District Newsletter January, 2026

~Mission~

We empower our community of learners in a safe and supportive environment to nurture compassion, cultivate curiosity, and inspire innovation.

~Vision~

The Barrington School District strives to be a community learning and growing together; giving students roots and wings.

Growing Together: Monthly District Updates

Well Hello New England! It has been quite a while since we have seen snow totals of this magnitude. I would like to extend a huge thank you to our fantastic Facilities Team for working through the day and night to get our facilities cleaned up and ready for business. I would also like to thank our wonderful road crew in Barrington. The streets all around the Town of Barrington are consistently in great shape during and following a storm as well as throughout the year. This demonstrates the pride and commitment that is evident in our community.

Families of 8th graders:

The deadline for submission to the Oyster River High School Lottery has concluded and I am happy to report that we do not need to hold a lottery this year. This week those of you who completed paperwork for Oyster River will receive an email detailing the next steps in the process. It is crucial that you adhere to the process and deadline. If your complete Oyster River registration packet is not received by the February 13, 2026 deadline then your child will be removed from the list. Thank you for your cooperation as we work to ensure that all of our 8th grade students land at the high school of his/her choice.

2026/2027 Budget Process:

Please join us on Saturday, February 7, 2026 at 9:00am in the Barrington Middle School cafeteria for our Deliberative Budget Session regarding the proposed 2026/2027 school budget. The Administrative Team in conjunction with the School Board and School Board Advisory Budget Committee have been working collaboratively since October to develop and refine the proposed budget for the 2026/2027 school year. In preparation for the Deliberative Session, you can access the video from the January 6, 2026 Budget Hearing as well as my presentation from that evening and the proposed and default budgets on our District website. I encourage you to take an hour or two to review and digest this information. This year’s proposed budget increase is primarily driven by a 34.8% increase in mandated health insurance coverage. This immense increase represents 3.28% of the overall 5.58% proposed budget increase or $1,063,117. The remaining 2.3% increase is primarily a result of mandated contractual salary increases and increases to supply lines due to the cost of goods and shipping. This proposed 5.58% increase results in a tax impact of $.95 per $1,000.00 of assessed home value with the default budget resulting in an increase of $.85 per $1,000.

The proposed operating budget also supports specialized in-district and out-of-district programs for all our students, no matter what their educational needs might entail, and no matter what school(s) they attend. Special education and related service costs have risen dramatically while our state and federal funding has declined.

The Barrington School District has a longstanding tradition of delivering excellent education to its students while maintaining fiscal responsibility to taxpayers. The dedication of Barrington's educators to student academic and social/emotional success has resulted in assessment scores that are comparable to the state average by children who are grounded and empathetic demonstrating a return on the community’s investment in our schools.

Following the Deliberative Session we will be publishing a Community Voter Guide in conjunction with the Town which will explain each of the six Warrant Articles that will be put forth to you as voters on March 10, 2026. Before I share those Warrant Articles I would like to share a bit more information on Open Enrollment.

Open Enrollment is 30 year old legislation that has gained recent traction across the state of New Hampshire as a result of parental interest in school choice. The current regulatory statute permits school districts to put forth warrant articles for voter consideration in regard to becoming a district who sends or receives open enrollment students. The state has not yet made this a requirement. It remains at this time a local decision however, the legislation is being revisited by the State Board of Education in this current legislative session. As a result, it is the collective recommendation of the notable education attorneys for school districts to put forth warrant articles for voter consideration during this budget year in order to be able to define at the local level what we are able to manage not only fiscally but also from an enrollment standpoint. Please note that if the current iteration of the Open Enrollment bill passes and is signed by the Governor there is a good chance that it would override this warrant at the local level.

