HALIFAX — Oct. 5, 2026 — The Halifax Select Board and Halifax Elementary School Committee held a joint roll-call vote Monday on a motion to appoint James Hopkins to the committee’s vacant seat, after pressing two candidates on the budget decisions one questioner called the hardest part of the job. Later that night, the committee learned the district is again being asked to present a budget with a 10% decrease.
The Full Story
The vote was for the one open seat on the Halifax Elementary School Committee, whose other members are Chair Lauren Laws, Vice Chair Jody Goyette, Secretary Tara Tonello and member Krystal Kingsley. The Board of Selectmen’s posted docket listed two candidates: Samatha Cox and James Hopkins.
Opening the session for the selectmen, Thomas Pratt said all three members of that board were present and that the joint appointment was their only item of business.
Both candidates had been interviewed in an earlier round, and the two boards questioned them again Monday. Questions covered what the candidates had learned since the summer, what set them apart, how they would handle disagreement, how they would weigh individual constituents’ concerns against governing for all students, and how they would keep the committee focused when political or town issues outside its purview arrive. Asked how a group of different personalities reaches decisions, one candidate said they aim for consensus over simply winning a vote.
The pointed question was about money.
So I think if you gave truth serum to the folks here on this committee and asked them what the most challenging or difficult or hardest-to-swallow part of this gig is, it’s something that happens every year and you can’t avoid, and it’s the budget, right?
— Jonathan Selig, Select Board 24:39
Select Board member Jonathan Selig asked whether the candidates had budget experience beyond a household budget and were comfortable making decisions that can cost positions. Hopkins cited running an institution with about a $1.5 million budget and about a $2 million endowment, and looking for savings outside staff first. Cox cited running a fitness business and reading up on school finances 27:52.
Before the vote, officials discussed whether the candidate not chosen could serve on Halifax Elementary’s school council, a smaller group focused on the school improvement plan, which has space available. Cox said her interest lay with the committee.
The boards were told the appointment required a majority of the seven officials present, or four votes. After a motion and a second, both boards answered a roll call, and a motion to adjourn the joint session followed.
What I can say is that, once again, when we talk about the budget later on tonight, we’re once again being asked to present a 10% decrease. Every year that we present a 10% decrease has a negative impact on the morale of our staff.
— Superintendent Jill Proulx during the staffing discussion 59:43
The district’s budget timeline calls for principals to submit budgets in October and for the committee to see several scenarios in December: a 10% decrease, level services, level funded and a 2.5% budget. Level funded means living with the previous year’s exact dollar amount; level services keeps every program and staff position the same, and is expected to exceed 2.5% because costs are rising faster than that.
