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FY26 BUDGET PRESENTATION DATES

​

December 19, 2024

January 9, 2025

January 16, 2025

January 23, 2025

Appropriations March 12, 2025

Town Meeting May 5, 2025

ARTICLE 5 - FY 2026 OPERATING BUDGET

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�BUDGETARY�GOALS

  • Approach all FY26 budgeting stressing fiscal responsibility and responding to shifts in demographics and student needs.

​

  • Maintain Hopkinton’s exceptional educational and extracurricular programs. 

​

  • Offer curriculum and instruction that meet the needs of ALL learners, including their academic, behavioral, mental health, special education, and social-emotional needs.

​

  • Accommodate enrollment/programmatic growth.

​

  • Support the School Improvement Plans.

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2024-2025 CURRENT ENROLLMENT �DATA

4266

2024-2025 PROJECTED ENROLLMENT

4290

CURRENTLY WE ARE 24 STUDENTS AWAY FROM DR. WAGMAN’S PROJECTED ENROLLMENT FOR JUNE 2025

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These student projections, which were produced for the District by Demographer Arthur Wagman in November 2020, were considered in the building of the FY26 Budget.

​

In the end, the FY26 was built for 4355 students.

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STAFFING REQUESTS FOR FY26

Marathon & Elmwood

1.0 FTE Intensive Special Needs Teacher

Special Education

Elmwood

1.0 FTE Assistant Principal

Administration/Support /Facility Enhancements

Hopkins

0.75 FTE Reading Tutor

Administration/Support /Facility Enhancements

HMS

.4 FTE Orchestra Teacher

Instructional Cost / Enrollment Growth

HHS

1.0 FTE French Teacher

Instructional Cost / Enrollment Growth

HHS

.6 FTE Computer Science Teacher

Instructional Cost / Enrollment Growth

Elmwood & HMS

3.0 FTE Special Education Paraprofessionals

Special Education

Technology

1.0 FTE Technician

Instructional Cost / Enrollment Growth

Building & Grounds

.5 FTE Custodian

Administration/Support /Facility Enhancements

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STAFFING REDUCTIONS FOR FY26

Elmwood

1.0 FTE Paraprofessional (A)

Instructional Cost / Enrollment Growth

Hopkins

1.0 FTE Paraprofessional (A)

Instructional Cost / Enrollment Growth

HHS

3.0 FTE Paraprofessionals (A)

Instructional Cost / Enrollment Growth

Total Reductions

5.0 FTE Paraprofessionals (A)

Instructional Cost / Enrollment Growth

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SCHOOL

REQUEST

REASON

MARATHON

ELMWOOD

1.0 FTE INTENSIVE SPECIAL NEEDS TEACHER

​

Current enrollment numbers of students with intensive special needs is high at Elmwood, and projected numbers are high for both Marathon and Elmwood.

​

District

Total Number of students enrolled

Percentage of Students on IEPs

​

K-5 Caseload Moderate

​

K-5 Caseload Intensive

​

6-8 Caseload Moderate

​

6-8 Caseload Intensive

​

9-12 Caseload Moderate

​

9-12 Caseload Intensive

Hopkinton

4248

14.2%

7-13

6-12

8-16

7-10

10-17

4-5

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Historical DESE RADAR Data

HOPKINTON’S FTEs per

100 STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

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DESE RADAR

DATA

​

This data was updated in March of 2025

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SCHOOL

REQUEST

REASON

ELMWOOD

1.0 FTE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

​

Hopkinton needs to bolster its administrative and instructional leadership.

2022 Per Pupil Spending by Category

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SCHOOL

REQUEST

REASON

HOPKINS

0.75 FTE READING TUTOR

Students’ reading remediation needs will be best met with an additional reading teacher at the Hopkins School.

​

Number

Participation

Rate

E

%

M

%

PM

%

NM

%

Achievement

SGP

All students Grade THREE

MCAS Spring 2024

326

99

14

59

25

2

510

N/A

Students w/ Disabilities Grade THREE

MCAS Spring 2024

40

100

0

18

68

15

489

N/A

All students Grade FOUR

MCAS Spring 2024

335

100

12

58

25

5

509

55

Students w/ Disabilities Grade FOUR

MCAS Spring 2024

45

100

0

20

47

33

481

45

The District is trying to grow the proficiency of our students who are not performing at benchmark.

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SCHOOL

REQUEST

REASON

MIDDLE SCHOOL

.4 FTE ORCHESTRA

Student enrollment in music programs dictates the need for this related arts increase

​

CHORUS

BAND

ORCHESTRA

SIXTH

77

142

92

SEVENTH

54

108

72

EIGHTH

82

91

54

Grade 5 Orchestra currently has 111 students in it.

