Hooksett schools: federal special-education and title funding likely to shrink; district weighing options

Bill Reerick, SAU 15 superintendent, told a Hooksett information session that the district’s largest federal grant under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is effectively level for the coming year but other federal titles are uncertain, creating budget planning challenges for 2026–27.

Reerick said the district’s total IDEA allocation is projected at $461,436 for the coming year and that the initial federal payment — usually about one-third of the total — has arrived. “We’re projected to get a total of $461,436 for this coming year, which is what we were planning on receiving,” Reerick said. Christine Osborne, Hooksett director of student services, and Kimberly Sarfte, assistant superintendent, described how IDEA funds are used to pay for special-education teachers, paraprofessionals, speech providers, adaptive equipment and testing materials.

The nut of the district’s concern is uncertainty around Title II (professional development) and Title IV (well-rounded education/technology/safe and healthy schools) funding. Reerick and Sarfte said Commissioner Edelblut had told regional superintendents to “not expect very little if not anything” for Title II, which the district uses for teacher coaching, workshops and supports that sometimes cross-fund Title I and IDEA activities. Sarfte said the district currently has about $79,000 in Title II funds this year (down slightly from about $81,006 the previous year) and that losing Title II would reduce the money available to train staff to implement new curricula.

On Title I and Title IV figures, the presenters gave specific allocations: Title I this year is about $293,176 (down from roughly $219,351 the prior year, per the district’s accounting), and Title IV allocations dropped about 46% from the previous year to roughly $26,000 in 2024–25. Osborne said the district relies on these federal dollars to purchase highly individualized supplies and devices for special-education students, to cover tuition and transportation for students who move in midyear, and to support programs such as robotics. “All of the supplies that we need typically come out of the IDEA grant because they’re so uniquely customizable to each student,” Osborne said.

District staff said the board will meet June 3 to finalize priorities for a level-funded town budget and to consider how to use a modest fund balance. As of May 20, the presenters said, after anticipated trust-fund withdrawals the district estimated “slightly over $300,000” remaining in fund balance. The board previously asked voters to approve two trust funds: a Special Education Trust Fund for $150,000 and a curriculum trust fund for $100,000; staff said those would be filled in that order.

Osborne and Sarfte also warned that new state requirements (updated RSAs effective 07/01/2027) will require evidence-based curriculum resources, and the district estimates a shortfall of about $200,000 just for an elementary ELA adoption. Sarfte said the curriculum trust fund approved by voters — $100,000 — would not cover the full cost of the materials and associated professional development.

District staff estimated a combined potential shortfall of roughly $654,000 if supplemental federal funds are reduced or eliminated, noting Title IV already is down substantially and Title II appears at risk. Reerick said staff and the board will consider whether to move positions out of grant-funded slots into the general budget gradually or to cut programs if federal support declines. “At some point, the board is gonna have to consider if it’s not for the 2627 budget in outlying years, what do we do with the personnel people that we’ve had in those grants,” Reerick said.

The presentation also covered catastrophic ("cat") aid reimbursements for high special-education costs. Reerick said the district historically received about a 90% reimbursement on qualifying expenditures but that reimbursement had dropped to the low 60% range in the most recent year — a change staff said they are monitoring because it affects projected revenue.

School officials closed by noting preliminary assessment results and praising staff, while urging the board and community to be aware of the potential fiscal impacts if federal and state funding change.

Ending: The district asked the board to consider options at its upcoming retreat and warned that the most significant funding risks may affect the 2026–27 budget. Presenters urged the community to note that most of these federal dollars are not part of the operational budget paid by local taxpayers and that significant reductions would require either program cuts or local revenue changes.