Burrillville School Committee approves 31 nonrenewals as district faces budget uncertainty

The Burrillville School Committee voted April 8 to approve 31 teacher nonrenewals, a measure the superintendent framed as a contingency driven by budget uncertainty for fiscal year 2026.

Superintendent Dr. Solito told the committee that most of the nonrenewals affect non‑tenured teachers and are intended to provide the district flexibility while final enrollment and fiscal figures are unknown. "This is the worst part of the job of a school superintendent," he said, adding that the district is proposing to eliminate 10 teaching positions for next school year. "We hope to recall the vast majority of these teachers as soon as we have an approved budget for fiscal year 26," he said.

Dr. Solito said the district has previously managed large nonrenewal lists and was able to recall most staff once budgets were finalized. He estimated that although 10 positions would be eliminated on paper, the eventual impact could be limited to "potentially 4 or 5 people at most," depending on retirements and staff movement.

The committee approved the nonrenewals by voice vote after a brief discussion. No individual vote tallies were read into the record.

Board members emphasized the difficulty of the decision. A member noted the district typically holds recall actions in June, either at a special meeting or at the regular June meeting, when FY26 budget decisions are clearer. The superintendent said he will pursue recall actions as soon as the budget allows.

Next steps: The district will proceed with the FY26 budget process; committee members said they will revisit staffing recalls when the town and school budgets are finalized.