Hanover Weighs No-Fee Full-Day Kindergarten Amid Budget Concerns

HANOVER — The Hanover School Committee is debating whether to eliminate fees for full-day kindergarten, but financial uncertainty has complicated the decision. At a meeting on Feb. 26, school officials confirmed that a previously anticipated increase in Chapter 70 state funding will not materialize as expected, forcing the district to consider alternative funding sources, including reserve funds.

Unexpected Budget Constraints

Earlier projections suggested that Hanover’s Chapter 70 reimbursement would increase significantly if the district transitioned to a no-fee full-day kindergarten model. However, recent budget calculations revealed that the town's foundation budget—the state’s estimate of what it should cost to educate students—has not grown as anticipated. At the same time, Hanover’s required local contribution, or the amount the town must pay toward education, has risen faster than expected.

“Regrettably, I must report that the opportunity to receive significant increase in our Chapter 70 reimbursement by transitioning to a no-fee full-day kindergarten is no longer available to us or at least for the time being,” said Michael Oates, Director of Finance and Operations.

This means that eliminating kindergarten tuition fees would leave the district with a $500,000 funding gap for the 2025-26 school year.

Potential Funding Options

To bridge the shortfall, school officials presented two possible paths:

1. Make No-Fee Kindergarten Contingent on the Override: If voters approve the town’s proposed $3.8 million override in May, funding for kindergarten could be included in the school department’s restored budget.

2. Use Reserve Funds for One Year While Seeking a Long-Term Solution: This would involve reallocating money from the district’s special education reserve fund, with a commitment to developing a permanent funding strategy in subsequent years.

“We could solve this in one year even through the process of reverting money back from the reserve fund into free cash, getting that free cash allocated towards this,” said Matthew Ferron, Superintendent of Schools. “There's ways to do it. It's just what happens in 12 months.”

If reserve funds are used for the first year, officials would need to develop a plan to secure $400,000 to $500,000 annually for future years. One potential strategy would involve using the annual increase in Chapter 70 funds, which historically rises by $150,000 to $200,000 per year, to gradually absorb the cost.

Concerns Over Fiscal Sustainability

Several committee members raised concerns about committing to no-fee kindergarten without a clear plan beyond the first year.

“Looking ahead, wanting to think about this, what would a strategy potentially look like?” said committee member Libby Corbo. “To me, ultimately, then we need to find $400,000 in our operating budget, which would mean that we could potentially lose something that we've brought back.”

Committee member Jaclyn Jorgensen echoed this concern, citing other educational needs that remain unfunded.

“We just had a discussion about all the things that we have no opportunity for—how we are missing out on things like wellness that we can't even offer to our students,” Jorgensen said. “And I think we're one of the few districts that don't have a high school wellness program.”

School Committee Chair Pete Miraglia suggested that if free full-day kindergarten can be implemented without increasing taxes, it should remain a priority.

“If this cannot impact taxpayers and we can find a mechanism to do it, we should do it,” Miraglia said. “It takes guts to do it.”

Next Steps

A final decision has not been made, but school officials expect to revisit the issue at their next meeting. In the meantime, the district will begin collecting $500 deposits from families enrolling in full-day kindergarten to maintain its current tuition-based structure unless a new funding plan is approved.

“We need people to register now if they're coming for the fall so that we can plan accordingly,” Ferron said.

The school committee will continue discussions in the coming weeks, factoring in budget adjustments and potential override outcomes before making a final decision on tuition-free kindergarten.

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