KINGSTON, N.H. — The Governor Wentworth Regional School District Board of Education on Jan. 6 adopted a $67,423,??? operating budget for fiscal 2026 and approved several related warrant articles, including cost items from recently negotiated collective bargaining agreements and a district-funded expansion of free school meals.

Superintendent Caroline Erichelian presented the budget at a public adoption hearing and described the district’s budget process, enrollment trends and proposed staffing changes. She said districtwide enrollment fell from 2,116 to 2,076 students, a net loss of 40 students year over year, with Effingham and Crescent Lake showing modest enrollment gains while Ossipee and New Durham saw the largest declines. Erichelian also outlined proposed new and reduced staff positions and said employees remain the largest single portion of the general fund budget.

The board’s action follows public hearings in November, a preliminary presentation in December and the district’s deliberative session scheduled for Feb. 1 at 10 a.m. at the Kingswood Arts Center. The superintendent explained that the official SB 2 default budget differs only slightly from the proposed operating budget and that this year’s default budget is $852,889 lower than the proposed operating budget but represents a 5.25% increase over last year due to fixed costs required by prior actions or by law.

Board members and members of the public asked detailed questions about proposed new positions, including a district-level student wellness coordinator; the administration said the coordinator would not be a registered nurse, would not be a member of a collective bargaining unit and would be expected to hold a master’s degree in a related field (counseling, social work, special education, nutrition or a related area). The superintendent said the coordinator’s budgeted salary was based on the district teacher salary median and estimated in the presentation at about $78,000. The wellness coordinator role was described as arising from the district strategic plan and from prior grant-funded positions (a “system of care” coordinator funded by a multi-year grant that ended in 2022–23).

The board adopted the proposed operating budget 6–2 after a motion by Dr. Beth Sheckler and a second by Mary Shilleriff. The board also considered and voted on a slate of warrant articles and cost items described below.

Votes at a glance

- Operating budget (Article 2): Adopted, 6–2. Motion to adopt the budget as proposed carried after public hearing and board questions. (Mover: Dr. Beth Sheckler; second: Mary Shilleriff.)

- Administrative collective bargaining (Article 3): Board approved the cost items associated with the Governor Wentworth Administrative Team (GWAT) agreement; the motion to recommend the Article passed (vote recorded by the board).

- Support-staff collective bargaining (Article 5): Board approved the cost items associated with the Governor Wentworth Support Staff Association (GWISA) agreement; the motion to recommend the Article passed (vote recorded by the board). The support-staff agreement included a large first-year increase (presentation described it as a 10% increase in year 1 and 5% in year 2 applied across the unit, designed to raise entry wages).

- Maintenance capital reserve (Article 7): Board recommended adding up to $150,000 to the maintenance capital reserve fund from available fund balance (no new taxes). Motion to recommend passed.

- Turf Field capital reserve (Article 8): The board heard the article to add up to $60,000 to the turf field capital reserve (from fund balance, no new taxes) during the warrant review. The board later scheduled a public hearing to gather more information about turf replacement options and vendor proposals (see separate article on the turf-field discussion and hearing).

- Building and grounds repairs (Article 9): Board recommended up to $150,000 for repairs and improvements to buildings and grounds at district facilities. Motion to recommend passed.

- Meals eligibility (new proposed warrant article): After a discussion of options to expand free-meal eligibility, the board voted to recommend an article that would raise the district’s free-meal eligibility threshold to 300% of the federal poverty level (the board approved the 300% option in a recorded motion). The administration noted this option would substantially broaden eligibility and estimated the district-level cost impact in preliminary calculations (the superintendent and food service director provided high-level estimates; the board discussed a working estimate of roughly a $250,000 impact depending on household incomes and application rates, and noted final figures would depend on student-level eligibility data and USDA/state reimbursement rules).

Why it matters

The board’s adoption of the operating budget and the supported warrant articles codifies the spending plan that will appear on the district ballot during the upcoming voting cycle and sets the stage for the Feb. 1 deliberative session. The collective bargaining approvals reflect negotiated salary and benefit increases for administrators and support staff that the board has recommended to voters. The decision to pursue expanded free-meal eligibility reflects a policy choice to reduce out-of-pocket meal costs for families; the board asked the administration to provide clear financial estimates ahead of the deliberative session.

What the board said and asked

Superintendent Caroline Erichelian walked the board and public through revenue sources (state adequacy and building aid, federal Medicaid reimbursements for health-related services, local revenue from lunch sales and tuition), the drivers of salary and benefits costs, and the district’s capital-reserve strategy (the district holds a turf-field reserve that the superintendent said contained roughly $800,000 and a maintenance capital reserve that the board proposed to replenish with $150,000).

Board members pressed the administration for more detail on several points: the certification and collective-bargaining status of the proposed student wellness coordinator (the superintendent said the role would not be a registered nurse and would not be part of a bargaining unit); the rationale and staffing-cycle for replacement school buses (transportation runs on a three-year lease cycle that the district buys out at lease end); and the increase in contracted transportation (the administration said the large percentage increase reflected out-of-district placement transport for special-education students and other mandated services).

Public input

Members of the public asked for the wellness coordinator job description, salary-band information, and whether the district had consulted other districts that have similar positions. Several commenters questioned math proficiency and instructional resources; the administration and board members noted district professional development is funded through object-code tuition reimbursement tied to collective bargaining and that math coaches and curriculum materials are part of prior ESSER- and operating-funded initiatives.

Next steps

The board and administration will finalize precinct- and ballot-ready materials for the deliberative session on Feb. 1. The superintendent will circulate the MS-26 state reporting form for signatures now that the warrant articles and budget amounts are set. The board also asked the administration to provide updated, more-detailed cost estimates for the free-meal expansion before the deliberative session and to post the student-wellness coordinator job description for public review.

Sources: superintendent Caroline Erichelian; board motions and roll calls at the Jan. 6, 2025 Governor Wentworth Regional School District meeting; district budget presentation and warrant documents.