Southborough School Committee Adopts $26.1 Million FY27 Budget Unanimously

SOUTHBOROUGH -- February 11, 2026, Southborough School Committee unanimously adopted a $26.1 million fiscal year 2027 budget and switched its proposed school calendar at its February 11 meeting. The revised recommended budget of $26,114,718 represents a 3.99 percent increase over the current year, down from an original request of nearly 12 percent, but carries a financial risk: it draws on $300,000 in FY27 special-education circuit breaker reimbursement funds, a practice Superintendent Stephanie Renaud acknowledged leaves the district exposed to mid-year cost overruns. The committee also voted to replace its previously approved 2026-2027 Calendar Option 3 with Calendar Option 5, which moves three teacher professional development days to late August, starts students on September 1, and removes PD days from Yom Kippur and Eid; all three district teachers associations submitted letters of support for the change. In old business, members detailed the financing path for the NERI School roof, a $4.5 million component of Article 4 at the upcoming March 2 special town meeting, noting it requires a two-thirds town meeting vote plus a ballot question, pushing construction start to roughly July 1 if approved. Member Greg Doyle presented historical research showing that Southborough voters approved a NERI renovation in November 2000, only to strip it from the warrant at a second special town meeting five months later in favor of Trottier Middle School enrollment needs, leaving the building unrenovated for 25 years.