Ayer-Shirley Regional School District Assessment Expected on Feb. 3rd
Jan. 20, 2026 – The Select Board received an update on the Fiscal Year 2027 budget at this week’s meeting, which was held on Tuesday, Jan. 20th. Draft 1, dated Jan. 16th, is now posted on the Town of Ayer’s website.
The $21.18 million budget proposal represents a 5.8 percent increase over the current year – or roughly $1.16 million (see page 9). This assumes a level services budget. What this budget reflects: a 25 percent increase in health insurance costs for town employees. This is an estimate; the town hasn’t yet received its health insurance assessment.
This budget does not reflect the school assessments, which are expected to come in early February.
It also doesn’t reflect all the employee contract costs. The town is in contract negotiations with its clerical union and there are three non-union employee contracts up for renewal this year. Also in February, the Select Board will hear a recommendation on a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA). This is a process required by the Town of Ayer’s financial policies and applies to elected officials with a stipend, call firefighters and non-union employees not covered by a collective bargaining agreement.
Over the past few months, the town management has shared budget presentations with town committees and boards, drawing on the Massachusetts Municipal Association’s “perfect storm” message – of federal and state budget cuts, rising health insurance and other 2026 conditions. According to these presentations, the Town of Ayer has seen an average budget increase of 5.2 percent over the last 10 years. See the second slide.
For FY2027, the goal is a 5 percent increase. To achieve this, the town must cut approximately $276,919 in the current budget (Source: Tuesday night’s presentation).
Next Steps
The second draft of the budget is expected to be filed in late February/early March, once the FY 2027 health insurance, school assessments and other costs come in.
On March 25, 2026, the town will host a public budget. Then, residents will vote on the budget at Annual Town Meeting on April 27th. Fiscal Year 2027 begins on July 1, 2026.
Health Insurance
In November, the town management had projected an estimated 20 percent increase in health insurance costs for employees. Now, Draft 1 reflects a 25 percent increase, which is roughly $653,0000. See page 9.
The town has budgeted $3.265 million overall for health insurance next year, according to the draft budget. We do not know how many town employees there are or how many are covered.
Ayer-Shirley Regional School Committee Budget
Then there is the Ayer-Shirley Regional School Committee budget. We have not attended the school committee meetings or viewed meeting recordings. We do watch Finance Committee and Select Board meetings as much as we can.
We first heard the school budget raised as a concern while watching the Nov. 20th Finance Committee recording. Then, a few days ago, we watched part of the Jan. 15th Finance Committee recording.
On Jan. 15th, the Finance Committee met and there was a comment about the Ayer-Shirley Regional School District assessment costs. We are going to share the Jan. 15, 2026 Finance Committee meeting video, starting at about 34:57 min.
Meeting Minutes
We checked and the Ayer-Shirley Regional School Committee has documented financial challenges in its Dec. 2nd and Dec. 17th meeting minutes.
According to the Dec. 2nd minutes, the school district implemented a budget freeze and brought in outside support from a retired school business official associated with the Massachusetts Association of School Business Officials (MASBO).
This professional attended the Dec. 2nd meeting and shared a list of findings. One of these findings was the district had negotiated a professional contract that did not properly fund some positions.
On Dec. 17th, the business professional met with the School Committee again and shared a recommendation for how to incorporate about $400,000 more from state and local receipts into the FY2026 budget, according to the Dec. 17th meeting minutes. The committee voted 5-0 to recertify the School Committee’s FY2026 budget.
The meeting minutes share additional information. We should note: the Ayer-Shirley Regional School Committee was scheduled to meet this week and we didn’t attend this meeting.
School Assessments Due – Feb. 3rd and Feb. 5th
On Feb. 3rd, the Select Board is scheduled to hold a joint meeting with the Finance Committee. The Ayer-Shirley Regional School District is expected to present its initial FY2027 budget assessment presentation.
On Feb. 5th, Nashoba Valley Technical High School will present its assessment at an annual legislative breakfast.
Keep Following the Budget
Residents can follow the budget process on the Town of Ayer’s FY2027 budget page, and by watching Select Board and Finance Committee meetings. The Town of Ayer is expected to host a public budget forum on March 25th. The budget will go before Annual Town Meeting on April 27th.