Easton officials present $7.3 million override plan as non‑override school budget approved

Easton town and school officials told residents Thursday night that a sudden, multi‑million‑dollar jump in fixed costs — most notably health insurance — created a budget shortfall the town cannot close without either a large use of reserves or voter approval of an override.

Town Administrator Connor Reed and Superintendent Dr. Cabral presented a draft $7.3 million operating override that would restore many school and municipal cuts, create a dedicated override stabilization fund and expand tax relief for seniors and veterans; at the same meeting the Easton School Committee voted to approve a non‑override FY26 operating budget of $51,539,255 that balances next year’s spending through deeper cuts and the use of reserves.

Reed told the joint audience that Easton’s preliminary gap for FY26 began at roughly $6.36 million and has been reduced to about $2.3 million so far through departmental cuts and reserve use, but that the remaining shortfall would still force some of the largest service reductions since the 2008 recession. He said two factors explain why Easton reached this point: a one‑time structural weakness from being a “minimum aid” school district (state aid has lagged inflation for years) and an extraordinary $3.6 million increase in fixed costs in the last two years — about $2 million of that in health insurance alone.

The administration’s draft override package contains six main elements: restore school and town department cuts, eliminate the planned $3.5 million draw on reserves in FY26, restore $727,000 for town departments, increase tax abatements/exemptions for seniors, veterans and people with disabilities (the proposal would add a 30% increase in the requested overlay to boost relief), reinstate a $40,000 recurring OPEB contribution in the insurance budget, and set aside $800,000 for a narrowly defined override stabilization fund to smooth future insurance and wage…