Acton Town Elections were held Tuesday, April 30. A total of 6,390 voters cast ballots, 40.65% of the town’s 15,721 registered voters, according to the official results on the Town’s website. “The high voter turnout at the polls energized the workers, and the Clerk office’s delivery of a smooth election was notable,” said Pat Clifford, member of the League of Women Voters Acton Area Executive Committee after she backed up election workers all day and helped close the polls.
A levy limit override (“Proposition 2 ½ override”) was approved with a narrow margin of 37 votes; 3191 votes (49.94%) for the override with a yes vote, 3154 (49.36%) against the override with a no vote; and 45 (0.70%) blanks. The wording of the question was: “Shall the Town of Acton be allowed to assess an additional $6.6 Million in real estate and personal property taxes for the purposes of funding the operating budget of the Public Schools and the Municipal Government for the fiscal year beginning July first 2024?”
Based on the override vote, the “A” budgets (for Town and Schools) – the larger of the “A” and “B” budgets prepared by the Acton Leadership Group – will be considered at Annual Town Meeting which begins on Monday, May 6 and continues on Tuesday, May 7. While Town Meeting is expected to take two evenings this year, the budget votes will be held on the first night (Monday).
Select Board Member David Martin clarified some details of the budget votes at Town Meeting: Any Town Meeting article may be passed or defeated, including the town and school budgets. The town budget can potentially be amended up or down. Neither Acton nor Boxborough school assessments can be amended, however, because one town cannot unilaterally change the budget for both of the towns in the region. (State regulation says that if a regional school assessment is amended, it is the same as being defeated.) If either Boxborough or Acton’s school budget is defeated, the regional school committee has a chance to propose another budget. The Select Board in each town would have to call a special town meeting within forty-five days for a vote on the budget.
If you need transportation to and from Town Meeting, or have kids (ages 4 and up), both transportation and babysitting are available. You can find more information on pages 6 and 7 of the Annual Town Meeting Warrant. According to an email received by the Acton Exchange from the Town Manager’s Office, the deadline for reserving transportation to Town Meeting has been extended to noon on Friday, May 3; call transportation dispatch at (978) 844-6809.
In the only contested decision at Tuesday’s Town Election, voters re-elected two incumbent members of the School Committee; the official count shows Ben Bloomenthal with 3194 votes (24.99%) and Andrew Schwartz with 3490 votes (27.31%). The third candidate, Jason W. Fitzgerald, received 2711 votes (21.21%). These percentages are out of 12,780 votes because each voter could vote for two candidates.
The three candidates for School Committee were asked to comment on the outcome of the election.
Ben Bloomenthal wrote, “It is with my deepest gratitude to thank fellow voters for their unwavering support in re-electing me for a second term on the School Committee. Together, we’ve taken a significant step forward during this recent election in passing the override, but our journey is far from over. Both Acton and Boxborough need to pass the school budget at their respective town meetings. Our work continues, fueled by the trust you’ve placed in me as we champion and advocate for our children’s future at AB.”
Andrew Schwartz wrote, “Thank you, Acton, for your vote, your support and for allowing me to continue this work. The job of the committee is to create the kind of educational environment that builds great people. Please keep the momentum and attend the May 6 Town Meeting and vote to pass the budget. Thank you!”
From Jason Fitzgerald: “Well, I’m disappointed for sure. I hoped to be able to serve on the School Committee. These are complicated times and I can offer some new and creative ideas. Regardless of the outcome, contested elections encourage people to seek information, generate conversations, and exchange ideas that wouldn’t otherwise happen. This is important for the leaders of Acton to hear so they can guide our vibrant and diverse community and school system.”
All other candidates were incumbents and all ran unopposed. Jo-Ann Berry was re-elected as Acton’s Moderator. Francesca Arsenault was re-elected to the Acton Select Board. Eric Schlesinger was re-elected to a three-year term as an Acton Memorial Library Trustee. William C. Mullin was re-elected as Moderator of the Acton Water District. Erika Amir-Lin was re-elected to her seat as Acton Water District Commissioner.
Important Dates and Helpful Recordings
- Friday, May 3 – noon- new deadline for reserving transportation to Town Meeting. Call transportation dispatch at (978) 844-6809.
- Mon, May 6 – Tues, May 7 Town Meeting – The Warrant – that is, the articles that will be voted on at Annual Town Meeting as well as messages from the Town Moderator, Town Manager, and Finance Committee – is mailed to every home in Acton and is also available at the Town of ActonTown Meeting website.
- Parking for Town Meeting: On-site parking is available at Acton-Boxborough Regional High School, the RJ Grey Junior High School, the old Merriam School, and the Parker Damon building (Merriam and McCarthy-Towne). Overflow parking is at the new Boardwalk School on Spruce St. (Gates and Douglas schools) with shuttle buses running every fifteen minutes to the High School. See maps at the Annual Town Meeting website.
- Video presentations about specific articles are now available at ActonTV as well as other related discussions that have been recorded, such as Java with John. Marc Duci, ActonTV Executive Director, has provided a playlist for the warrant articles.
- The candidate forum recording is available at ActonTV.
- Thurs, April 11 was the Override Forum at Acton Memorial Library Conference Room. The override forum recording is available at ActonTV.
- Wed, April 17 was a Special Town Meeting. Elsewhere in the Acton Exchange, we report on this meeting. The meeting recording is available at ActonTV.
- Fri, April 19 was the Voter registration deadline for Town Election and Annual Town Meeting.
UPDATE May 3, 2024: This article has been updated to include comments from the three candidates for School Committee.
