Chariho school committee votes to close Hope Valley Elementary in FY26; budget cut estimated at $875,000

The Chariho Regional School District school committee voted on a motion to close Hope Valley Elementary School at the end of fiscal year 2026 after a lengthy budget workshop and public comment session. The committee’s action reduces the district’s proposed budget increase to about 0.68 percentage points after state aid, according to district finance staff.

The vote came after more than an hour of presentations and public comment about enrollment, classroom capacity and operating costs. Superintendent Gina Picard told the committee the district had been phasing out new enrollments at Hope Valley and presented updated cost and enrollment figures that the committee asked staff to prepare.

Picard said the block of savings the district expects if the committee closes Hope Valley includes about $400,000 for four certified staff reductions and roughly $100,000 for two non‑certified positions (a teaching assistant and a custodian). She also listed building maintenance and utilities at about $195,000, transportation roughly $85,000 and capital costs around $95,000, for a total reduction near $875,000.

"The new lines are designed so that all students will be assigned to the school closest to their home," Picard said, describing redrawn attendance lines and the district’s plan to assign students based on typical GPS mileage.

Committee members debated the timing and districtwide effects. One committee member urged caution about cuts to programs such as world language and library staffing; another said closing the school was necessary to reach a smaller budget increase without across‑the‑board cuts. "We could cut 9 educator positions out of this budget right now, and be done and walk away," a committee member said while arguing options; that member later made the motion to close the school.

Public commenters included teachers and residents who expressed concern about class size and long‑term community impacts. Bill Prince of Hopkinton, a retired educator, supported the closure as a difficult but necessary step. "Rip the band aid off and close Hope Valley School," he said, arguing it was needed to bring the budget under control. Other public speakers, including a Hope Valley teacher, warned that consolidation could raise class sizes and affect instruction.

District staff and principals described classroom reassignments at the receiving schools (Richmond, Charlestown and Ashaway) and said physical space exists to accommodate the students, though some shared‑space and scheduling adjustments would be required. Staff also said certain specialized positions—library media specialists, world language teachers and some other specialists—are difficult to recruit and could be affected by the uncertainty around building closures.

On the procedural side, some committee members noted two scheduled representatives from Hopkinton were not present when the motion was called; the committee nevertheless had a quorum and proceeded. The motion to close Hope Valley in FY26 carried on a voice vote; the minutes record no abstentions or recusals.

The committee’s decision is not final as a budget matter: the district will present the revised, reduced budget to voters at the district financial hearing and take a formal adoption vote on March 11. Picard and finance staff said the closing reduction would be reflected in the materials prepared for that warrant.

What happens next: staff will finalize attendance line changes, plan welcome/transition events at receiving schools, and work through personnel placements under existing contract procedures. The committee and staff said they will continue to discuss how to address program placement and transportation logistics before the budget adoption vote.

Notes: The committee presentation and discussion included detailed enrollment and classroom‑size tables showing how students from Hope Valley would be distributed across the three remaining elementary schools and listing the specific positions and dollar amounts the district expects to remove if Hope Valley closes.