[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6562361,"mediaKeyId","3276515-06a75140942189698b55e6f35aa9028b","parentId",3276515,"title","Finance committee hears Quabbin assessment drop, approves reserve transfers and clears many warrant articles for town meeting","audioSeconds",1995,"startMs",8033000,"endMs",10028000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3276515-06a75140942189698b55e6f35aa9028b&start=8033&end=10028","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3276515-06a75140942189698b55e6f35aa9028b/thumbnail_8033000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6562361/Massachusetts/Finance-committee-hears-Quabbin-assessment-drop-approves-reserve-transfers-and-clears-many-warrant-articles-for-town-meeting","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6562361-295177782671a0308218f85c73cd61fc/orig.mp4?Expires=1771092316&Signature=gmRNeWerwy9lvf9BCMcDNnGqEghIUimuJcur6pmA85OxpJX88P3bgy4uKAqvKmCAJ80UPDzYx7bTfsiuRX0yjjp0uU1w6j~T3zaD-PRBh1gKq8en0RhPqgsiZ4cPPt6Pu0V8M07FQPocWimShT9ecgdsnwiJFlM8ziBXgEcIcWarTypX8vn5K12Ao7CHj8sQUhXROKal9WCxYnjxQoetNpfGIVjV~WwGWdrfYPVPRzR27VdMq~Hs5OSfTc2BrinLXD8Sxy-WlPHO0J~qy26Sn5m-g21z7Q01cWwfdaA7ztGZgaczP32PT3fPBhi0kiQ9Lo-XGik0qwlvW507A6XI-Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Town of Hubbardston, MA","date","2025-05-13T00:00:00Z","article","Town finance staff told the joint meeting that the Quabbin Regional School District assessment for Hubbardston’s FY26 allocation was approximately $159,000 lower than previously projected. In response, the town proposed a budget revision that reduces reliance on one‑time free‑cash offsets and reassigns revenue lines to produce the same overall operating total while preserving reserves for expected contingencies.

Finance committee actions: The finance committee approved multiple reserve‑fund transfers to cover known shortfalls and legal costs before fiscal year‑end. The transfers included:

- Police department: $18,537.73 to cover personnel/turnover and temporary staffing costs (chief indicated vacancies and injuries required part‑time coverage; the chief identified ~$47,000 total shortfall across lines, with the town covering part internally).
- Williamsville Road legal and appraisal services: $7,546 to cover legal/deed work related to an accepted bridge/road grant and associated layout changes.
- Historic building assessment (First Parish Meeting House): $725 to complete a condition assessment the town funded administratively.
- Accounting services: $3,191 to cover interim accounting work; the town hired a new accountant and needs temporary contract support for year‑end closing.

The finance committee approved the reserve transfers as presented; committee members noted there may be additional year‑end transfers and that the town will present a fuller closing report at a future meeting.

Warrant article recommendations: The meeting reviewed and recommended a series of warrant articles for town meeting, including the operating budget, the Quabbin Regional assessment, Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School assessment, capital items (road program, IT support, fire pickup replacement), CPA requests (library basement rehabilitation and other allocations) and acceptance of a donated building (First Parish Meeting House). The committee discussed CPA funding limitations and noted the state’s changing cable/PEG revenue environment.

Capital and CPA notes: The town presented a capital request of $185,000 (combined sources) to fund a $100,000 annual road improvement program, $20,000 for IT infrastructure support, and a $65,000 fire pickup replacement. The committee recommended the capital article for town meeting. Separately, the Community Preservation Committee requests to fund library basement rehabilitation and other CPA‑eligible projects were recommended for town meeting review; committee members said long‑term grant opportunities may offset future local costs for historic preservation.

Next steps: Town staff will finalize the town meeting warrant, post the approved warrant articles and ballot language as required, and prepare a year‑end accounting report for the finance committee. Officials said they may return with additional reserve transfer requests to close the fiscal year.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Town of Hubbardston: Select Board and Finance Committee 5.12.25","oneSentenceSummary","Officials reported that Quabbin Regional’s FY26 assessment arrived about $159,000 lower than projected. Finance committee and Select Board approved budget revisions, several reserve fund transfers, and recommended multiple warrant articles, including capital items and CPA uses, ahead of town meeting.","taxTitle","Town of Hubbardston, Worcester County, Massachusetts","taxId",61645,"location","Massachusetts","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6562365,"Hubbardston Select Board moves town election one week and approves three debt‑exemption questions for June ballot",438,7173000,7611000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3276515-06a75140942189698b55e6f35aa9028b&start=7173&end=7611","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3276515-06a75140942189698b55e6f35aa9028b/thumbnail_7173000.jpg","/articles/6562365/Massachusetts/Hubbardston-Select-Board-moves-town-election-one-week-and-approves-three-debtexemption-questions-for-June-ballot","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6562365-548a48efaeaaba724d9f5eab5961f3c6/orig.mp4?Expires=1771092316&Signature=GqG0oNjnpG4fJyrfvORBZwxs6uVRdgmHToj5CUkV8COJCqUsB5NVi4pP6ZlhTTCa2I1OSKtHlLzKk74r98PZ~NOBpRtrhi-0G1zRPExr9nzLQzhH4mKTnXbouvY-lwZI8YhL6wkI7EB0TvLFFVhiLA7nNwFD7s8Y~eULyTLGVSKlJoHkuAkPZGyQzP9~WsseNdAHsaqEUDQkBE6LwrjBtU15C7HnhxuT4751YZqSmI3Mh6eJPAAH7JrTKoNTEmbblZ0uGq4C1DzfbnuYcg499zLm90HBianTgWLLUQsWobE6R9PseKkgkYa0ORd6I0ND166eppuGeZS1l3X0Hol2Zw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Town of Hubbardston Select Board voted to reschedule the 2025 annual town election from Tuesday, June 10 to Tuesday, June 17, citing legal advice and the need to meet statutory posting deadlines for ballot questions. The board also approved an in‑person early‑voting schedule and placed three debt‑exclusion questions on the June 17 ballot.

