School Board — October 16, 2025

Board members, superintendent, administrators, and principals introduced themselves at the start of the meeting.

The board recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

Board chair and administrators outlined the five-month budget cycle, work session focus on operations accounts, and new transparency measures including line-by-line justifications and recurring vs. new cost columns.

Administrators presented primary drivers (rising costs, special education, curriculum, transportation, facilities) and detailed the $95k SAU increase, including 5% transportation contract rise and new McKinney-Vento funding.

Discussed $287k increase driven by new out-of-district and residential placements; addressed Medicaid reimbursement rules, special education aid, and potential federal policy impacts.

21% increase proposed for new diagnostic tools, MTSS supports (Branching Minds, Fly5), Tier 2 materials, and district professional development funding to reduce reliance on grants.

Discussion of recurring licensing and consumable costs for Fly5 and Amplify programs versus traditional textbooks, including per-student calculations and comparison to prior book purchases.

Review of how the district negotiates software and curriculum contracts, including bundling schools for discounts, receiving free PD or licenses, and opportunities for further price negotiation.

Presentation of $43k technology increase covering network upgrades, Chromebook replacement cycle (two grade levels), and Diligent platform costs ($15k total).

Review of $110k facilities increase driven by performance contract payment shift to general fund, utility rate projections, Operations Hero energy tracking, maintenance contracts, and storage unit rentals.

Athletics budget up ~$2,300 for supplies/officials; middle high school budget up ~10% mainly due to Concord Regional Technology Center costs and assessment fees.

Clarification on smart projector vs. interactive board tools used by students for presentations and manipulation of shapes.

Explanation of $1 placeholder appropriations per municipal budget law and movement of telephone/admin cell phone costs into technology budget lines.

Budget increase for PSAT testing driven by larger incoming class cohort moving from 9th to 10th grade.

Review of under-budget status, supply increases, strong music participation (60% of students), and field trip/transportation cost rises netting ~$6k decrease.

Nominal increase for general supplies including lock storage in main office, classroom requests (art/PE/music/reading), replacement materials, and dry erase boards.

Operations budget request up 9.74% ($609,955); next steps include personnel budget Nov 6, deliberations, budget committee review in January, public hearing Feb 4, annual meeting March 14.

Explanation of $150k special education base reduction offsetting new requests; total budget context for the 9% operations increase.