Triton committee sets FY26 guidance, leans toward lower-assessment target to help Salisbury avoid an override

The Triton Regional School Committee used its Feb. 26 meeting to continue an extended FY26 budget discussion, hear updated town estimates and override prospects, and give the administration guidance on reductions and next steps.

Key messages: Superintendent Brian reviewed the district’s tentative FY26 budget and the multistep approval timeline. He reminded the committee that the school committee must provide final budget guidance by the March 5 public hearing with legislators and adopt a final budget by March 12 to meet certification requirements; town votes and possible override ballots follow in April–May for member towns.

Town positions and overrides: Brian reported that two of the three member towns (Rowley and Newbury) have publicly signaled they are considering overrides to raise taxes to fund municipal and school expenses. He said Salisbury’s town manager (Neil Harrington) told him Salisbury could likely support a smaller increase—the number cited in the meeting was roughly a $650,000 assessment increase (about 4% in their model) and that Salisbury would be comfortable at a lower figure around what the meeting discussed as “2.45.” Newbury’s select board had discussed an override in the $300k–$500k range, and Rowley had indicated it expects to pursue an override.

Implications and options: Brian and staff outlined areas where the district could reduce or defer spending to lower the assessment: delaying a science curriculum adoption (~$30k), cutting late/after‑school bus runs (about $90k) or two additional routes (roughly $155k–$160k gross before reimbursement changes), delaying or reallocating certain administrative positions, and opportunistic one‑year savings from program consolidations in special education (noted as potentially reversible in subsequent years). He cautioned that many cuts would affect classroom staffing, class sizes and programming breadth, and that midyear cuts would yield only partial savings for the year.

Committee guidance: After discussion, a majority of committee members voiced support for setting a guidance target close to the lower figure Salisbury signaled it could support. Committee members articulated tradeoffs: lowering the district assessment toward 2.45 would increase program cuts (largely class sections and some specials) that district leaders said would affect services to students; keeping the higher tentative budget preserved more services but risked triggering override votes in multiple towns. Several members favored minimizing cuts and pursuing an override; others said the committee should be sensitive to a town (Salisbury) that said it could reasonably support 2.45.

Final direction and next steps: The committee asked the administration to treat 2.45 as the working guidance for communications and to prepare a version of the final budget that would produce that assessment level for discussion at the March 5 public hearing and the March 12 final vote. The administration also was asked to: (1) identify which positions/programs would be cut at that guidance level and what would remain reversible if new state or other revenues arrived; (2) hold further conversations with town leaders about overrides and timelines; and (3) prepare messaging for families and staff explaining potential impacts. Staff noted that legislative actions (Chapter 70, circuit breaker funding) between now and May could alter the district’s revenue picture.

Selected direct quote: "If there was a number that he could say today, he would be able to say yes, we will be able to include that in the budget and commit to making it work. It's a $650,000 ish increase, which would be about a 4% increase for their assessment," Brian said relaying Salisbury’s town manager’s guidance; committee members then debated whether to set guidance at the lower 2.45 figure to give Salisbury a path to avoid an override.

Ending: The committee scheduled a public hearing with legislators for March 5 and a final budget vote for March 12; the administration will return a budget drafted to the committee’s guidance and an itemized list of cuts tied to the chosen assessment scenario.