Minuteman Regional presents FY26 budget; Acton assessment declines slightly

Minuteman Regional Superintendent Heidi Driscoll and business manager Nikki Andrade presented the vocational school's proposed fiscal 2026 budget to the Acton Finance Committee, saying the district plans a total budget just under $32.5 million with an operating increase of about 5.5 percent.

Driscoll said the FY26 budget reflects the district's priorities of academics and vocational programming across 19 trades and extracurricular activities. "We have rigorous academics, we have vocational programs, we have 19 different vocational programs," Driscoll said, and she highlighted that 83 Acton students currently attend Minuteman across the various programs.

Nikki Andrade detailed the numbers behind the increase. She said the district's total assessment is about $3.5 million; without the school building debt the assessment would be just under $2.9 million. The district's total operating budget is roughly $32.5 million, an overall increase of 2.99% year over year with an operating-budget increase of approximately 5.5%. Andrade attributed much of the operating increase to a planned rise in the district's contribution to its OPEB (other post-employment benefits) trust, which the district's committee recommended increasing by $300,000 in FY26 and then by 5% annually going forward.

The presenters told the committee that Minuteman closed out its Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) project in August 2024 and had paid off a temporary BAN, leaving smaller ongoing debt-service payments for the building. Andrade also listed several budget drivers: a 3% contractual increase in the collective bargaining agreement, step/column movement for veteran staff, higher procurement costs for materials used in vocational programs (metal, wood and specialty supplies), increases in general liability and building insurance, and a new transportation contract that will begin July 1.

On enrollment and assessments, Andrade said the district had 669 students total, 632 from member towns; Acton currently has 83 students enrolled. Acton's preliminary assessment was reported as a decrease of about 1.73% year over year. Andrade explained the district's assessment formula uses a combination of a four-year rolling average of student slots, a small 1% factor, and DESE's combined effort yield to distribute capital costs among member towns.

Committee members asked about building maintenance and warranty items in the relatively new facility (opened in fall 2019) and about the long-term plan for the district's unfunded OPEB liability, which Andrade said currently stands at just over $22 million with a trust balance of roughly $1.7 million; at the planned funding trajectory the district projects being substantially funded by about 2040.

The presenters invited finance committee members to tour the campus and offered to provide more detail on capital requests and the MSBA-recommended recommissioning pilot the district is participating in.

Why it matters: Minuteman is a regional district serving nine member towns; its operating and capital assessments feed directly into member-town budgets and tax bills. The district's decision to increase OPEB contributions and ongoing operating costs influences Acton's midterm budget planning and the finance committee's review of the town's FY26 warrant.

The district provided additional follow-up materials and agreed to respond to technical questions from the committee ahead of the town meeting.

Ending: The finance committee accepted the Minuteman presentation and later moved to recommend the Minuteman assessment article on the warrant; that recommendation was recorded by the committee during the same meeting.