Finance Committee backs Billerica school budget, rejects Shawsheen Tech assessment

FinCom · Meeting of March 26, 2026

Billerica Finance Committee unanimously backs the $89.9 million public school budget but votes 6-5 against recommending the Shawsheen Tech assessment. The committee approved the Billerica Public Schools FY27 request of $89,979,730, a 3.35 percent increase, after Superintendent Dr. Cleary and Director of Finance Michelle Clark outlined key drivers including an 80.6 percent salary share and a reduction of two central-office positions saving $109,962.

The Shawsheen Valley Tech presentation, led by Superintendent-Director Tony McIntosh alongside school committee members Ron Fosco and Taryn Gillis, drew sharper scrutiny: Billerica's assessment rises 10.73 percent, partly because a $1.5 million transportation cost was improperly left out of last year's budget, and the 56-year-old building's maintenance costs jumped 27 percent. Several members cited unresolved business-office management concerns alongside the fiscal pressure; one said flatly, "I can't support this thing." The Shawsheen Tech feasibility study warrant article, requiring all five sending communities to approve, will also go before Town Meeting, which opens May 7.

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Source: the FinCom meeting of March 26, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.