(Feb. 3, 2026) – The Ayer-Shirley Regional School District superintendent met with the Ayer Select Board and Finance Committee on Tuesday night and presented a preliminary operating assessment & debt of $28.16 million for FY2027. This represents $3.24 million over the current year.
The preliminary required local contribution for Ayer was $11.28 million. With transportation and the Net School Spending operating assessment, Ayer’s preliminary operating assessment & debt would be $17.13 million. This represents an 11.9 percent increase or $1.82 million more over the current year.
Shirley’s preliminary required local contribution is $6.67 million. With transportation and the Net School Spending operating assessment, Shirley’s preliminary operating assessment & debt is $11 million, a $1.4 million increase or approximately 14.7 percent. The superintendent said he was making a presentation in Shirley next week.
The superintendent began his presentation by saying these were preliminary assessments and the school district will work to reduce costs further for the two towns. He presented the numbers that support a level-services budget, what he said the school district actually needs to achieve that.
He noted some of the drivers: higher transportation, health insurance and utility costs along with a trend in less Chapter 70 aid over time. The district also has fewer one-time fund opportunities available to reduce the impact on the towns. As for health insurance, the school district expects a 14.4 percent increase, though is still waiting for the final figure.
Another major cost is compensation. The school district shows a $993,136 increase in salary for all staff for FY2027.
While this wasn’t discussed at the Select Board meeting, the Ayer-Shirley Regional School Committee has noted one of its recently negotiated contracts had salary estimates for positions that “were well below the actual funds needed” in FY2026 (Dec. 2nd meeting minutes).
Four unions are currently in negotiations, according to the presentation (we don’t know how many employees this covers).
A few Finance Committee members asked questions. Two of three Select Board members attended the meeting and both asked questions.
As part of the discussion, the superintendent said the district had been investigating cost savings initiatives, including:
Buying or leasing solar. Electricity costs are $65,000 monthly so implementing solar could reduce costs.
Special education transportation costs. The district is exploring whether it can save costs by paying parents or grandparents to drive their children to out-of-town special education programs, rather than having to hire transportation companies.
These are just two ideas; the superintendent shared a list.
“We Would Have to Really Tighten It”
At the end of the presentation, the Select Board chair and town manager shared comments.
The Town Manager said, on the town government side, Ayer’s budget has risen an average 5.2 percent over the past 10 years. He said the goal was to limit this year’s increase to 5 percent and the town expects a 5 percent increase in the school budget as it plans. The preliminary assessment proposed for FY2027 is the highest the town has seen from the regional school district.
“Six to seven percent for Ayer, we’d have to really tighten it,” the Town Manager said about next year. “Then after 7, as I’ve shared with you, we’re getting into some tough territory.”
The town manager said that the school district has 45 days before Town Meeting to present a certified budget and this would be March 17. The superintendent said the district has had a discussion about cuts, if it came to that.
The superintendent said the district will try and make the budget work for both towns.
“What we want is to make no cuts at all. We want to come up with a solution so we have level service and we’re providing the services that we’re providing this year to all our students. If that’s not a possibility, we’ll be very strategic with the cuts we have to make.”
About the Ayer-Shirley Regional School District
With regionalization approved in March 2010, the Ayer-Shirley Regional School District operates a high school, middle school and two elementary schools.
Ayer-Shirley Regional High School is located on Washington Street in Ayer. Meanwhile, the middle school is on Hospital Road in Shirley. These schools serve students in both towns.
But each town has its own elementary school. In Ayer, students attend Page Hilltop Elementary School on Washington Street, near the high school. Shirley students go to Lura A. White Elementary School on Lancaster Road.
Enrollment
In FY2027, overall enrollment will be 1,694 students. Ayer’s student enrollment will stand at 953, down 88 students from the current year. Of these, about 30 students came from the town’s migrant shelter, which was based at a local motel, but is now closed.
Shirley will have 741 students, which is 23 more students than this year.
Mini-Feasibility Study for New Elementary School
The discussion moved to aging school buildings. Ayer’s Select Board chair asked what was being done about the costs of older buildings.
In response, the superintendent said one of the best ways to address this would be to build a new elementary school and regionalize this. He acknowledged the building cost, but noted a new building would result in significant savings overall, including for utilities and possibly staffing.
However, he said this decision would involve the school committee and voters to some degree. Then, he said MassDevelopment would have a big say.
In March 2023, the Ayer Select Board voted 3-0 to support the Ayer-Shirley Regional School District in submitting a Statement of Interest (SOI) to the Massachusetts School Building Authority, for a new elementary school in the Town of Ayer (March 27, 2023 meeting minutes).
On Tuesday night, the superintendent said the school district has a Statement of Interest ready to go, but is holding off because it looks like MassDevelopment has funding for a mini-feasibility project. This would make the application much stronger, he said.
We do not have any additional information.