By Carol Britton Meyer

The school committee addressed a full agenda this week, from holding a public hearing on the fiscal 2026 budget and further discussing the superintendent evaluation process to welcoming the new Hull Public Schools athletic director and responding to a request for a dog park near the high school.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL FY26 SCHOOL BUDGET PROPOSAL

For at least the third year in a row, there were no public comments during the hearing on the proposed $18.4-million budget, which represents a 3% – or $535,643 – increase over the fiscal 2025 budget figure.

During one of their occasional updates, state Sen. Patrick O’Connor and state Rep. Joan Meschino said that of the $58-billion state fiscal year 2025 budget, $7.01 million has been allocated to Hull and local organizations to date.

Chapter 70 education funding is at $4.08 million, with local aid totaling $2.6 million for the current year, with relatively small increases in both expected for fiscal 2026.

Local organizations benefitting from state funding include the Anchor of Hull and the Hull Lifesaving Museum, as well as the Hull Police Department.

Click here to read the full school budget proposal for FY26

Free school meal funding allocated to Hull was $241,683, along with funding for special education and special ed transportation, charter school reimbursement, and library aid.

Both legislators encouraged not only the school committee with education-related issues and concerns but also residents to contact their office if in need of assistance.

Contact Meschino’s office at 617-722-2092 or O’Connor’s office at 617-722-1646, or by email at Joan.Meschino@MAHouse.gov or Patrick.O’Connor@masenate.gov.

The presentation is posted on the Hull Public Schools website.

In other business…

• Superintendent of Schools Michael Jette introduced new Athletic Director Benjamin Kistner “following an exhaustive search process. He’s now in week three, and we’re happy to have him onboard at the start of Spring sports,” he said.

The former athletic director for Holbrook Middle-High School, where he was also a teacher, Kistner said he will be able to focus solely on his new position as athletic director in Hull.

“Sixty-five percent of our student population are athletes,” Kistner noted. His first priority is to get to know them. He is also considering asking past and present student athletes to take a survey about their experiences, including asking former athletes why they are no longer on a team.

“I’m excited to be here,” Kistner said. “I’m a fireball of energy [and look forward] to getting started and figuring out what the successes and challenges will be.”

• Jette reported progress on exploring coastal partnerships in addition to current participation in the Cohasset Center for Student Coastal Research in the summer months and in the Hull Lifesaving Museum/Hull High School boatbuilding program.

“Next steps include sitting down with curriculum leaders to discuss various possibilities and to explore whether there may be grant funding available,” he said.

• The committee and Jette also discussed the superintendent evaluation process that includes a progress report on his year-one goals. Each committee member will fill out an evaluation form and without sharing it with fellow members, submit the forms to Maggie Ollerhead in the superintendent’s office, who will compile the completed forms into one document.

Jette presented his entry plan for his first year on the job to the school committee last September, including a commitment to “looking, listening, and learning” to help set up HPS for “success for the next decade.”

Jette has a three-year contract, with an annual salary of $180,000. The public evaluation is scheduled for April 28.

• A letter signed by Jette was sent to resident David Irwin, who earlier floated the idea of locating a dog park on town-owned land between Finlayson Field at the high school and Hull Gut at the site of the former windmill, asking for answers to a number of questions before the school committee makes a final determination.

These included how the dog park would he contained and maintained; would new fencing be added parallel to the field fence or would the existing fence serve as containment for the park -- and if so, who would be responsible for repairs; would the park restrict potential travel outside the field from the Gut to the back of the high school; and who would mow and otherwise care for the dog park?

Other concerns were whether parking issues would “put pressure” on Shipwreck’d and the school and commuter lots and maintaining park cleanliness, including disposal of animal waste and other trash, since the field is used by students and the public throughout the year.

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