During a brief Zoom meeting Friday, the School Committee unanimously approved a revised fiscal year 2028 capital plan that includes requests totaling $545,000 as well as $22.4 million for a geothermal heat, ventilation and air conditioning system at the high school.

Assistant Superintendent/Chief Operating Officer Jeff LaBroad noted the $22.4 million potentially could be funded through money approved but not yet borrowed for the Charleswood School project.

At a previous meeting, the assistant superintendent said Charleswood School owner’s project manager Vertex estimates there will be money “comfortably north of $20 million” that would not get borrowed and “thinks $30 million is not out of the question.”

A vote from Town Meeting to redirect that borrowing would be necessary.

The other capital list includes $80,000 to replace a maintenance vehicle used for snow removal and sidewalk/road treatment; $50,000 to replace old, broken rear stairs at the middle school; $100,000 to continue replacing flooring and $100,000 for interior painting of hallways and classrooms, both at the middle school; and $60,000 for an offsite disaster recovery host.

At a previous meeting, LaBroad explained that a disaster recovery host was a technology tool that backs up district data systems in the event of an emergency recovery. He said it would be needed if the main service is damaged or goes offline.

Another request was to conduct a Marathon School stormwater mitigation study to address abutters’ concerns at a cost of $25,000. LaBroad said the funds would be for only the study and would not lock the district into remediation costs.

Regarding the geothermal system, he said the HVAC system is nearing the end of its useful life and has components “on the verge of failure.” Replacement of the system would cost about $13.7 million, he said.

Once incentives and tax credits are factored in, LaBroad said, the geothermal option is estimated at $12,758,000.

Improvement plan update provided

In other business, Superintendent Evan Bishop gave a quarterly update on the district’s improvement plan. The plan has 15 items — four of which are complete, eight that are underway and three that are still to do.

Examples of ongoing initiatives include a pilot program for elementary literacy, development of consistent student support structures, creation of a new enrollment study and work on a grade reconfiguration transition plan.

Future items include development of a family communication needs survey and administrative feedback surveys as well as a new administrator onboarding and induction process.

Bishop said he and LaBroad are talking about creating a document for students, parents and staff that outlines what the transitions at Hopkins School and Charleswood School would look like in terms of schedules, bus drop-offs, staffing and instructional model. But that would take place once the district reaches an agreement with the Hopkinton Teachers Association (HTA).

Once those negotiations are settled, “pretty soon,” Bishop said, the district can “roll out” more information.

“I just want to commend the HTA for their help and support as we work toward coming up with an agreement,” Bishop said.

School Committee member Sandra Irwin said she wants to ensure that the impact on families before and after school are addressed, because there are questions about what the changes will mean.

Budget offsets outlined

Chief Financial Officer Cindy Mahr gave a first quarter financial report, which she said would “move to a more transparent way of looking at budget offsets as well as provide “the true cost of our programs.”

For example, while tuition for private schools is listed at $754,268, the full cost really is $3.6 million when factoring in revolving funds ($2.67 million) and grants. Similarly, the cost of special education paraprofessionals at $705,717 rises to its true cost of $1.1 million when adding in those other funding sources.

Mahr said the bottom line does not change, but separating grant and revolving funds outside of the general budget lines helps to easily track year over year changes. It also communicates the financial picture more clearly.

School Committee member Nancy Cavanaugh said she appreciates the increased transparency, especially because the budget is tight and scrutinized.

Irwin also liked the new reporting because “it creates a more consistent view year over year.”

Mahr also spoke about shifts in the way special education grant funds are being used and one-time budgeted offsets such as for paraprofessionals, out-of-district tuition and building maintenance — resulting in $698,339 in one-time revenue.

School Committee chair Kyla McSweeney said she had not seen the budget broken down in this way before and praised the report as “a positive step forward.”