By Carol Britton Meyer

The proposed $18.4-million fiscal year 2026 Hull Public Schools budget represents a 3% – or $535,643 – increase over the fiscal 2025 budget figure.

Seventy-seven percent of the budget is dedicated to salaries. In the proposed FY26 budget, salaries total $14.17 million and expenses $4.2 million, including $1.5 million for special education-related (non-salary) costs and transportation (not including special ed), technology, athletic-related expenses, plant maintenance, and utilities.

School Business Administrator Diane Saniuk presented the preliminary budget to the school committee this week, explaining that the collaborative process starts in September and involves staff and school leadership “assessing the needs, where we are, and where we want to go.” She noted that grant funding is not as available at the same level as in past years.

“Grants are basically drying up, and we’re relying more on town funding,” Chair David Twombly responded. “If that goes down, we’ll be in trouble.”

Click here for the full budget presentation

According to the presentation, the percentage of budget funds from grants has decreased over the years, from 6.37% in FY24 to 3.04% this year, and only 2.6% expected in FY26.

“It’s not necessarily anything the school district is doing wrong,” he said. “There aren’t a lot of grants out there, and it’s a competitive process.”

The budget proposal includes about $36,000 in maintenance costs and $55,000 in utilities at the Memorial Middle School, which are to be shared with the town, as the building is slated to house municipal offices. The district also expects to spend $83,715 in tuition for Hull students who attend vocational schools.

In a letter to the school committee and citizens of Hull about the proposed budget, Superintendent Michael Jette said the development of the budget was a team effort guided by one principle: “to meet the academic and emotional needs of every student enrolled in the Hull Public Schools. … This budget prioritizes academic excellence for all by closing educational gaps while supporting the social and emotional wellness of all students through particular attention to equity, diversity, and inclusion.”

Jette also noted that while school officials “are constantly examining our needs and using data to make future projections, there are still many uncertainties in developing a budget that must carry us through the payment of every educational bill received prior to June 30, 2026 [the end of the fiscal year]. This means this budget predicts and plans for spending that is 18 months into the future.”

The mission of HPS is to provide “a challenging and supportive learning environment to encourage all students to reach their greatest potential and to foster the growth of creative, curious, critical thinkers who are equipped to succeed as responsible, compassionate, and productive members of a diverse society.”

District priorities include:

• Enhancing student success and well-being

• Prioritizing professional development

• Expanding and diversifying educational offerings

• Utilizing data-driven decision making and targeted instruction

• Evaluating and strengthening the preK-12 math curriculum and instruction

• Investing in special education and inclusive programs

• Leveraging community and environmental opportunities by exploring new pathways and partnerships – in particular, utilizing Hull’s coastal location to enrich student learning experiences and expand career development opportunities.

The advisory board will review the proposed budget, and a public hearing will be held in April. The budget will also be a recurring item on upcoming school committee agendas.

Committee member Kyle Conley called this “a very sound budget proposal. The school committee takes this part of our work very seriously. I recognize that this is a difficult landscape to be trying to navigate given the number of uncertainties out there.”

She added that this “is an important opportunity to make sure we’re hearing from all our constituents on any priorities” and encouraged continued engagement by the community. “This is a very public process,” she said.

In other business at the meeting

Jacobs School Principal Kyle Shaw provided a mid-year update on middle school student integration – a component of the recently implemented school reconfiguration plan that places grades PreK to 7 at Jacobs School and grades 8 to 12 at the high school.

“The reconfiguration has been a tremendous undertaking as we hit the half-year point of the second year of phase two,” he said. “The biggest pitfall is the loss of experiencing that transition of moving from one building to another – from Jacobs to the middle school – and we’re trying to replicate that experience in the same building.”

The middle school wing at Jacobs provides a “new vibe” for students, including a mural; advisory groups to ensure every student has at least one person in the building serving as his or her “champion;” starting new traditions while building on previous ones; a door decorating contest, a read-a-thon, and field day; more after-school activities, and more.

Students at both levels are getting along well together, and the increase of staff at Jacobs has been beneficial, he said.

“Students and staff have embraced the change,” Shaw said. “There’s been great progress in making the new Jacobs model the best it can be, and the seventh-graders have pioneered and helped shape this new model. It hasn’t been easy.”

Shaw praised the middle school staff for “flexibility, collaboration, and insightfulness in helping us get to where we are today. We’re moving in the right direction.”

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