For the past four years the Barrington School District has realized a slight decline in student enrollment. For four years in a row our kindergarten class has been under 100 students resulting in an elementary population next year of 362 with each of the four grade levels being under 100 students. As a result, we cut one 4th grade position for the 26/27 school year which is reflected in the proposed budget. We did, however, decide to remain at current staffing levels for kindergarten and first grades. The predicted smaller class sizes in these two grade levels allows us to suggest that we become a receiving open enrollment district for the 26/27 school year for kindergarten and 1st grades only. Additionally, in order to respect parental choice, we have decided to also become a sending open enrollment district for up to 5 students. This narrow scope will allow us to start small, permitting the opportunity to create policies and procedures for student enrollment, invoicing, as well as curtailing the financial impact when a family chooses to send to a different district. When a student enrolls in another open enrollment receiving public school Barrington must send tuition to that district in the amount of 80% of our cost per pupil amount which is about $15,700 per student. The newly drafted Open Enrollment bill states that we will be required to pay 100% of the receiving district’s tuition rate. This change, if enacted, will cause financial hardship for public school districts so we are hopeful that the language is not accepted as amended. When a parent requests to send their child to a different school it is important to note that students are permitted to change schools once per school year and that attendance is presumed to be full time at that receiving public school. Open Enrollment is not intended to be a compilation of public school, home school, online school, private school or any other means.

Warrant Articles for Consideration:

1. Elected Positions

2. Operating Budget

3. The Paraprofessional 3 Year Collective Bargaining Agreement

4. Permission to hold a Special Meeting for cost items only if the Paraprofessional Agreement were to fail

5. Adding to the Facilities Capital Reserve account with no additional taxation

6. Open Enrollment - Establishing receiving student and sending student numbers

Our goal is to maintain our current and robust student programming as we look ahead to the 2026 school year. However, this does not mean we can present a 0% increase budget. Several budget areas rise annually and are beyond our control, including increases in food service and transportation, contractual salary obligations, high school tuition rates, the cost of goods and services and the rapidly escalating cost of health care and special education services.

Remaining key dates in this year’s budget process:

• Deliberative Session: February 7, 2026 at 9:00am, BMS Cafeteria
  
  

• Voting Day: March 10, 2026 BMS Gymnasium
  
  

Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions. I am always happy to discuss the current and proposed budget in greater detail to work toward shared understanding.

As always, our School Board meetings are open to the public and can be viewed live or recorded through WebEx, accessible via our website. We encourage all community members to stay informed and engaged throughout the process.

• 8th Grade Families: Residency paperwork was due on January 23, 2026. If you have not submitted your residency documents please do so immediately.

• The New Hampshire Department of Education (NHED) has recently released a valuable new resource for families—the Diabetes Toolkit. This toolkit was developed to provide schools and families with important information about Type 1 Diabetes, in accordance with RSA 200:40-d. We encourage families to explore this resource under the wellness tab of our district website and through the NHED website, to learn more about supporting students with diabetes in our schools.

Thank you for your dedication to our wonderful community!

Deannah Rae

Superintendent

drae@sau74.org

I Want to Hear From You

Last month's survey is still open and I'd love to hear from more parents and caregivers. Please take a few minutes to complete this brief survey and share your experience with Barrington’s curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices.

Curriculum Survey

Emily Sherman

Curriculum Coordinator

esherman@sau74.org

Welcome back, and Happy New Year! I hope you and your family had a restful and enjoyable winter break. As we return, I want to thank you for your continued support.

As we move into the second half of the school year, our focus remains on ensuring strong implementation of IEPs, ongoing progress monitoring, and collaboration with building teams. Please continue to communicate any student concerns early so we can provide timely support.

We have also entered the beginning stages of Extended School Year (ESY) planning. Over the coming weeks, teams will review data to determine eligibility and services. Additional guidance, timelines, and documentation requirements will be shared soon.

I look forward to a productive and positive start to 2026.

