Maynard Finance Committee Faces Tight Clock on Town Meeting Override Articles

MAYNARD — March 10, 2025 — Maynard's Finance Committee grilled Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School officials over an 11.1 percent budget increase that sets Maynard's fiscal year 2026 assessment at $1,379,731. Superintendent-Director Ernest Hull and interim business director Jean Savoy attributed the jump to a new bus contract carrying a 37 percent cost increase, a state-required minimum local contribution rise of $39,552 despite Maynard losing two students, and the first-year elimination of out-of-district tuition revenue — roughly $1.6 million — that had previously offset member-community costs. Finance Committee Chair Jillian Prendergast warned members the panel has two or three meetings left before its April 11 recommendation deadline and still lacks final articles for most town meeting items, including potential Proposition 2½ override questions for the schools and senior center that could reach $1.4 million. The committee approved minutes from its February 8 and February 24 sessions, with one abstention on the February 8 vote from member Nathaniel Dwyre.