The August meeting of the Hudson Budget Committee saw a response to their June requests to the School Board for more detailed information on school spending. School Board Liaison Daniel Kilgour read a memo from Superintendent Dan Moulis.
“End of year budget, the Finance Department is finalizing the budget report for fiscal 2025, and most recently had the auditors at the School District office last week. The district expects to have a finalized, end-of-year balance to report to the Budget Committee by October,” wrote Moulis. “The reduction of $800,000 for fiscal year 2026 is being finalized once hiring is completed this summer. The district expects to have all hiring reports and new personnel in place to provide an updated report to the School Board and Budget Committee by mid-to-late September.”
Moulis promised to send all reports to the School Board and Budget Committee as soon as possible.
Kilgour stated that financial matters remained a significant topic at School Board meetings.
“A tentative budget schedule was introduced. I believe we’re going to work out the fine details of that at the coming meetings,” said Kilgour. “As far as the hiring of personnel is going, we have filled several positions throughout this summer session, and that is going very well. I will say, too, that the staff and student headcount will be provided at the first school board meeting in September.”
Committee member Shawn Jasper was disappointed at the continued wait for financial information.
“I’m very disappointed that we don’t have any type of preliminary numbers. Certainly, the numbers have got to be out there and should be just like the town did with their audited numbers. I think that saying ‘we don’t have them until October’ is really unacceptable. It should be unacceptable to the Budget Committee,” said Jasper. “They know what they’ve spent by now.”
Committee member Kim Rice offered to send a request to the School Board to provide preliminary numbers by September.
“I’m requesting that we have the numbers by then,” she said. “I’ll send an email to Dr. Moulis and tell him we expect those numbers to be here by our September meeting.”
Kilgour agreed to support the request at the next School Board meeting, although there was some skepticism as to whether the district officials would be willing to deliver the requested information in time.
“Can the School Board representative give us any idea of what the process is like on the school side?” asked Committee member Bill Cole.
The School Liaison did not have a definitive answer, although he confirmed an audit on the school books had been completed and that answers were “forthcoming” on the results.
“I’m hoping that we get our school budget books at least a week out before we start working on the budget. There shouldn’t be a reason why we wouldn’t be able to have it long before,” said Jasper.
The Hudson Budget Committee is scheduled to meet again on Wednesday, Sept. 3, at 7 p.m. in the Buxton meeting room.
