Just in case you don’t know . . .

By Corinne Hogseth

• Acton’s annual Town Election is THIS TUESDAY, April 29.
• Annual Town Meeting starts Monday, May 5 at 7 pm at the high school

There hasn’t been a lot of buzz about our spring elections, but there are several important votes that WILL impact your tax bills.

• Two seats on the Select Board:
  • Two incumbents are seeking reelection – David Martin and Dean Charter
  • One new challenger – June Leslie

• Two Acton seats on the School Committee:
  • No incumbents seeking reelection
  • Three candidates for those seats – Jason Fitzgerald, Lisa Adil and Glen Cote

• The only other contested race is for Water District Commissioner:
  • Incumbent Barry Rosen
  • Challenger John Petersen

• Two ballot questions:
  • Debt exclusion override for a new Department of Public Works building
    • NOTE: no cost information is included in the ballot question, but the debt exclusion will be over $35 million.
    • This will be Article 7 at the Town Meeting (warrant in your pile of mail and here)
  • Adding a Member to the Historic District Commission

You can learn more about all of these items in this article from the Acton Exchange. In this article, you’ll also find links to recorded candidate forums.

As we all now know, a $6.6 million override barely passed last spring. One would think that the Select Board or the School Committee would have made some changes to avoid another divisive vote.

On the contrary, the Town proposed a budget that adds headcount; their original FY26 operating budget proposed an increase that was higher than the FY25 budget increase, which included funding from the override.

The school district has made cuts to classroom assistants, teachers and specialists, but over the last 15 years, they added teachers and administrators as enrollment steadily declined. This was a conscious decision, and it is past time for corrections. Other expensive decisions included further reducing all-day kindergarten tuition and the widespread adoption of 1:1 classroom technology (Chromebooks), both funded by one-time sources of funding. After FY26, the district is forecasting budget increases of 5.25-5.5% annually. This will not be possible without more operating overrides.

The FY26 budgets to be voted upon do fall within the constraints of Prop 2½, but after that things go south, and fast. The Acton Leadership Group (ALG) and the Finance Committee have each prepared projections based on different assumptions, but the long-term projections are very close – a shortfall of $28-29 million between FY27 and FY30. (Please read the Finance Committee’s Message, starting on page 12 of the Town Meeting Warrant; the ALG spreadsheet is on page 18.)

So, back to the items and individuals you’ll be voting for or against on Tuesday….

• Question 1, for the DPW building – if it passes at the ballot, it will require a two-thirds majority at Town Meeting the following Monday. If it passes there, the average property tax bill will increase by $274 ($160 for condo owners) starting in FY27; this is on top of the annual increase allowed under Prop 2½

• School Committee members –
  • Jason is the father of four children, ranging from elementary to high school, has been active in sports, scouting and church activities and has paid close attention to school issues for years;
  • The other two candidates are endorsed by the Acton Democratic Town Committee;
    • one is a 20-something, childless, self-described “activist” (do we really need another one on the School Committee?)
    • one is the parent of two young children, only one is school-aged.

What our elected officials fear most is what we most desperately need – diversity of thought on our committees. This is the only way to be sure we’re hearing, considering and vetting all ideas to ultimately arrive at the best decisions. If we keep voting for the same people with the same ideas, we’ll continue to have the same outcomes. It is clear this is unsustainable. Consider this when you vote on Tuesday. And please attend Town Meeting next Monday!

** Please note, although I am a member of the Finance Committee, these thoughts are my own and not on behalf of the Finance Committee or any of its members. **