OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Hooksett Budget Committee Meeting - December 18, 2025

Town Council & Boards — Thursday, December 18, 2025
BodyHooksett, New Hampshire
SessionTown Council & Boards
DateThursday, December 18, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 41:43

Transcript — Verbatim
0:21

It is a real meeting.

0:42

Approved the mic.

0:43

Mics are on.

0:44

We're going.

0:47

Me too.

0:49

Maybe.

0:52

Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

0:59

One nation.

1:00

Under God.

1:08

No mic tonight.

1:14

Leanne, do you mind attendance, please?

1:17

I appreciate it.

1:18

Sure.

1:18

For attendance.

1:19

Uh Elizabeth Spitzer.

1:22

Uh Mayor uh Germano is absent.

1:27

William Lynch.

1:28

Present.

1:29

Uh Alissa L.

1:31

Present.

1:32

Mary Ann Susi.

1:33

Present.

1:34

Excuse me.

1:35

Mike Kowak.

1:37

Absent.

1:38

Ernie Benzvenga.

1:39

President.

1:41

John Simpa.

1:42

Present.

1:43

Darren Greenberg.

1:45

Uh here.

1:46

And Abigail Shane.

1:48

Here.

1:49

So were you deciding?

1:50

Yeah, I was deciding whether I was here or not.

1:57

That's what we were just talking about.

2:02

You can run for my seat.

2:04

It's not empty yet.

2:06

Ernie.

2:07

It's too late for you, Ernie.

2:10

You're stuck.

2:11

All right.

2:11

Approval of minutes for December fourth, which is two meetings ago.

2:17

Yes.

2:20

Oh, pardon?

2:24

I think I missed that one.

2:25

I you're here last I was here last week.

2:28

Yeah, she wasn't here the fourth.

2:29

Yeah, says you were upstate.

2:30

Yeah.

2:33

Stand by me.

2:36

It was awesome.

2:39

I know that.

3:52

Christine posted and I posted.

3:54

I post another while before we left it last Thursday.

4:03

Or the week after, right?

4:05

No.

4:05

Yeah, right.

4:06

Two Thursdays in a row, right?

4:07

Christmas meetings.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Education Funding█████████████████████████████████████████████57%
Budget Equity Analysis█████████████████████27%
Procedural██████████13%
Technology and Innovation██3%
Summary of Proceedings

Hooksett Budget Committee Meeting - December 18, 2025

The Hooksett Budget Committee met on December 18, 2025, to review and vote on the school district and municipal budgets for the upcoming fiscal year. The meeting included detailed discussions on specific line items, clarification of budget shifts, and updates on pending warrant articles, including the teacher contract. Both budgets were approved for public hearing.

Approval of Minutes

  • The minutes from the December 4, 2025 meeting were approved unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public input was offered.

Discussion Items

  • School Budget Review: Council members posed questions on various line items, including:
    • Tuition for private school (3 middle school students) and tuition to other LEAs and public academies (Pinkerton Academy).
    • Extended School Year (ESY) programs for students with IEPs.
    • Health and psychological services: a new in-house psychologist position replaced a contracted service, yielding net savings.
    • Telephone lines: significant variance across schools (Memorial $12,500, Underhill $4,296, Cawley $9,740) due to reclassification of expenses from IT to building-specific lines. The 772% increase in cell phone reimbursement was attributed to moving expenses from other lines, not a true increase.
    • Custodial salaries: Cawley has higher costs due to more custodians and a tiered pay system.
    • Charter school expenditures: costs for services provided to Hooksett students attending charter schools, with no state reimbursement.
    • Translation services: substantial reduction due to new software for free translation of IEPs, but legal requirements still require certified translators for some languages.
  • Warrant Articles: The school board is still negotiating the teacher contract. A special meeting is scheduled for January 7, 2026, to vote on a tentative agreement. If no agreement by January 13, 2026, the contract will roll over with no changes, and no warrant article will be presented. The bond warrant article and tax impact will be sent to the committee after the school board votes on January 7.
  • Municipal Budget: The committee moved to approve the municipal budget as presented.

Key Outcomes

  • School Budget: Moved to public hearing with a total of $45,851,643. Passed unanimously.
  • Municipal Budget: Moved to public hearing with a total of $25,699,803. Passed unanimously.
  • The public hearing for the school budget is scheduled for January 15, 2026, and the committee will review the teacher contract warrant article at its January 8, 2026 meeting, if available.

Meeting Transcript

It is a real meeting. Approved the mic. Mics are on. We're going. Me too. Maybe. Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. One nation. Under God. No mic tonight. Leanne, do you mind attendance, please? I appreciate it. Sure. For attendance. Uh Elizabeth Spitzer. Uh Mayor uh Germano is absent. William Lynch. Present. Uh Alissa L. Present. Mary Ann Susi. Present. Excuse me. Mike Kowak. Absent. Ernie Benzvenga. President. John Simpa. Present. Darren Greenberg. Uh here. And Abigail Shane. Here. So were you deciding? Yeah, I was deciding whether I was here or not. That's what we were just talking about. You can run for my seat. It's not empty yet. Ernie. It's too late for you, Ernie. You're stuck. All right. Approval of minutes for December fourth, which is two meetings ago. Yes. Oh, pardon? I think I missed that one. I you're here last I was here last week. Yeah, she wasn't here the fourth. Yeah, says you were upstate. Yeah.

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