Select Board advances $2.75 million Ashland schools budget override
Ashland Select Board advances $2.75 million schools budget override for voter decision. The fiscal 2027 budget totals $87,813,507 and includes a $2,750,000 Proposition 2½ operational override for Ashland Public Schools, a $396,825 Keefe Technical High School assessment increase driven by 17
Select Board · Meeting of April 15, 2026
Ashland Select Board advances $2.75 million schools budget override for voter decision. The fiscal 2027 budget totals $87,813,507 and includes a $2,750,000 Proposition 2½ operational override for Ashland Public Schools, a $396,825 Keefe Technical High School assessment increase driven by 17 additional students, and $1,207,445 in combined benefits and insurance cost growth. Town Manager Michael Herbert and the board discussed the structural pressures facing every Massachusetts municipality following above-cap inflation from 2021 to 2024 and the exhaustion of federal COVID-era relief funding.
Debt Service decreases $336,777 due to scheduled payoffs. The May 19, 2026 ballot will determine the override's fate; if approved, a second town meeting night will follow.
In the full story:
- The complete report — 379 words
Source: the Select Board meeting of April 15, 2026, compiled from the official minutes.
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