Exeter School Board adopts $25.67 million operating budget, highlights special-education costs and paraprofessional contract proposal

The Exeter School Board voted unanimously to approve a $25,669,231 operating budget for fiscal year 2026 during its public hearing and subsequent board meeting, a motion the board carried 5-0.

Board members emphasized that the proposed total is only slightly higher than the district's default budget and that special education drove most of the increase. "So in the scheme of things, it's not much more than the default budget," said Patrick, board member, explaining the narrow difference between the proposed figure and the default amount.

The warrant article read to the public described the article as the operating budget excluding separate warrant-article appropriations. It listed the proposed amount of $25,669,231 and said the default budget, should the article be defeated, would be $25,711,928. The board recommended passage of the $25,669,231 number and later approved it in the board meeting.

Why it matters: Board members and administrators said the largest single driver of the budget change is special education. The district identified roughly…