in reductions the district and school leaders described as necessary following direction from the town select board.

The committee approved the budget by roll call; all voting members present voted yes.

Why it matters: the reductions were designed to meet a town-directed target while preserving core instructional roles where possible, administrators said. The committee and building principals framed the decisions as efforts to protect direct student-facing instruction and the district’s special-education services while making difficult personnel reductions.

What changed in the budget

- Personnel reductions and funding shifts: Administrators told the committee that removing five general (A-level) paraprofessional full-time equivalents yields approximately $150,000 in savings. The district will also move approximately $125,000 of some paraprofessional salaries to an IDEA grant rather than eliminate those roles. Separately, one ESOL teacher position that became vacant during the year was eliminated…