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Votes at a glance: school committee approves budget, trips, handbooks addendum and other measures
Summary
On Jan. 23 the Hopkinton School Committee approved the FY2026 operating budget, several overnight student trips, an addendum to student handbooks recommended by DESE, outdoor-classroom trips and revisions to the annual town report; it also moved into executive session on collective bargaining.
The Hopkinton School Committee took a series of formal actions on Jan. 23. Key votes were unanimous unless noted otherwise.
FY2026 operating budget - Motion: Approve the FY2026 operating budget of $67,190,630. Moved by Jamie; seconded by Susan. Roll-call vote: Kyla, Susan, Jamie, Ami and Chris — all yes. Outcome: approved. The superintendent will submit the budget to the town manager.
Overnight student trips (final approvals) - Hopkinton High School Robotics to Dallas, Texas (FIRST or VEX world competition): May 6–9, 2025. Estimated participants: 18–24 students. Motion by Kyla; second by Susan. Roll-call vote unanimous. Outcome: approved. - HHS Business Professionals of America (BPA) state conference to Norwood, Massachusetts: overnight March 8–9, 2025. Participants: 25 students. Motion by Susan; second by Kyla. Outcome: approved (unanimous). - BPA national leadership conference to Orlando, Florida: May 7–11, 2025. Estimated participants: 18–22 students. Motion by Susan; second by Kyla. Outcome: approved (unanimous).
Outdoor classroom (grade 6 overnight) - Motion to approve outdoor-classroom (formerly Nature’s Classroom) overnight trips in Freedom, New Hampshire: two sessions to accommodate large 6th-grade cohort, Nov. 17–19, 2025 and Nov. 19–21, 2025. Motion by Kyla; second by Susan. Vote: unanimous. Outcome: approved. Committee noted rising costs and procedures for financial hardship assistance.
Student handbook addendum - Motion to approve the addendum to student handbooks (clarifying timelines for IEP/504 team meetings after exclusions and the rule for disciplinary placements during appeals) as required by a DESE audit. Motion by Kyla; second by Jamie. Roll-call vote unanimous. Outcome: approved. The addendum will be applied for the remainder of the 2024–25 school year.
Annual town report revisions - Motion to approve revisions to the 2024 annual town report for submission. Motion by Kyla; second by Susan. Vote: unanimous. Outcome: approved.
Executive session - Motion to adjourn to executive session under MGL c.30A, §21(a)(2) to discuss strategy related to collective bargaining with the Hopkinton Teachers Association (detrimental effect if discussed publicly). Motion by Jamie; second by Susan. Roll-call vote: unanimous. Outcome: entered executive session; no return to public session was planned.
Competency determination (see separate coverage) - The committee also voted to adopt coursework-based competency criteria for graduation (separate article).
