Whately boards review school, senior center budgets ahead of town meeting vote

Select Board · Meeting of February 25, 2026

Whately's joint Finance Committee and Select Board session tackled competing budget pressures totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars ahead of annual town meeting. South County Senior Center Director Jennifer Ferrara presented a fiscal year 2027 operating budget of $448,912 representing Whately's 18 percent share under the tri-town agreement, with annual rent at a potential new location at 112 Amherst Road in Sunderland set at $168,000 and electricity estimated at $48,000 per year. Frontier Regional School Superintendent Darius Modesto and business director Sheila Parade warned of an "anomaly" in budget growth, with a level-services increase of 6.95 percent driven by a $620,000 non-wage spike from a mid-year 20 percent health insurance increase; after $400,000 in cuts including rural aid and position eliminations, Whately's Frontier assessment lands at $1,133,777, up $38,885.

The Whately Elementary School budget carries an 8.96 percent increase, partly driven by a $40,000 sick buyback for retiring employees. The Select Board voted unanimously to appoint Gary Lemon to the housing trust and to approve a $22,000 environmental monitoring contract with O'Reilly, Talbot and Oakham for the town's old landfill on Long Plain Road.

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Source: the Select Board meeting of February 25, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.