Finance Committee hears Wachusett budget could rise 3.09 percent

Other Committee · Meeting of March 19, 2026

RUTLAND — Wachusett Regional schools could cut Rutland's assessment hike from 7.5 percent to about 5.07 percent. Superintendent Jim Riley and Business and Finance Director Michelle Grise told Rutland's Finance Committee and Select Board that a pending Public Employee Committee health insurance deal, conditionally approved March 16, could reduce the district's benefits line by $2 million, dropping the overall budget increase to 3.09 percent from the School Committee's approved 4.44 percent. Riley warned the savings are "disastrous" to lose next year and won't repeat.

The district also cited $1.4 million more in circuit breaker aid, $400,000 in new state earmarks, and Rutland-specific hires at NACWOG and Glenwood elementary schools. Separately, the Finance Committee pressed for itemized detail on a roughly $300,000 PEG cable access surplus and reviewed reduced town hall hours contingent on a municipal override.

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Source: the Other Committee meeting of March 19, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.