Norton Finance Committee Receives $38.7M School Budget Request for FY27

Finance Committee · Meeting of March 30, 2026

Norton's Finance Committee heard a $38.7 million school budget request Monday and set a public hearing for April 27. Superintendent Dr. O'Neil presented a needs-based FY27 budget of $38,734,183, a 4.4 percent increase over the current year funded in part by $1.7 million in school choice revolving funds and $1.8 million in circuit breaker reimbursement.

A level-funded budget would require cutting roughly $1.6 million and eight to 10 staff positions, Dr. O'Neil warned, with class sizes and extracurricular programs at risk. The meeting also surfaced a communications breakdown over the school department's detailed budget book, which had sat uncollected in a Finance Committee mailbox in the new town hall for weeks, and members pressed Town Manager Mark for a root-cause analysis of a multi-year water revenue underreporting issue — with the committee unanimous that more information must come before any budget vote.

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Source: the Finance Committee meeting of March 30, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.