Charlton Select Board and Finance Committee Recommend $44 Million FY26 Budget

CHARLTON — April 16, 2025 — Charlton Select Board and Finance Committee back $44 million FY26 budget and school capital plan. Meeting jointly with the Dudley-Charlton Regional School District on April 16, the two boards unanimously recommended all 12 money-related town meeting warrant articles, including a $20,259,168 school district assessment for Charlton — a 9 percent increase — driven by a 20 percent rise in health insurance costs and new capital obligations. Superintendent Stephen LaMarche said the district negotiated its teachers contract at a 3 percent salary increase, matching what had been budgeted, and used attrition to cut $811,000 from an earlier draft. A House budget released the same day proposed increasing Chapter 70 minimum aid to $150 per student, which LaMarche estimated could return between $200,000 and $300,000 to the district — but said the Senate has not yet acted. Town Administrator Andrew Teed presented a municipal budget projecting a 6.3 percent expenditure increase, with debt service jumping 53.4 percent due to new bonds for the fire substation and landfill cap. Director of Public School Facilities Joseph Caron and DeSantis also presented a newly completed 10-year capital plan showing $94 million in school facility needs for Charlton alone, with Heritage School's deteriorating cinder-block veneer and 78 aging water-supply heat pumps representing the costliest single project — the district plans to apply for an MSBA grant for Heritage next year.