Tuesday, April 9 – Chariho School Budget Referendum
When: Tuesday, April 9 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Where: Charlestown Town Hall on Route 2 (4540 South County Trail)
What: All-day referendum on 2024/2025 Chariho Regional School District Budget
Under the state law governing Chariho, a majority of the citizens of Charlestown, Richmond and Hopkinton must approve the Chariho School District Budget by referendum in order for the budget to be adopted.
A $66.3 million budget for all three towns (with debt service) is proposed.
- Charlestown’s share of the proposed School Budget would be $12.574 million after state aid.
- Charlestown’s share would increase 0.36% over last year’s budget after state aid is factored in. (This is well below the rate of inflation.)
Only 200 to 300 Charlestown voters typically cast ballots in the Chariho Budget referendum. Those Charlestown ballots are usually 70% to 75% in favor of the school budget, but higher voter turnout in Hopkinton and Richmond can still defeat the school budget, as it did in 2022.
The School budget makes up about half of the total Charlestown budget. It also affects the future of Charlestown’s children. Chariho has become one of the highest ranking school systems in our state.
Please Make Time To Vote In This Referendum
Link to more information about the 2024/2025 Chariho budget.
Information About The Chariho School District
- Chariho is outperforming Massachusetts schools and the RI state-level proficiency data.
- Chariho has three Blue Ribbon Elementary Schools.
- Three of the elementary schools are in the state’s top ten as it relates to state proficiency data.
- The Chariho Regional High School is ranked 7th among all RI high schools.
- Chariho offers over 20 Career and Tech Pathways and Programs and over 20 Advanced Placement (AP) courses.
April 7, 2024 @ 9:19 am
Just out of curiosity, why wasn’t the referendum scheduled for Primary day when people would already be going to the polls?
March 30, 2024 @ 10:03 am
Is there absentee voting for this issue or referendum?
March 30, 2024 @ 11:02 am
Unfortunately, there is only in person voting. Charlestown had mail ballots for the Chariho Budget votes 2020-2022, but that ended in 2023.
March 24, 2024 @ 6:17 am
This is minimum funding for the school system. Charlestown voters have always been supportive of the school system and usually overcomes the negativity of Richmond and Hopkinton. Chariho is already on a slippery slope budget-wise so with Charlestown’s support, maybe we can still ensure a quality education for the children of our town with a resounding approval of this year”s budget. Let’s send a message that we value education as an investment in the future of Charlestown!