​

The numbers remain strong at Hopkins and at HMS. While the band numbers are still larger than the orchestra, we reached a balance at Hopkins this year. Orchestra keeps growing. By breaking down the orchestra lessons with another instructor, we can group the students for a better learning experience and have a second person in the room for large ensemble rehearsals to help with tuning and getting the students settled in.

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SCHOOL

REQUEST

REASON

HIGH SCHOOL

.6 FTE COMPUTER SCIENCE

Increased student enrollment in computer science courses is the basis for this request

HIGH SCHOOL

1.0 FTE FRENCH TEACHER

During FY25, French classes at the High School were considerably larger than district norms.

Some students needed to take French classes on VHS.

Essentially, both of these “asks” are based in student enrollment increases.

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Town by Ranking

Per Pupil Expenditure

Town by Ranking

Per Pupil

Expenditure

1. Weston

$31,012.05

18. Sudbury

$21,201.77

2. Wellesley

$27,590.86

19. Millis

$20,662.95

3. Burlington

$26,790.60

20. Nashoba

$20,638.99

4. Dedham

$26,693.47

21. Groton-Dunstable

$20,606.21

5. Lincoln-Sudbury

$26,241.06

22. Uxbridge

$20,519.70

6.Concord

$26,175.73

23. Sharon

$20,493.18

7. Dover

$25,177.60

24. Natick

$20,475.21

8. Lexington

$25,166.66

25. Westborough

$20,421.83

9. Harvard

$24,256.82

26. North Middlesex

$19,823.99

10. Westwood

$24,051.61

27. Medway

$19,622.34

11. Sherborn

$23,934.86

28. Milton

$18,925.49

12. Southborough

$23,679.44

29. Milford

$18,868.15

13. Needham

$23,407.01

30. Hopedale

$18,696.76

14. Northboro-Southboro

$23,440.44

31. Shrewsbury

$17,838.57

15. Andover

$22,637.61

32. Hopkinton

$17,371.59

16. State

$21,885.22

33. Ashland

$17,354.53

17. Northborough

$21,441.22

​

​

Last updated by DESE on January 30, 2025

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​

​

Administration

​

Instructional Leadership

​

Teachers

​

Other Teaching Services

​

Professional

Development

​

Instructional Materials, Equipment, Technology

​

​

Guidance,

Counseling,

and Testing

​

Pupil Services

​

Operations

and Maintenance

​

Insurance, Retirement Programs, and Other

​

Total Expenditures

FY21

$586

$647

$6834

$1297

$191

$395

$593

$1286

$1548

$2007

$15870

FY22

$625

$680

$7025

$1321

$93

$431

$622

$1415

$1337

$2103

$16177

FY23

$641

$705

$7191

$1435

$136

$411

$625

$1736

$1348

$2343

$17372

FY24

$665

$830

$7591

$1592

$119

$391

$636

$1913

$1222

$2370

$17329

QUAR-

TILE

FY23

BELOW

50%

BELOW

25%

BELOW

50%

BELOW

50%

BELOW

25%

BELOW

25%

BELOW

50%

BELOW

50%

BELOW

50%

BELOW

25%

BELOW

25%

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OUR NICHE RANKINGS

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​

​

HS RANKINGS

RANKING

NAME OF SCHOOL

TYPE OF SCHOOL

1

BOSTON LATIN SCHOOL

EXAM SCHOOL

2

PIONEER VALLEY CHINESE IMMERSION CHARTER SCHOOL

CHARTER

3

LEXINGTON HIGH SCHOOL

PUBLIC*

4

ADVANCED MATH AND SCIENCE ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL

CHARTER

5

STURGIS PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL

CHARTER

6

JOHN D. O’BRYANT SCHOOL OF MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE

EXAM SCHOOL

7

HOPKINTON HIGH SCHOOL

PUBLIC*

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FY2026 OPERATING BUDGET

FY2025 NET OPERATING BUDGET $63,144,790

​

FY2026 SALARY INCREASE $ 2,815,955 4.46%

FY2026 EXPENSE INCREASE 814,885 1.29%

INCREASE $ 3,630,840

​

FY2026 NET OPERATING BUDGET $66,775,630 5.75%

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FY2026 OPERATING BUDGET

Offsets

Revolving Account

Budget Account to Offset

FY25 Budget Offset

FY26 Budget Offset

Parking Revolving

Crossing Guards / Grounds Maint

$60,000

$60,000

Building Use

Building & Grounds Contract Service

$150,000

$150,000

Bus Revolving

Transportation

$350,000

$350,000

Preschool Revolving

Preschool Paraprofessional Salary

$320,000

$345,000

Athletic Revolving

Athletic Coaches

$450,000

$450,000

International Tuition

High School Teacher Salaries

$400,000

$450,000

Offset from Fees

​

$1,730,000

$1,805,000

Circuit Breaker

Out of District Tuition

$1,769,478

$2,539,563

Special Education Reserve

Out of District Tuition

$1,094,024

$1,094,024

Total Revolving Offsets

​

$4,593,502

$5,438,587

Increased Use:

​

​

$845,085

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FY2026 SALARIES

​

FY2025 SALARIES $50,368,814

​

FY2026 CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS $ 2,641,347

FY2026 STAFF REQUESTS $ 174,608

$ 2,815,955

​

FY2026 SALARIES $53,184,769

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FY2026 SALARIES

​

Amount

FTE

Salary - Contractual

$2,641,347

​

  • Special Education

61,259 *

4.0

  • Instructional Cost, Enrollment Growth

(61,069)*

1.4

  • Instructional Program Enhancements

0

​

  • Support

174,418

(0.8)

Salary Increase

$2,815,955

4.7

* Costs offset by increased use of fees and grants

​

​

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FY2026 EXPENSES

​

FY2025 EXPENSE $ 12,775,976

​

EXPENSE INCREASE $ 814,885

​

FY2026 EXPENSE $ 13,590,861

​

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FY2026 EXPENSES

​

CONTRACTUAL, INFLATION, CURRENT SERVICES $ 229,522

(Regular Education, Technology, Building & Grounds, Misc Other)

STUDENT SERVICES $ 278,417

(Transportation, Out of District Tuition, Home Tutors)

INSTRUCTIONAL COST / ENROLLMENT GROWTH / REPLACEMENT CYCLES $ 306,946

(Transportation, Curriculum, Technology, Vocational Tuition )

INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM ENHANCEMENTS $ 0

ADMIN / SUPPORT / FAC ENHANCEMENTS $ 0

EXPENSES $814,885

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FY2026 BUDGET - Salary & Expense

​

Amount

FTE

​

FY25 Base Budget

​

​

$63,144,790

Contractual, Inflation, Current Services

$2,870,869

​

​

  • Special Education

$ 339,676

4.0

​

  • Instructional Cost, Enrollment Growth

$ 245,877

1.4

​

  • Instructional Program Enhancements

$ 0

0

​

  • Admin / Support / Fac Enhancements

$ 174,418

(0.8)

​

Sub-total Salary & Expense

​

​

$ 3,630,840

FY26 Budget Request

​

​

$66,775,630

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FY2026 BUDGET - Salary & Expense

​

​

Amount

%

​

FY25 Base Budget

​

​

$63,144,790

Contractual, Inflation, Current Services

$2,870,869

4.55%

​

  • Special Education

$ 339,676

0.54%

​

  • Instructional Cost, Enrollment Growth

$245,877

0.39%

​

  • Instructional Program Enhancements

$0

0.0%

​

  • Admin / Support / Fac Enhancements

$174,418

0.27%

​

Sub-total Salary & Expense

$ 3,630,840

5.75%

​

FY26 Budget Request

​

​

$66,775,630

​

Special Education Reserve

​

​

​

$1,046,276

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QUESTIONS?

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DELIBERATELY LEFT BLANK

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FY2026 EXPENSES

​

​

CONTRACTUAL, INFLATION, CURRENT SERVICES

*TRANSPORTATION $117,626

(New contract rate (35 buses))

*Technology $116,727

(Software, Hardening Security, Inflation)

*Regular Education ($ 10,144)

(Supplies Reduction)

*MISC OTHERS $ 5,313

(Central Office $4k, Athletics ($7k) Reduction , Building & Grounds $8k)

​

$229,522

​

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FY2026 EXPENSES

​

​

​

STUDENT SERVICES $278,417

(Transportation $243k, Tuitions decreased $3k (due to Increase of $770k Circuit Breaker), Supplies $11k, Contracted Services $21k, Misc Others)

​

INSTRUCTIONAL COST / ENROLLMENT GROWTH / REPLACEMENT CYCLES $306,946

(Transportation $93k (one additional bus & adding tiers), Curriculum $30k (curriculum materials), Vocational Education $118k (Norfolk Ag. enrollment), Technology $66k (teacher lease replacements))

​

INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM ENHANCEMENTS $ 0

​

ADMIN / SUPPORT / FAC ENHANCEMENTS $ 0

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SCHOOL

REQUEST

REASON

ELMWOOD &

MIDDLE SCHOOL

3.0 FTE PARAPROFESSIONALS

Increased student enrollment in special education students whose IEPs require paraprofessional support