Select Board Backs One-Year Hampshire Regional Tuition Deal at $15,000 Per Pupil

WORTHINGTON — January 7, 2026 — Worthington boards back one-year Hampshire Regional tuition deal while secondary costs loom large. The Select Board and Finance Committee gave informal endorsement at their January 7 joint session to a one-year bridge agreement with Hampshire Regional School District at $15,000 per pupil for fiscal year 2027, up from the current rate of roughly $11,006, while the town's negotiating team — School Committee members Allison, Gretchen, and Alex — continues work on a longer-term formula that would peg Worthington's rate at 90 percent of Hampshire Regional's adjusted per-pupil cost and transfer special education cost liability to the district. Under Hampshire Regional's own opening proposal, the total secondary education bill for a projected 40 students would reach $737,272, nearly double the $411,000 projected for fiscal year 2026. The board also voted unanimously to sign the FY2027 FRCOG collective highway procurement contract and elected Melinda as Finance Committee Chair and Bart as Vice Chair after outgoing Chair Joe cited recurring health concerns.