Wachusett Regional School District unveils FY27 draft budget with 4.49% increase and $1M reserve offset for towns

The Wachusett Regional School District presented its draft fiscal 2027 budget at a special meeting and subsequent Business & Finance Subcommittee session, proposing a 4.49% districtwide spending increase and recommending the use of $1,000,000 from excess and deficiency reserves to lower municipal assessments.

Superintendent Jim Riley said the draft is a needs-based iteration focused on "what we truly need" rather than high-low budgeting and that previously identified high-priority items, including special-education positions, are included. Riley emphasized improved fiscal practices — monthly appropriation monitoring, tighter Medicaid reporting and better interest-earning management — that have increased the district's fiscal flexibility.

The administration described key revenue and appropriation drivers: an estimated $75-per-student Chapter 78 increase assumed in the draft, salary and stipend increases (projected 5.67% accounting for steps and pending bargaining unit settlements), benefit increases (health insurance and retirement costs), and a 23.5% rise in instructional support to fund newly adopted curricula, technology and professional development. Director Griese said the district now estimates roughly $7.5 million in out-of-district special-education tuitions but expects a decline in placements and will use a larger amount of circuit breaker reimbursements and grant funding toward those costs.

On reserves, the administration proposed using $1,000,000 of excess and deficiency (E&D) for FY27 to reduce town assessments while keeping the district's E&D near or above roughly 2% of the budget. "We try to present budgets of what we truly need," Riley said; he argued the $1.0M draw represents a balance between helping towns and retaining a prudent reserve.

The district reported town-by-town preliminary assessment impacts under the draft: Holden +6.01%, Paxton +4.78%, Princeton +9.96%, Rutland +7.6% and Sterling +2.4% (average ~5.92%). Enrollment shifts — a net decline of 122 students across the five towns — were cited as a material factor affecting apportionment. The administration also noted the draft assumes the state's Chapter 78 per-pupil increase at $75 but said past budget seasons have seen that figure rise late in the process and that final state action in April could change town outcomes.

Next steps: the district will hold a public budget hearing on March 9, seek school-committee approval to send the budget to the towns (targeted by March 20), and continue town-by-town presentations through April and May town meetings.