Hooksett School District Budget Committee Reviews Budget, Warrant Articles, and Chromebook Program (Dec. 4, 2025)

The Hooksett School District Budget Committee met on December 4, 2025, to continue its review of the school district budget. District representatives answered previously requested questions on Chromebook usage, repair rates, maintenance vendor costs, and reserve balances, then presented seven draft warrant articles for the upcoming ballot. No votes were taken on the budget or warrant articles; the district expects to supply bond costs, tax-rate impacts, and teacher-contract terms before the committee's next meeting on December 18, 2025.

Consent Calendar

• Minutes of the prior meeting were approved by voice vote with three abstentions. A member flagged a typo in a quote attributed to Dan Roma on page two, but no changes were made.

Discussion Items

Budget Review: Previously Requested Information

• Reserve fund: The school department holds $264,124 in its reserve fund.
• Chromebook usage: Cawley students use Chromebooks roughly 60–70 minutes per day including homework; Memorial students average 10–15 minutes of computer-based work nightly; Underhill (K–2) students have no required computer homework, though parents are encouraged to do 45–60 minutes per week of practice, and second graders get about 75 minutes per week of in-class Chromebook time. Core classes average 15–20 minutes of daily computer use; foreign-language classes use online textbooks and PE requires no Chromebooks.
• Chromebook repairs (2025–26 to date): At Cawley, 24 devices needed little or no intervention, 35 (41.6%) required repair or part replacement, and 25 were dead and replaced. At Memorial, 13 units (31%) needed little or no intervention, 23 were repaired, and 5 (12%) were dead. At Underhill, 14 (56%) needed little or no intervention, 9 (36%) were repaired, and 2 were dead.
• Repair trends: Dan Roma of the district technology staff said repairs cluster at the start of the school year and that the current year is still lower than recent ones — total repairs exceeded 500 two years ago and were roughly 300–330 last year. He attributed the improvement to better build quality than COVID-era Chromebooks and to student ownership of devices assigned in third grade and carried through eighth grade.
• Device purchases and maintenance: The district buys about 250 Chromebooks annually: 150 go to third graders and 100 are spares. Repairs are done in-house, parts are cannibalized from retired devices, and about 20 invoices were issued to parents last year for student-mishandled devices.
• Software savings: Google Classroom replaced Schoology, saving about $5,000 per year, and a list of other eliminated software subscriptions will be provided. Roma said in his personal opinion the IT budget has been stripped too far and needs restored operational funding.
• Maintenance vendor costs: Electrical — not enough spending to justify a licensed electrician. Plumbing — about $15,000 in labor with materials under $10,000. HVAC — $51,000 in materials and $51,500 in labor ($102,500 total), the closest category to warranting an in-house licensed technician.
• Academic context: A district representative said state assessment (SAS) scores have risen every year since 2020 and the district was among only a few in New Hampshire that did not see a COVID dip. Cawley was ranked 16th and Memorial 18th in New Hampshire by U.S. News & World Report. The district also saves by using online licensing instead of print textbooks and relies on Chromebooks as its entire testing infrastructure.
• A committee member asked what percentage of the salary/benefits line goes toward health insurance; the district will provide the answer later.

Draft Warrant Articles

• Article 1: Election of three school board members (three-year terms) and moderator, treasurer, and clerk (two-year terms).
• Article 2 (facilities bond): Described as a $7.25 million bond/project for facilities work; the final total cost remains marked ? because the school board has not voted on a sum. The district is working with its bond attorney and expects the total cost and tax impact by the December 18 meeting. Bond payments would be built into future budgets.
• Bond bookkeeping concern: Members noted that when the prior Cawley bond's final payment of about $1.1 million was made (in 2022 or 2023), the following year's budget did not drop by that amount, which can make percentage increases misleading. The district will investigate whether the default budget decreases automatically when bond payments end.
• Article 3: The operating budget as currently presented.
• Article 4 (teacher contract): Negotiations with the Hooksett Education Association are close; a tentative agreement could go to the school board on December 16, with details sent to the budget committee before December 18.
• Article 5 (maintenance trust): $150,000 to the building maintenance expendable trust fund, funded from fund balance rather than taxation. The board was split 4–3 over the amount and the change in funding source; voters last March did not approve adding money to this trust. If not approved or if leftover funds are unavailable, it would not be funded.
• Article 6 (special education trust): $100,000 to the special education trust fund, funded from fund balance.
• Article 7 (technology trust): $150,000 to the technology expendable trust fund, funded through taxation. The board's 4–3 split was over the amount and whether to fund it by taxation, since Articles 5 and 6 would already draw $250,000 from fund balance.
• State disclosure requirement: A recently enacted law requires the preceding year's (2024–25) cost-per-pupil figure and proficiency scores to be stated directly before the budget warrant article. The cost-per-pupil figure is calculated by the state and excludes specified expenditures. The district will confirm with counsel whether additional explanatory text may be included.
• Trust fund balances: A member suggested listing current trust fund balances on each warrant article; the district said the board could do so with a vote.
• Science proficiency: Asked why science scores appear weak, a district representative said elementary time is heavily weighted to literacy and math, science is taught daily only starting at Cawley, and science performance is closely tied to reading ability. The district is above state averages; state-average comparisons were in the backup materials.
• Impact fees: The town attorney advised that RSA language prevents using town impact fees for a portable classroom lease; the funds could be used if classrooms were built, but lease-to-own would cost more. A facilities study of Underhill — which is maxed out on space — is planned, with recommendations expected in about a year.
• An outdated draft sentence about overriding a 10% limitation was flagged as confusing and will be removed.
• Timing: The district hopes to deliver bond totals, per-article tax-rate impacts, and the teacher contract for the committee's December 18 review. The town of Hooksett's tax rate is still not posted/known — one of roughly 100 towns still waiting — which has delayed tax-impact figures.

Key Outcomes

• No votes were taken on the budget or any warrant article; review continues December 18, 2025.
• The district committed to providing: the bond's total cost and per-article tax impacts, teacher-contract details, the share of salaries/benefits spent on health insurance, the list of eliminated software subscriptions, and an answer on whether default budgets decline when bond payments end.
• The district will ask its attorney about permissible warrant-article language and will consider adding current trust fund balances to each article (subject to a board vote).
• With no other business and no public comment, the committee adjourned on a motion by Mr. Greenberg, seconded and approved.