Katie Kukesh

Director of Student Services

kkukesh@sau74.org

I. Executive Summary

Our focus continues to be on establishing operational stability and advancing strategic initiatives outlined in the District’s 5-Year Plan. The guiding theme for the technology focus this year is “Maintain and Train,” emphasizing both improved operational support and continuous professional learning to embed digital literacy across all subject areas. Our main focus is on making the best use of all the technology resources currently available.

II. Key projects

• ECLC: Refresh of chromebook carts and reassessment of ECLC technology needs.

• Update 01/21/26: We refreshed a total of 17 older touch screen chromebooks with newer updated versions. So far so good. It looks like the devices currently in use will continue to meet the needs of K.
• Update 11/4/25 - re-evaluating the age appropriateness of the current touch screen chromebooks. We want to make sure that the devices we are requiring kindergarten students to use, particularly for iReady testing, work best for that age group. We are collecting data on problem areas and will reconfigure or replace devices based on feedback.

• BES First Lego Robotics: We will be providing 12 dedicated Chromebooks and chargers to the STEAM teacher at BES to use with the First Lego Robotics program starting in October.

• Update 01/21/26 - The First Lego Robotics program is underway. In the coming weeks we will be adding a Makerbot 3D printer to the STEAM program.

• Update 11/4/25: Chromebooks have been delivered and the program started the week of October 16 with 48 students from 3rd and 4th grades. Another session is planned in the spring for 1st and 2nd graders.

• BMS 3D Printing Refresh: This year the 4 3D printers will be re-deployed and incorporated into the computer UA curriculum. They have been updated and set up in a prominent location in the BMS library. Being installed in a public area will increase their visibility and allow all students to enjoy the printing process real-time.

• Update 01/21/26 - All 3D printer enclosures have arrived and we are awaiting facilities to perform a slight modification to the table in the BMS library. Also TinkerCad has been tested and students are currently using it to design their projects.
• Update 11/4/25: We are currently in the process of testing TinkerCad to be incorporated into the computer UA program, as well as the potential to re-deploy one of the printers to BES STEAM.

• BMS Interactive TV Redeployment: As new interactive overhead projectors are installed, new and existing TouchView interactive TVs are being redeployed to the BMS science and math classrooms. These device screens are better suited for the high-light environment of science rooms with large windows, improving visibility compared to projected images.

• Update: 01/21/26: Ms. Tatarian’s classroom TouchView is installed and in use! In the coming weeks Ms. Hatfield will receive a new ClearView 86” touch screen TV. The ClearView is a different brand, lower cost and same functionality. Ms.Sarni at BMS Art will get Mr. Durell’s TouchView once Mr. Durell’s interactive projector is installed.

• Update 11/4/25: Ms, Tatarian’s classroom TouchView has been delivered and will be installed soon.

III. Strategic Theme and Goals (2025-2026 School Year)

The 2025-2026 technology plan continues to support the integration of digital literacy and the focus of Unified Arts toward innovation in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math). Efforts are ongoing to develop the Data Governance Plan to ensure full compliance with the NH Student Data Privacy law.

The following areas are the core operational and learning environment focus goals for the 25/26 school year:

• Curriculum and Resource Alignment: Working with the Curriculum Coordinator to ensure consistent approval and use guidelines for web-based resources.

• Student Information Systems (SIS) Integrity: Delineating and designating data entry responsibilities for current and new systems including Perform, Talent Recruiting and curriculum reporting as well as the shift to the Alma State Reporting system including the integration of NHSEIS data, ensuring staff understand their roles.

• Policy Alignment: Ensuring the Technology Plan remains in line with any updates to district policy or procedure.

• Security and Continuity: Strengthening Data Privacy, Business Continuity, and Ransomware Protection measures.

• Learning Tools Expansion: Increasing teacher support and training for technology integration, continuing to expand the use of Google Classroom, and leveraging Clever Single Sign-On for roster automation.

• Advanced Learning Opportunities: Continuing to expand coding, computer science, and STEAM initiatives, including the development of AI guidelines.

