There is a $6.6M override on the ballot next Tuesday, April 30. Keep Acton Affordable has been working to combat the narrative that this override is necessary due to extraordinary events and inflation.
The fact is this override is driven by the refusal by the School Committee to address a steep and steady decline in school enrollment over the last 15 years, down from a high of nearly 6,000 students in 2009 to 5,100 in 2024. They have been aided and abetted by the Select Board and Finance Committee, who rather than working on behalf of all residents, function as de facto School Committee members, caving into their demands year after year.
Declining enrollment and increasing budgets can mean only one thing: rapidly increasing per pupil expenditures. Over the last 10 years, cumulative inflation has been 32%. But the cumulative increase in per pupil spending is a whopping 67%. This is clearly not sustainable.
Proponents of the override insist there should be no correlation between enrollment and budgets, because “education has changed.” Know what else has changed? – aging! People are living longer and will face greater medical and long-term care expenses as they age. I’ve heard from several residents that they are worried about being forced to leave their home of many decades.
Yes, inflation has been high. This has created hardship for many families, particularly seniors, in our community. And yes, there were unforeseen expenses last fall, primarily some very large health insurance claims. Out-of-district tuition for some high-needs students increased by 14%, but this was known in October 2022, so shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Had reserves been responsibly managed by the Acton Health Insurance Trust and the school district, reserve balances would have covered those unanticipated bills.
The School Committee and the Select Board want us to trust them with another $6.6M of our tax dollars, despite the fact that they have not given any indication that they’ll change their ways.
Election Day is next Tuesday, April 30. Please vote NO on this override!
Corinne Hogseth