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 for an estimated $105,000 in savings.

- Reading tutor: The requested full-time reading tutor position at Hopkins was reduced to 0.75 FTE, saving approximately $10,000; administrators said the change narrows the tutor’s before- and after-school availability but preserves face-to-face student support during the school day.

- Revenue and offsets: The district expects an additional $25,000 in preschool tuition revenue following a small tuition increase. The district also cited a special-education reserve of $1,046,000 that bolsters the FY26 package.

- Capital and project items: Administrators said the adaptive playground capital project remains on hold because the original $100,000 grant is insufficient to fund construction documents. Separately, the district reported that storefront entry doors and instructional equipment remain in the capital warrant submitted to town meeting and that capital-improvements committee approval will be sought as needed.

Administrators emphasized how paraprofessional duties vary by school level and role: general (A-level) paraprofessionals supervise non-classroom spaces, support arrival and dismissal, and assist with lunch/recess; B- and C-level paraprofessionals provide special-education services and applied-behavior-analysis instruction. Building principals explained how they use paraprofessionals and why some positions were preserved at certain schools.

The committee heard from building leaders about the time demands on assistant principals and the district’s efforts to preserve instructional leadership at multiple schools. Administrators said the district remains below peer communities in combined administration and instructional-leadership spending per pupil based on FY23 DESE figures but noted that FY23 figures do not include an assistant-principal hire added in Hopkins last year.

Votes at a glance

- Revised FY26 budget (total $66,775,630): approved by roll call (all present voted yes). - Mass Board of Library Commissioners grant, $4,000 (middle-school librarian Wendy McArthur): approved by roll call (all present voted yes). - Revised policy ADDA (criminal record investigation policy update): approved by roll call (all present voted yes). - Items by consensus (committee packet items, with item j removed from consensus list as requested): approved by roll call (all present voted yes).

What the record shows: administrators said the five paraprofessional reductions would be executed as reductions in force but indicated they expect to offer affected staff opportunities to move into other district roles as openings arise. The district described paraprofessional turnover as relatively high and said some vacancies created through turnover will allow staff movement without long-term layoffs.

Next steps: administrators and principals said they will continue to monitor student needs and staffing; the district will pursue the IDEA grant funds for eligible paraprofessional roles and will present capital items to the town capital committee as necessary.

Speakers at the meeting included Superintendent Dr. Kavanaugh; building principals Mr. Bishop (high school), Mrs. Debow (Marathon), Mrs. Tynan (Elmwood) and Mr. Cotter (Hopkins); and school committee members Nancy, Chris and Susan, who conducted the roll-call votes.

This article summarizes the committee’s budget vote and the principal explanations of how personnel decisions were made.