Littleton School Committee Unanimously Approves $26.4 Million FY2026 Budget

LITTLETON — March 13, 2025 — Littleton School Committee approves $26.4 million FY2026 budget and backs joint capital financing plan. The committee voted unanimously Thursday to approve a fiscal year 2026 town appropriation of $26,393,579, a 3.55 percent increase over the current year, with total planned spending of $31,001,224 when revolving funds are included — a combined increase of just 2.8 percent. Superintendent Kelly Clenchy presented district accomplishments including the middle school's Blue Ribbon School application nomination, now one of seven Massachusetts schools invited to apply, and the first-year rollout of the Wit and Wisdom literacy curriculum. New staffing investments include an $80,000 athletic director replacement reserve, a $95,000 Board Certified Behavior Analyst, $65,000 in technical support staff, and continued funding for a second school-based resource officer. The committee also unanimously adopted a Debt Exclusion Override Management Plan developed jointly with the Select Board and Finance Committee, formally disclosing a gross $104.2 million Shaker Lane school replacement — with an estimated net town cost of $63 million after MSBA reimbursement — alongside a separate anticipated $45 million DPW facility need, projecting a combined annual tax impact of roughly $1,600 on the average Littleton home assessed at $607,000.