The Hudson Budget Committee met for its September session to review preliminary school district financial documents and hear updates from Superintendent Dr. Daniel Moulis and Business Administrator Jenny Graves as the town prepares for the upcoming budget season. While the district is still finalizing its audited financial closeout for the last fiscal year, officials presented several key documents intended to help the Committee begin its work earlier than usual.
Moulis told members that the district’s auditors were still completing the official closeout statement. “One of the documents I was hoping to have tonight that I don’t is the financial closeout statement for last fiscal year,” he said. “We are still completing, with our auditors, the audited statement. What I am pleased to report is that I’m not coming completely empty handed, I have a few documents for the Budget Committee. One is the updated third draft of the budget timeline.”
Committee Chair James Lawrence emphasized the importance of staying on schedule to avoid pushing budget deliberations too far into December. He asked when the district expected to be ready for its first formal presentation. The Superintendent said he anticipated an “early November timeframe,” while Graves added, “I would say we will be ready when our change order comes out on Oct. 28.”
Another document provided to the Committee outlined “known costs” in the general fund, a critical component in calculating the default budget. These include contractual obligations such as medical and dental insurance, NH Retirement System contributions, and required student services. “There are other contractual benefit obligations that we know of with medical insurance, then dental insurance, and the NH retirement fund, along with other contractual student service obligations such as transportation for special education and special education tuition,” Moulis said. “This is good information for the Budget Committee to have.”
Health insurance remains a major area of scrutiny following last year’s unexpected assessment from SchoolCare. Moulis said the district is exploring options. “We’re making a recommendation for a brokerage firm to help us look at health insurance options,” he said. “We recognize there’s been some unpredictability and volatility creating costs that not only Hudson, but other districts have incurred. What we have for the Budget Committee is a Phase Two timeline for that.”
Graves stressed that any changes would be carefully considered. “We’re not looking to take anything drastically away from our employees,” she said. “We’re also still going to explore our current relationship with SchoolCare. We’ve been with them for over 17 years.” Any insurance changes would take effect July 1, 2027, aligning with the start of the new fiscal year.
Committee member Bob Wherry noted that even predictable cost categories may shift due to recent changes in state special education funding. “There’s now a different distribution between the local school district and what the Department of Education will fund,” Wherry said. “There’s now a more granular and graduated breakdown of who has what costs where.” Moulis acknowledged that the district’s current analysis had not yet incorporated the new law and said he would review the matter.
Committee member Shawn Jasper asked for updates on student population and staffing. School Board Liaison Dan Kilgour reported that overall enrollment was slightly down, matching projections, though kindergarten numbers were unexpectedly higher, particularly at Nottingham West Elementary School. Graves said staffing levels were strong, with only six vacancies. “Right now we’re pretty filled,” she said.
The Committee will meet on Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. in the Buxton Meeting Room at Town Hall.
