Tewksbury School Committee Opens FY27 Budget Hearing at $82 Million Request

School Committee · Meeting of February 9, 2026

Tewksbury School Committee opens FY27 public budget hearing at $82 million as MBTA grant risk looms. School Business Director David Libby presented a total district budget request of $82,051,493, a 3.44 percent increase over the current year, with salary growth of $1.844 million required just to maintain existing staffing levels and health insurance premiums projected to rise 13 to 15 percent. Libby warned that the town's non-compliance with the MBTA Communities Act has placed approximately $400,000 per year in competitive grant funding out of reach, saying the district is "really not able to make that up within our budget without cutting into essential operations." The committee unanimously approved ten personnel policies on first, second, and final reading and rescinded two outdated policies, certified two payroll periods totaling roughly $3.4 million, and deferred action on the 2026-2027 school calendar until stakeholder survey results are available at the March 18 meeting.

A new $28,000 first-responder grid mapping system for school buildings is headed to May Town Meeting as a warrant article.

In the full story:

• The complete report — 1,175 words

Source: the School Committee meeting of February 9, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.