Minuteman Regional presents final recommended budget; Concord assessment rises modestly

Heidi Driscoll, superintendent of Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical High School, and Nikki Andrade, the district’s business manager, presented the regional school district’s final recommended FY26 budget to the Finance Committee and answered members’ questions.

Driscoll and Andrade said Concord’s preliminary assessment for Minuteman is “just shy of $1,800,000,” and that the district’s combined operating and capital recommendation totals about $32.5 million, a 2.99% increase from the prior year. Andrade said the operating recommendation increased about 5.56% while the capital recommendation decreased in part because an old energy-savings lease was paid off and the district closed its MSBA building project in August 2024.

Andrade told the committee that Minuteman’s member assessments overall rose about 2.79% from FY25, and described the assessment formula: roughly 50% of the assessment uses a four-year rolling average of member-town students, 9% is divided equally among the nine member towns, and the remaining 41% uses DESE’s combined yield and effort calculation.

Budget drivers the presenters highlighted include salary steps and a 3% contractual wage assumption for teachers (FY26 is the last year of the current collective bargaining agreement), higher costs for vocational supplies driven by inflation, higher building and general liability insurance costs, and a new transportation bid that increased contract costs by about 5% plus higher special-education and foster-care transport needs.

The presenters said Minuteman is increasing its OPEB contribution for FY26. Andrade said the district’s OPEB trust balance is about $1.7 million with an unfunded liability of about $22 million; the FY26 budget line for retiree health and OPEB contributions is $1,155,000, split about $605,000 to the trust and $550,000 for active retiree health costs.

Andrade also described enrollment: Minuteman had 669 total students, with 37 current students from Concord and a Concord slot allocation of 16 for the incoming year. She said there were 15 Concord applicants this cycle and that, historically, not all admitted students accept a slot. The presenters noted steady declines in out-of-district tuition revenue as non-member students graduate out of the school.

Committee members asked about the district’s exposure if state Chapter 70 and Chapter 71 aid were reduced; Andrade said in her experience since 2020 she had not seen a statewide claw-back but conceded it is a risk and that grants would likely be affected before aid to districts was reduced. Members also pressed for a clearer multi-year projection of member assessments tied to likely freshman classes; presenters said the district produces three-year projections once incoming classes are known but cautioned that the assessment is sensitive to who applies and accepts.

The committee thanked Minuteman officials for the presentation and invited them to return with additional detail as needed.

Ending: The Finance Committee did not take a formal vote on the Minuteman assessment at this meeting; the presentation served as the district’s FY26 budget briefing for Concord finance liaisons and committee members.