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Superintendent outlines $415,000 reductions to meet town budget directive; paraprofessionals, ESOL reduction among proposals
Summary
Hopkinton district leaders proposed $415,015 in reductions to the FY 2026 school budget to meet a town target, including cutting one ESOL teacher position, eliminating five general paraprofessional roles, and moving some special‑education paraprofessional costs to grant funding.
District leadership presented an updated FY 2026 budget on Feb. 13 after receiving a town directive to reduce the schools’ request so the municipal budget could reach balance. The superintendent said the schools were asked to reduce their request by $415,015 so the town could approach a 5.75% overall increase for FY26.
The administration described a set of proposed reductions and revenue adjustments that together would meet the town’s target: eliminate an ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) teacher position that will become vacant in February (salary roughly $105,000); reduce five general paraprofessional (non‑special‑education) positions across buildings (each salary roughly $30,000, totaling about $150,000); shift approximately 25% of certain special‑education paraprofessional salaries to federal IDEA grants; reduce a high school reading tutor from full time to 0.75 FTE (savings roughly $10,000); and incorporate the estimated $25,000 additional preschool tuition revenue discussed earlier. The administration summarized these items as producing the requested $415,015 reduction.
School leaders and committee members discussed the operational implications. Committee members asked for more granular detail on how paraprofessionals are currently deployed (classroom support, lunch supervision, library coverage, MTSS support) and how cuts would affect classrooms and student supervision. Administrators noted paraprofessional vacancies and turnover occur during a typical year and said building‑level configurations vary; the district will provide building‑specific impact analyses. The committee also discussed the timing of insurance and free‑cash certifications that could affect the budget picture and asked whether the assistant principal request at Elmwood (recently approved) or other new positions could be deferred.
No final budget revote occurred at the meeting. The superintendent recommended the committee wait until additional town numbers (insurance, certified free cash) and building‑level staffing impacts are available before revoting the budget. The committee set follow‑up steps: administration will return with detailed building‑level impact statements and options at the next meeting.
