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Superintendent reports DESE findings and budget progress; towns largely approved school budget so far
Summary
Superintendent Jim Riley told the committee the district moved from 'needs intervention' to 'meets requirements' in DESE special-education determinations and that town votes have approved the proposed budget in four of five towns while Paxton’s vote is pending.
Superintendent Jim Riley presented district news and a budget update to the Wachusett Regional School District Committee, highlighting two positive Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) findings and the progress of local town votes on the FY26 budget.
Riley said the district’s LEA special-education determination improved from "needs intervention" to "meets requirements." He also reported a Tiered Focused Monitoring review — described as a multi-criteria review running over ~30 pages — in which the district had only two areas identified as needing refinement. Riley thanked Director DeAngelis and special-education staff and said the district will present the full reports publicly when they are finalized.
On the budget, Riley said the town budgets in Holden, Princeton, Rutland and Sterling passed their town votes; Paxton’s town meeting vote was scheduled for June 16. He said the latest budget iteration included about $500,000 in additional Chapter 70 state aid that the committee planned to use to reduce town assessments; he cautioned that final Chapter 70 numbers are typically announced in early July and that adjustments are possible.
Members praised the superintendent and district staff for communications and advocacy during the town meeting process and requested follow-up on school-choice numbers and special-education details. Director Kroll reported 18 high-school school-choice applicants to date and said a K–8 update would be posted by mid-June.
