Freetown-Lakeville superintendent presents FY2026 budget recommending $49.1 million; towns' assessments to rise

Jack Higgins, the district director, presented the Freetown-Lakeville Regional School District's initial FY2026 budget at the school committee meeting on Feb. 5, recommending a total budget of $49,135,217 and a general fund of $46,665,011.

Higgins said the recommendation includes use of $800,000 in School Choice funds, $1,590,206 from Circuit Breaker reimbursements and $80,000 from miscellaneous revenue. He told the committee that the FY2026 general fund represents a $2,584,258 increase, or 5.55 percent, above the FY2025 general fund of $44,313,814.

The presentation identified health insurance as a major pressure on the budget, with an estimated rate increase of about 11 percent for FY2026. Higgins also flagged ongoing collective bargaining with teachers, paraprofessionals and secretaries as…