Why it matters: Moving the election one week avoids a special election and ensures the town meets the 35‑day statutory filing window for ballot question language under Massachusetts General Law chapter 53, section 10, town officials said. The board also approved required summary language for each debt‑exclusion question and authorized the town to seek a governor’s special act to cover any residual legal ambiguity about the date change.

What the board approved: The board voted to (1) move the annual town election to June 17, 2025; (2) forward an in‑person early‑voting schedule to the town clerk/board of registrars for final confirmation; and (3) place three debt‑exemption questions on the ballot. The three questions read as exemptions from Proposition 2½ for amounts required to pay debt on: a new fire truck; a used plow truck for the Department of Public Works; and a new brush mower for the Department of Public Works. Town counsel and the town clerk reviewed the ballot summaries before the motion.

Ballot language and town meeting timing: Officials said town meeting will occur before the election and residents will see the debt exclusion questions during the town meeting discussion. The board approved the short explanatory language the clerk prepared for the official ballot and moved to authorize submission of a special‑act request to the governor (through the town’s legislative delegation) as a precautionary measure. Select Board members said the special‑act request will be finalized and returned for signatures at the next meeting.

Votes and outcomes: The motion to reschedule the election passed (motion carried). The motion to adopt the in‑person early‑voting schedule passed (motion carried). The motion to place the three debt‑exemption questions on the ballot passed; the Select Board subsequently voted to approve the clerk’s summary language for the ballot questions and to authorize the select board chair and town officials to submit the special‑act request to the legislative delegation.

Financial context: Select Board discussion noted debt exclusions are distinct from operating‑budget votes; they permit a town to exempt a specific debt service amount from the Proposition 2½ levy limit if voters approve. Officials said more detailed cost and term information on each proposed borrowing will be available to voters at town meeting; the board emphasized the requirement that appropriation details be presented to voters before they cast their ballots.

Next steps: Town administrators will post the approved ballot language, finalize the early‑voting schedule with the registrars, file the debt‑exemption warrant language, and work with the legislative delegation on the draft special act to be finalized and signed at an upcoming meeting.","Select Board voted to reschedule the annual town election from June 10 to June 17, approved in‑person early voting dates and placed three debt‑exclusion ballot questions (fire truck, plow truck, brush mower) on the June 17 ballot, with summary language for publication.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6562370,"State school-aid changes, 'hold harmless' rules and foundation-budget math draw sustained attention at Hubbardston joint meeting",2472,2950000,5422000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3276515-06a75140942189698b55e6f35aa9028b&start=2950&end=5422","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3276515-06a75140942189698b55e6f35aa9028b/thumbnail_2950000.jpg","/articles/6562370/Massachusetts/State-school-aid-changes-hold-harmless-rules-and-foundation-budget-math-draw-sustained-attention-at-Hubbardston-joint-meeting","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6562370-14dc8b5e9d55b44a1657f463c2bebcd7/orig.mp4?Expires=1771092316&Signature=HhKhomvhXUaPiCtSLNYJ9FFBM7R5XZBWEcdXapKJfT8XZRk0xFctywHEz-0o4393Jyz~v0mAPcVeydA~vAdLMLI3BvBuWiP0UNtf9iKDjHVp6BPIy5t7cQS4bnf7~D2gxs2Pw5iKYOiWHq2taqegxwOTTq84b8sbpKvUye83u9pPVQbt1yneyUkrOQRZbnyZV~CvhP0ntmoiQNriALGHLWqRXxLGQ5XbWP2p~ZDy8FgZMlmaq1hwHj7nnqV2nau6blQ93dm4emBINollglXRhFKB77~A8wI~x2E0cFlqC5NPb7mL97TfZr1q1gRKpPeCWXPgGfoAR-TzVtgQt5suww__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Tracy Novak, field director for the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, outlined how Massachusetts calculates state school aid — the foundation budget under chapter 70 — and explained changes from the Student Opportunity Act during a joint meeting of the Select Board and Finance Committee in Hubbardston.

