North Middlesex committee weighs FY26 budget, public pushes back on proposed school closure; committee later votes to close Ashby

The North Middlesex Regional School District school committee held a public hearing on the proposed FY26 budget on Feb. 6, during which administration presented a spending plan that trims earlier level-service increases and would require at least one school closure and reduction of staff to close the districtgap.

Superintendent Brad Morgan and business manager Nancy Haines framed the budget as an attempt to deliver a constrained but educationally defensible plan. Morgan said the district began with a level-services increase of 5.58% but had reduced that to a proposed 3.16% after about $1.6 million in cuts. Haines described the major drivers of the FY26 budget: salaries and benefits (roughly 2.77% of the 3.16% increase), rising out-of-district tuition, transportation and insurance; she also listed reductions the administration had made to capital, curriculum, technology and stabilization transfers.

Key figures and program impacts presented by administration:

- Proposed FY26 operating increase: 3.16% (administration said this was down from an initial 5.58%); initial level-service projection was 5.58%. - Approximate dollars discussed in presentation: reductions of roughly $1.6 million to reach 3.16%. - Projected staff impact in the current proposal: reduction of 10.36 full-time-equivalent…