Minuteman enrollment stabilizes at 669 as Needhams assessment rises; school details FY26 budget and capital plan

Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical High School Superintendent Heidi Driscoll told the Town of Needhams NEEM subcommittee on March 27 that total enrollment for fiscal year 2024 is 669 students and that the schools preliminary FY26 budget is just under $32.5 million, a 2.99% increase from the prior year.

The budget presentation, led by Driscoll and Nikki Andrade, Minuteman's business manager, explained why Needham's preliminary assessment is rising: Needham's four-year rolling average of students attending Minuteman increased about 21%, which the school said drives an approximately 22% increase in Needham's share of the assessment to just above $2,200,000.

The enrollment picture: Driscoll said Minuteman is accepting member-town applicants first and noted that the class-size and town-by-town shifts produced the current 669 total. The school has a freshman slot allocation target of 175; Minuteman issued roughly 230 acceptances to anticipate typical attrition and currently has about 185 students who have committed, with the staff estimating an average post-acceptance drop of roughly 60…