Novak walked attendees through the history behind the state’s approach (from the 1647 Old Deluder Satan law to the 1993 McDuffy decision and the resulting foundation budget regime) and described how the Student Opportunity Act (signed in 2019) revises the foundational per‑pupil calculation by increasing dollar increments for low‑income students, English learners and in‑district special education and by separating health‑insurance inflation from the general inflation factor.

Why it matters: the Student Opportunity Act phases in higher per‑pupil allocations over a six‑year schedule and reweights where state aid goes, Novak said. For many small, regional and rural districts — including the Quabbin Regional School District that serves Hubbardston — those changes produce material shifts in the foundation budget even when local enrollment is flat. At the same time, other statutory rules (the state’s formula for the share a municipality is expected to fund, municipal revenue growth factors, and an 82.5% maximum local share cap) complicate how that foundation budget becomes actual town tax obligations.

Novak explained two halves of chapter 70 funding: a standard foundation (what it should cost to educate each child, by grade and program increments) and a standard local funding effort (how much each municipality is expected to contribute based on property and income measures). She showed the FY26 per‑pupil foundation values, the three increments (low‑income, English learner and special education), and how those are applied to an October 1 enrollment count with a one‑year lag.

On inflation Novak said the state uses a federal Bureau of Economic Activity measure of state and local spending and then caps the education inflation rate at 4.5 percent under the Student Opportunity Act. She noted health‑insurance inflation is treated separately (FY26 health‑insurance inflation shown at 6.13 percent) because health costs have risen faster than general public‑sector spending.

Audience members asked about how newcomer students and immigration affect low‑income counts and funding. Novak said low‑income status is currently measured by direct certification — enrollment in MassHealth, SNAP and related programs — and that the state matches those program rolls to school enrollment. She added that pandemic-era freezes and subsequent redeterminations affected counts statewide and that supplemental per‑diem funding has been used to help districts with sudden newcomer enrollment spikes. Novak cautioned that because of the October 1 enrollment rule and the one‑year lag, immediate increases in in‑district costs are not always offset the same year by higher foundation aid.

Novak also covered “hold harmless” rules — statutory guarantees that districts receive at least the same amount of state aid they received the previous year and a minimum per‑pupil increase — which can reduce the direct link between measured need and state aid in years when the state uses these protections. She showed Quabbin Regional’s figures and explained why Quabbin’s foundation budget has risen steeply (noting concentration of low‑income students across a relatively small number of districts statewide).

Committee members and residents raised follow‑ups about classroom sizes, special‑education prevalence, the cost of newcomer students, and long‑term enrollment trends. Novak said Massachusetts K–12 enrollment has been roughly flat (just under one million students) for several years, but the statewide distribution of poverty and English‑learner populations is highly concentrated — which is the primary driver of the large aid increases for some districts.

Conversation also covered municipal mechanics: Novak walked through how the state computes a municipality’s “combined effort yield” (property and income multipliers and the uniform tax rate calculation), how that yields a target local percentage of a town’s foundation budget and how the municipal revenue growth factor (a separate DOR measure that includes new growth, prior‑year local receipts and state aid) is used in final calculations. Novak urged regional districts to show town officials the spreadsheet line by line so towns understand why required local contributions move from year to year.

Ending note: Novak said the Student Opportunity Act has moved dollars toward high‑poverty districts as intended, but it also created scenarios in which state aid growth, hold‑harmless protections and foundation‑budget increases interact in ways that may “trap” some districts into multi‑year aid patterns. She encouraged local leaders to keep communicating with legislators and to review each town’s municipal revenue growth factor and combined effort yield when preparing budgets.

Key clarifying details from the meeting: Novak presented FY26 foundation budget per‑pupil base amounts and the FY26 increments for low‑income, English learners and special education; explained that October 1 enrollment drives the per‑pupil base with a one‑year lag; noted FY26 health‑insurance inflation at 6.13 percent and general education inflation near 1.93 percent; and described Quabbin Regional’s rising foundation budget driven primarily by the low‑income increment.

Sources: presentation by Tracy Novak, Massachusetts Association of School Committees, and Q&A recorded at the joint Select Board/Finance Committee meeting in Hubbardston.","Tracy Novak of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees gave a 90-minute presentation and Q&A on chapter 70, the Student Opportunity Act and how foundation budgets, hold-harmless aid and municipal revenue rules affect Hubbardston and the Quabbin Regional School District.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Finance committee hears Quabbin assessment drop, approves reserve transfers and clears many warrant articles for town meeting

Hubbardston Select Board moves town election one week and approves three debt‑exemption questions for June ballot

State school-aid changes, 'hold harmless' rules and foundation-budget math draw sustained attention at Hubbardston joint meeting