By Adam Swift
The Fiscal Year 2026 budget season is underway, but the final shape of that budget will depend upon the expected school override vote this spring.
The school committee was scheduled to meet on Wednesday night to finalize the wording for the Proposition 2-½ override question.
The schools will then forward the question to the town council, which could vote on scheduling a date for the override election at its next meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 21.
The schools are moving forward with a tiered question, where voters have the option to vote on a $3.5 million override and a $4.95 million override. Voters can select one, both, or neither monetary amount for the override; if both dollar figures pass, the higher amount would take precedence.
Last November, voters rejected a $4.95 million override request.
In his report to the town council last week, Town Manager Tony Marino stated that department budgets are starting to come in for the FY26 budget season.
“We continue to plan for our normal budget cycle with nominal COLA (cost-of-living adjustment) increases in line with past budgets,” Marino stated. “However, I need to stress that if the Schools do not receive additional funding via an override, substantial cuts across every department will be required from the Town side of the budget to assist the schools. We will not be able to give the schools the entire 3.5 million dollars that the schools will need for the FY26 budget but will need to offer up more than we normally do to spread the cuts throughout the entire town and to be prepared to highlight the service level drop off and any staff reductions that will occur.”
Marino said he would be meeting with Superintendent of Schools Lisa Howard in the coming weeks to prepare an FY26 budget without a school override and determine what services would be reduced for both the town and the schools.
At its next meeting, the town council could also vote on the dates for the debt exclusion vote for a new fire station, and whether it wants to hold the debt exclusion vote on the same day as the school override, or on a separate ballot.
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