Lunenburg School Committee Votes $1.6 Million Override Ask, Approves Painful Cuts Budget

LUNENBURG — March 18, 2026 — Lunenburg School Committee votes $1.6 million override ask and approves gut-wrenching no-override budget. The committee voted unanimously at its March 18 meeting to recommend a $1,601,140 core-services override figure to the Select Board — a single-number ask after a long debate over whether to pursue a tiered structure. Superintendent Dr. Karen Fortuna presented a no-override balanced budget that would eliminate four classroom full-time equivalent positions across the primary school and Turkey Hill School, pushing first-through-fifth-grade class sizes to as many as 31 students, while also cutting 1.5 interventionist positions and sharing one assistant principal across two campuses. The committee adopted the balanced budget with one modification, removing the $127,500 athletic transportation line and directing the administration to recommend how to apply those savings to a priority position. Chair Tony Iarrobino said the Select Board's decision to move fourth-shift fire department staffing out of the override "has basically all but guaranteed that the override fails," while resident Renee Emke told the committee that department heads across town government support the override and called it "critical." Both a Town Meeting vote on May 2 and a town election on May 16 are required for the override to take effect.