HULL - June 15, 2026 - The Hull School Committee advanced a plan to open 28 school choice slots across the district for the upcoming school year. The proposal passed after extensive and passionate deliberation regarding class sizes, special education resources, and financial logistics. While the committee remains divided on the broader philosophical shift, school administration framed the plan as a strategic pilot to fill empty seats on an “airplane that is already flying” without adding operational costs.
The Full Story
The meeting served as an important follow-up to the school committee’s initial vote to join the state’s school choice program. Superintendent Dr. Michael Jette presented comprehensive research compiled from consulting neighboring districts and analyzing data from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).
Dr. Jette noted that Hull currently outperforms many neighboring towns in keeping local students within the district, boasting a 90.1% public retention rate. However, looking down the line at declining enrollment projections, he argued that accepting outside tuition-paying students is a necessary tool to stabilize class sizes and maximize existing building infrastructure.
The administration’s proposal explicitly targets specific grade levels with low enrollment:
First Grade: 3 seats (projected enrollment would rise from 52 to 55)
Second Grade: 5 seats (projected enrollment would rise from 34 to 39)
High School (Grades 8–11): 5 seats per grade (total of 20 seats)
The numbers sparked sharp debate among committee members. Vice Chair Liliana Hedrick voiced deep concern about whether the rollout was too aggressive for a first-year initiative, questioning the decision to extend the program to elementary classrooms right away instead of running a small high school pilot.
