Manchester Essex School Committee Approves $50,000 Stabilization Fund Draw for Memorial School Bond

ESSEX -- January 27, 2026, Manchester Essex Regional School Committee unanimously approved a $50,000 stabilization fund appropriation and workshopped a proposed FY27 budget projecting a 3.85 percent spending increase over the current year. Finance Director Michelle Dumas said health insurance renewal is now estimated at 14 percent, down from an initial 20 percent projection, and that $250,000 in previously unplanned circuit breaker reimbursement funds allowed the administration to remove an unidentified reduction line that had been carried in the prior draft. The operating budget increase totals approximately $1.2 million; revenues are projected to grow 3.74 percent. The $50,000 appropriation satisfies a Massachusetts General Law requirement that the district pay down a bond anticipation note for Memorial Elementary that has been outstanding since March 2022, leaving the stabilization fund at roughly $94,000. The committee also voted 5-2 to adopt Option A of the 2026-27 and 2027-28 school calendars, setting a half day on December 23 each year. A formal budget adoption vote is scheduled for February 10.