Boxborough Finance Committee Challenges 15.59 Percent School Assessment, Demands Compromise

BOXBOROUGH — February 6, 2024 — Boxborough Finance Committee pushes back on a proposed 15.59 percent school assessment increase, calling for compromise before a February 15 district vote. At a joint session with the Select Board on February 6, Superintendent Peter Light and Business Manager Sherry Matthews of the Acton-Boxborough Regional School District presented two budget scenarios: an "A budget" of $115.3 million producing a 15.59 percent Boxborough assessment increase, and a "B budget" of $108 million cutting $9.5 million but still raising Boxborough's assessment 6.7 percent. The increases are driven by a collapse in the Acton Health Insurance Trust — which received a $2 million district loan and imposed a 22.8 percent mid-year premium increase — combined with a 14 percent surge in out-of-district special education tuitions and a structural enrollment shift pushing Boxborough's share of regional costs higher each year. Finance Committee Chair Maria said the committee would take a formal vote at its February 13 meeting on a target assessment level, with members floating 10 to 11 percent as a possible compromise; Select Board Chair Hilbert said Boxborough residents would experience the increase as an effective forced override since the town has excess levy capacity and no ballot question is planned. Acton School Committee member Tori Campbell, attending in place of absent Boxborough school committee representatives, said the A budget represents the minimum needed to avoid destabilizing school operations, while Light confirmed that reaching a 10 percent Boxborough assessment would require an additional $4.5 million in cuts beyond the $2 million already taken in the A budget.