Oakham Boards Sign 20-Year School Lease, Close Police Budget One Thousand Dollars in Surplus

OAKHAM — May 13, 2026 — Oakham boards sign 20-year school lease and close FY27 police budget with a roughly $1,000 surplus. The Select Board and Finance Committee met jointly on May 13 and unanimously approved a $1,950 transfer from the Selectmen's office supplies account to the streetlights account, then signed a lease with Quabbin Regional School District covering the Oakham Center School building from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2046. Finance Committee Chair Corey Packard objected for the record to the absence of an exit clause, saying it removes flexibility the town might one day need. The boards spent the bulk of the evening recalculating the police department's FY27 budget, ultimately settling on total wages of $184,579 and a full department budget of $231,669, after discovering that police communications costs had ballooned to $6,240 against a prior allocation of roughly $1,956, driven by a one-time vendor fee and chronic underfunding. The legal expenses account was reported at under $1,800 remaining for the year, with road acceptance filings for Skyline Drive and Old Schoolhouse Road and town meeting warrant review still pending; a proposed new bylaw was tabled to July 1 when $20,000 in new legal budget becomes available. The vehicle stabilization fund holds just $2,878, with no cruiser replacement funded for the coming year.