As the town faces a $3 million deficit for fiscal year 2026, the Select Board at its meeting Tuesday night addressed concerns that the School Department would be held to the same budget increase standard as other town departments of no more than 1.3%
At the last meeting on Dec. 17, Town Manager Elaine Lazarus said the town was facing a $4.5 million deficit. In response, she requested that all departments review their budget requests and “submit something with a no greater than a 1.3% increase.”
The deadline for the departments to submit their budget requests was Jan. 6. Lazarus will review these requests with Chief Financial Officer Kyla LaPierre on Jan. 8.
“It wasn’t necessarily a directive to the schools,” Lazarus stressed. “It was sent to all town departments. We have to get to a balanced budget one way or another.”
LaPierre told the board that the most updated deficit number has decreased to just over $3 million. The town’s free cash amount is expected to be certified “by next week.”
During the public comment period, Jen Halliday expressed concerns over this policy directive. She is the chair of the Hopkinton Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC), but she spoke as a resident.
“We’re halfway through this budget process that was started in good faith,” she said. She noted that she had anticipated a 5% increase ceiling, and that 1.3% wouldn’t cover the cost of inflation.
“So let’s be clear here,” Halliday continued. “Education really isn’t a place for cost-cutting experiments. … It sends a message that either we don’t respect the effort or time of our educators or that education in Hopkinton is expendable.”
Select Board member Amy Ritterbusch said she heard concerns at a budget advisory meeting the previous week that the smaller budget increase limit could “scare off educators” who might plan to leave the school system before the town budget is finalized.
“Faculty could begin to panic should cuts be made, because that is the one area that has any room, because everything else is bone,” added School Committee member Susan Stephenson.
“Zero decisions have been made about the budget,” stressed chair Brian Herr. “This is all fact-finding. We’re gathering the cards to see the hand we have to play.”
He added that during his previous tenure on the board, the budget process tends to start off with a deficit of between $2 million-$4 million.
Said Herr: “This is not an insane number.”
He went over the School Department budget requests approved by the board since FY 20. They ranged between 2.88% in FY 23 to 7.95% in FY 24.
“Everybody should stay calm,” he said, noting that sometimes the budget does not get finalized until the night of Annual Town Meeting in May. “ Let us sort it out.”
Stressed Herr: “The town always supports the schools.”
“We also want to be very cautious not to hurt our departments to the extent that it gets to the bone,” added member Shahidul Mannan. “I know it’s a tough game, a tough challenge. I am sure with everyone’s thoughtful understanding, analysis and consideration, we will get there, like we always do.”
Ritterbusch added that she did not believe that the budgets for the Water Department or the Department of Public Works should be cut, as the community remains concerned about removing PFAS from the town’s water supply. She noted that clean water was deemed a “human right” by the previous board.
Said Ritterbusch: “Everyone is very concerned about the PFAS, and we want to get that cleaned up.”
In her budget review, LaPierre noted is that the state’s Department of Revenue indicated that there may be a reduction in state aid for FY 26, which would affect the final budget. She had planned for a flat increase.
The School Committee will review the School Department’s proposed budget before the end of January, Lazarus said.
Warrant open for Annual Town Meeting articles
Lazarus told the board that the warrant has opened for the submission of articles for Annual Town Meeting, which will begin on May 5. Articles must be submitted to the Town Manager’s office by Feb. 3.
Lazarus recommended that the Select Board submit two articles. The first would be a legislative petition to designate the money collected from the meals tax for economic development purposes.
Member Joe Clark and Ritterbusch said that the language needs to be refined, as “economic development purposes” could be taken in a broader context.
The other article Lazarus recommended that the board submit would be to allow the Center School to obtain a long-term lease. She said this would allow the town to issue a request for proposals to seek a nonprofit partner. Previous discussions about the proposed reuse of the Center School for some town departments and public meeting space included a partnership with the Hopkinton Center for the Arts, which is looking to expand its class space.
The Town Manager and Select Board need to be clear about the messaging around the budget. Requesting departments to reduce budget asks to 1.3% and then at the same time saying “zero decisions” have been made is a recipe for chaos. Lack of a clear message allows speculation and false narratives to fill the void. I have already seen a community member spreading probable misinformation on social media regarding potential reductions to the school budget.