• Professional Learning: Maintaining a strong focus on professional development for all staff.

IV. Progress on Technology (5-Year Plan Update)

Operations Action 4 - Redefining Tech Integrator role to include Systems Administration functions

The 5-Year Plan includes the future addition of a full-time Learning Systems Administrator and a full-time Technology Integrator (Target Completion Year 5 - 27/28). To work toward this vision:

• Hybrid Position Expansion: The addition of a full-time Computer Science UA teacher at the middle school has allowed the previous half-time computer UA teacher to refocus efforts on Classroom Technology Integration and PowerSchool Scheduling/Gradebook support. This transition has minimized IT department support needed for trimester report card creation and distribution. For 25/26, the department will continue to expand this hybrid role’s focus on student class scheduling and teacher gradebook management, with plans to expand support resources to the other two schools.

• Update 01/21/26: The new position is now continuing to support BES and ECLC with technology teaching support as time allows.

Operations Action 5 - Technology Infrastructure Improvements

Progress on infrastructure improvements underway:

Classroom Projector Upgrades

Student/Teacher Device Refresh

Wifi Coverage and Network Switches

Progress on Key Data Systems Implementation:

Academic Early Warning

Website Cleanup & ADA Compliance

PowerSchool Attendance Module

Phone system redundancy. (Emergency Management Planning)

Camera Server Redeployment

Remember don't be quick to click!

Jeff DeLangie Sr.

Director of Technology

jdelangie@sau74.org

Hello Barrington Families,

A nice break in the winter weather, with warmer temperatures and no snow in the immediate forecast. It is a well needed break. There has been a lot of salting, plowing and shoveling. With daylight savings upon us March 8, springing one hour forward and the sun getting higher in the sky it is time to start focusing on the short comings of spring (although winter is not over with yet)! February break will be next week with deep cleaning of classrooms, and other areas that need it from the winter.

Looking forward we will be cleaning trucks, sander, tractor, and other equipment that has been use all season. Then we start to look at spring equipment de-winterizing for the upcoming mowing, mulching, tree trimming and then winterize and tune up our winter equipment for the following year.

Over the February break there are inspections that take place such as: hood vents in the kitchens, climbing wall, sprinkler, fire alarm, etc.

Hope you all enjoy this winter break.

Best,

Joe Williams

Facilities Manager

jwilliams@sau74.org

Who can receive free or reduced price meals?

• All children in households receiving benefits from NH SNAP or NH TANF, are eligible for free meals.
• Foster children that are under the legal responsibility of a foster care agency or court are eligible for free meals.
• Children participating in their school’s Head Start program are eligible for free meals.
• Children who meet the definition of homeless, runaway, or migrant are eligible for free meals.
• Children may receive free or reduced-price meals if your household’s income is within the limits set by the Federal Income Eligibility Guidelines. Your children may qualify for free or reduced-price meals if your household income falls at or below the limits on this chart.

A household may apply for benefits at any time during the school year. Children of parents or guardians who become unemployed or experience a financial hardship mid-year may become eligible for free and reduced-price meals or free milk at any point during the school year. Only one application is required for all children in the household attending schools in the same LEA. Only the last four digits of the Social Security Number of the household’s primary wage earner or another adult household member (or an indication of “none”) is needed when submitting the application. Information submitted on the application may be subject to verification.

The simplest way to apply for Free and Reduced meals is to complete an application in LINQConnect. https://linqconnect.com/main

To access the LINQConnect application form:

Log into your LINQConnect account

Under "Quick Links", select "Meal Applications" (bottom right of the screen)

Type "Barrington" in the search engine to find the Barrington School District (Barrington, NH) online application form

Free and Reduced meals applications are also available at your child's main school office upon request. Please be sure the application you are given has the current school year listed on it. Applications from previous years will not be accepted.

Brigid Connelly

Operations Manager

bconnelly@sau74.org