Article 8: Acton-Boxborough Regional School District Assessment
By a vote of 364 to 41, Town Meeting attendees approved Acton’s portion of the $122.6 million Regional School District budget for the fiscal year 2026-27. Acton’s assessment of $82,830,682, a 3.75% increase over the fiscal year 2025-26, consists of an operating assessment of $78,091,284 and a capital assessment of $4,739,398.
Because Acton-Boxborough is a regional school district, the budget requires an additional affirmative vote from Boxborough Town Meeting, which is scheduled for Tuesday, May 19.
Boxborough’s portion is $17,734,103 and consists of an operating assessment of $16,724,748 and a capital assessment of $1,009,355. Costs are apportioned based on a three-year rolling average of enrollment by town per the regional agreement.
While Acton’s 3.75 percent increase might appear unexceptional, it is, in reality, the culmination of two years of large-scale, proactive, strategic, community-involved revisioning and restructuring that makes good on a commitment made by the School Committee to identify structural changes and operational efficiencies that put the District on a sustainable path by balancing the needs of students within the financial means of the Acton and Boxborough communities.
School Committee Chair Tori Cambell, who presided over the budget presentation, told Town Meeting that we are at a pivotal moment for our schools. “Since 2022, the cost to maintain programs and staffing each year has been rising faster than our funding, and since 2024 we’ve seen double-digit increases in health insurance costs, rising utilities, inflation outpacing revenue, and higher costs of mandated services. To close the gap, from 2022-2o24 we made cuts to administrators, staff, and teaching positions. Class sizes at the junior high and high school are among the highest in the state and pushing the limits of School Committee guidelines. We reduced spending on curriculum, maintenance, and even basic supplies. In 2025 we took a first look at our elementary schools to see where we might reduce costs and use our staff more efficiently while still providing students with what they need to succeed. We reduced classroom assistants and began sharing specialized staff across schools. Even after all that, this year we faced a $3M shortfall. With no reliable new funding, we had to consider larger structural changes.”
The resulting restructuring, Campbell reported, means closing the aging Luther B. Conant Elementary School building, which will save the District $40-$80M in renovations and $17M over ten years by reducing ten teaching positions and an administrative team. Further consolidation of Acton’s five elementary school communities into larger, grade-banded K-3 and 4-6 schools will bring more students in the same grades together in a unified structure that provides educators with more flexibility to respond to student needs, allows for a more equal distribution of high needs students to balance case loads, and more equitable access to supports.
While Campbell noted that savings from school reorganization puts the District on a sustainable path forward, she issued a warning that “five successive years of cuts, adjustments, and structural changes that have increased class sizes to School Committee limits have left us at the limit of what we can do to control costs without compromising educational quality. If double-digit health insurance increases continue, inflation remains above three percent, and state funding remains constrained, we will need additional support to maintain the quality of education. No one wants higher taxes, but strong schools and services that support our towns require sustained investment.”
Article 9: Minuteman Regional School District Assessment
By a vote of 311 to 22, Town Meeting attendees approved Acton’s portion of the Minuteman Regional School District assessment of $3,295,792 for the fiscal year 2026-27. The total budget is $33.4M.
The Minuteman District includes the Towns of Acton, Arlington, Bolton, Concord, Dover, Lancaster, Lexington, Needham and Stow and offers 19 career majors within the context of an integrated academic and vocational education that includes hands-on, skills-based training and career preparation.
Assessments for each of the nine member towns are based on a four-year rolling average of enrollment by town. Acton’s assessment represents a 5.63% decrease from fiscal year 2025-26, due to fewer enrolled Acton students. Total enrollment stands at 657 students.
Minuteman Superintendent Heidi Driscoll reported that there are currently 71 Acton students attending Minuteman High School represented in 18 of the school’s 19 program majors. Fourteen Acton students are currently engaged in educational co-ops in animal science, carpentry, visual communication design, education, electrical engineering, health assisting, and horticulture.
Pam Nourse, who has served as the Town of Acton’s representative on Minuteman’s School Committee for over 10 years, announced that she is stepping down from this role. Nourse said she has been especially proud watching Acton students thrive and excel academically, vocationally, as student leaders, and on athletic teams. “Minuteman connects academic rigor with authentic work-based learning leading to career opportunities across a variety of occupations and industries,” Nourse said. “This has benefited our students, our local businesses, and our communities.”
Diane Baum is the school beat reporter for the Acton Exchange.
