School committee adopts $32.37 million fiscal 2026 budget; superintendent outlines capital, enrollment and summer program notes

The North Smithfield School Committee voted on June 26 to approve a fiscal year 2026 budget of $32,365,189 and accepted the superintendent’s recommendations on teacher recalls, the committee recorded. The committee also heard updates from the superintendent on summer programs, classroom air-conditioning units, and a sharp rise in incoming kindergarten registrations.

Superintendent Alicia described the budget action and said the town splits the school budget into operational and capital components. She told the committee the district requested capital funding — including a routine minimum of $200,000 for the revolving fund — but the town elected not to include that capital allocation when setting the town budget, citing the district’s increased state aid. “It’s not quite the windfall that people think it is,” Alicia said, noting the district had hired additional staff to meet enrollment and program needs.

On enrollment, Alicia said kindergarten registrations rose from about 80 to roughly 133 students, increasing kindergarten classes from five to seven. She said the district has done outreach using its student information system and expects some additional registrations tied to local housing turnover, but that the extra classes currently planned provide necessary capacity.

The superintendent also briefed the committee on extended school year (ESY) and summer programs: ESY is paid in part through federal funds, and the district reported it had no trouble hiring staff for summer programs. The district secured portable air-conditioning units for rooms used by ESY; the superintendent said the district cannot afford building-wide central air but had purchased additional window/portable units to support summer programming.

Motions recorded in the meeting included adopting the fiscal year 2026 budget at $32,365,189, approving the consent agenda, accepting the superintendent’s recommended teacher recalls, and adjourning. The transcript shows the motions carried; the meeting proceeded to a discussion about capital funding and facilities projects, where Alicia described conservative fiscal management and the use of fund balance, grants and reimbursements to cover some facility work.

The committee asked for clarification about capital project funding after the vote. Alicia said the district uses careful year-to-year budget management, grant applications and a revolving fund for reimbursable projects; if funds remain at year-end they go into fund balance that can be applied to capital needs. She said the district will continue to pursue grants and other revenue sources to support facilities work such as the football field and school renovations.

The committee also approved the superintendent’s recommended teacher recalls by voice vote before adjourning. No detailed roll-call vote with member names was recorded in the portions of the transcript supplied; the meeting minutes should provide the official roll-call record and any further detail on individual votes.