On Oct. 28, the Hudson School Board continued its review of next year’s budget as Superintendent Dan Moulis, his administrative team, and the Board addressed questions from residents.
“I put in about 80 hours acting in the role of the customer of this $77 million proposal to see if it makes sense to me,” said resident Craig Powers. “The administration has provided a ton of data for FY27, but has held back some data that would enable very bright illumination as to the fair and reasonableness of the FY27 proposal.”
Moulis clarified that the exact proposed budget was $76,298,091.
Powers criticized what he called “inadequate” transparency, noting that it took over a week of independent research to uncover key details.
“The one theme is that lack of transparency – we need to see the forest. It’s tough enough to see the trees, and right now we’ve just got this ocean of pine needles that we need to sort our way through,” said Powers, who pointed out that most of SAU81’s general fund goes to salaries and benefits. “The most obvious questions we need to answer, before we think of going to the Budget Committee or a public hearing or deliberative session, is how many heads did it take you to do the job in FY25, and how many heads are you asking for in FY27?”
Staffing levels have been a recurring point of contention, with calls for comprehensive headcounts and hiring plans aligned with student enrollment.
“This year, there have been headcounts addressing the concern that has been brought out in prior years over the number of staff per building,” said Moulis. “I did want to call that out, just to set the record straight.”
The headcount included a roster by school and across SAU81.
“Can I have a more basic explanation of why Mr. Powers felt that the headcount didn’t quite match?” asked Board member Daniel Kilgour.
Moulis noted that the question often arises during budget season.
“One of the questions that always comes up, whether it’s from the public, or the Budget Committee, or at deliberative sessions, is ‘what was our staff total back in 2015, or 10-years ago?’” he said. “Some community members want to go even further back.”
The most recent reports measure staff levels going back 10-years.
“We know that a significant amount of work has gone through this process over the last number of months, and in the last couple of weeks,” said Board Chair Maureen Dionne.
Business Administrator Jenny Graves explained how the data was compiled.
“This was pulled from our annual reports, which are public documents we have to publish each year. That was the source data to get it in the quickest manner,” said Graves. “All of this information was compiled in short order.”
Board member Ethan Beals asked who counted as “staff” in the report.
“Would a coach at the high school be included in that?” he asked.
Moulis clarified that coaches were not included, but the count covered nearly all other positions, including paraprofessionals, custodial staff, and administrative assistants.
