Taxes up 5.9%, above the state cap, after the board first refused to vote

What happened

On April 27, 2026 the board voted five to four to table the final 2026-27 budget, the authorisation to implement it and the tax-levy certification rather than adopt them. A week later, at a special finance meeting on May 4, it adopted them by eight votes to one. The levy rose 5.9% - above the 2% increase state law normally allows - driven by health-care and transport costs, and administrators told the board that without cost containment the increase would have exceeded 15%. The budget also uses the statutory maximum 2% of fund balance, about $1.65 million, and public comment at the April meeting raised eight to ten staff positions the draft cut.

Why it matters to families

A levy rise above the cap lands directly on local tax bills and needs a specific legal justification, and the board itself split over whether to approve it. The staffing reductions inside the same budget are what families see in classrooms.

The evidence

The April 27, 2026 minutes record: 'Motion by Ms. Pell, seconded by Mr. Mondella to table Items 5, 6, 7, 11, 12 and 13... On a roll call vote, five (5) members voted yes, four (4) members voted no.' The May 4, 2026 Special Finance Meeting minutes record adoption of the final budget, implementation authorisation and levy certification in one bundled resolution by eight votes to one, the 5.9% levy increase, the statement that without cost-containment measures the increase 'would have exceeded 15%', and a member's remark that 'Raising taxes above 2% cap is not taken lightly.' The 2026-27 user-friendly budget filing gives the general-fund levy as $69,028,276 against $64,805,698 the previous year.

The source