Hooksett school district leaders told the town’s budget committee on Nov. 14 that a large, unexpected assessment from SchoolCare — the administrator for the district’s employee health pool — has reshaped next year’s budget and prompted significant cuts.

"We received word on Monday that our premium increase would only be 7.7%," Superintendent Bill Rirk said. "That lowered our default increase to 3.18% and our operating request to 4.29%." Rirk said those revised figures will appear in updated budget documents the committee will receive next week.

Rirk also described a separate SchoolCare assessment originally calculated at $553,074 under an early formula for Hooksett; the school board used anticipated revenues to reduce the district’s share to $257,056. "That was a driver in the budget," Rirk said, adding that other districts faced assessments as large as $2 million.

To absorb cost pressures, the school board reduced proposed new spending by about $566,000. Rirk said the board removed one of three proposed teaching positions (approximately $98,000) and eliminated a proposed portable classroom (about $275,000), leaving roughly $120,000 in additional maintenance requests in the draft budget.

Rirk said the district has begun soliciting proposals from other plan managers — including the HealthTrust and private administrators — to manage the pool after the 2026–27 year. He emphasized that Cigna is the insurance carrier that pays claims while SchoolCare functions as the pooled administrator. "We're trying to get our ducks lined up so we can jump," Rirk said.

Committee members pressed for data to justify SchoolCare’s assessment. Several members asked SchoolCare to show evidence for claims that higher utilization and expensive new medications (including GLP weight‑loss drugs) drove the increase. "So far they have given us narrative, not the data," a committee member said; Rirk agreed the district will press SchoolCare for more detailed evidence.

The superintendent also said the assessment relates to a statutory authority. He told members he had consulted attorneys and was preparing to provide the specific RSA citation the firm cited as its legal basis.

Other budget items discussed included enrollment changes (Collier Middle School is projected to add about 33 sixth-graders next year) and 13 additional high‑school‑age students who will attend Pinkerton. Rirk said Pinkerton normally gives a tuition number in the third week of November; Hooksett used a 5% placeholder in its draft but expects an update soon.

The board is scheduled to vote on final numbers next Tuesday; district staff will provide the budget committee revised documents at the next committee meeting. The committee requested follow-up materials, including the RSA citation, SchoolCare audit/oversight information, evidence supporting SchoolCare’s assessment rationale, updated trust‑fund balances and a breakdown of recent technology spending.

What’s next: the school board will take action on the revised budget on Tuesday and return updated figures to the budget committee the following week.