Natick officials have handled what must be approximately 7 million questions about the proposed $7M operational override that voters are being asked to weigh in on for the March 25 election. Another two dozen-plus questions were fielded during the FY26 Budget Override Public Forum held on March 12, with Town Administrator Jamie Errickson, Natick Public Schools Superintendent Melissa Spash, Natick Select Board Chair Kathryn Coughlin, and School Committee members Elise Gorseth and Catherine Brunell on the front line.
Other forums have included one hosted by Yes for Natick on Feb. 25, plus those hosted by the town on Feb. 11 and Jan. 21. The town has collected resources on its website, and features a running list of questions and answers submitted between December and February.
The latest forum included in-person and online questions about town and school financials. Town officials and elected representatives patiently answered questions, including from those who were clearly angry about Natick’s predicament.
One basic question was about how much of the overall budget the override would represent (about 3.5% to 4% of the roughly $200M proposed budget).
People also wanted to know why school employee headcount has been on the rise even as student headcount has stayed pretty flat. The answer, Brunell said, is that student needs have increased. “Kids have a different level of need in our society and in Natick,” she said, pointing to the need for more occupational, speech, and physical therapists, for example.
Students on individualized educational programs typically are pulled into small groups that require additional school personnel to handle, Spash said.
To that point, one attendee asked why a few dozen interventionists’ jobs are on the block if the override doesn’t pass, and Spash described the agonizing decision involved in this (interventionists cater to students who based on data are shown to be behind). Basically, the schools when pressed would rather do without them than the teachers who work with larger groups of students throughout the day, though acknowledge the lack of interventionists could affect teacher retention. “I’m very worried about the outcomes for our students if our interventionists are reduced, but also the impact on our teachers… it will be a higher workload for them,” Spash said.
In response to questions about town personnel, as attendees sought to determine whether Natick could cut back, Errickson touted the effort of IT and economic development leaders to do more with less by reshuffling and refocusing. He said the director of equity, inclusion & outreach position is paid for using one-time COVID-19 funds through the end of the year, and the future of that role will be assessed outside the override discussion.
Funding for road work, which is paid for through local, state and federal resources, also came up in questions submitted online and by a member of the audience. Errickson said there should be no immediate impact since resources are already targeted for this year. But going forward without the override, the amount the town has to spend on road work would likely shrink from about $3.5M a year to around $1M.
Members of the public also wanted to know why the town’s expenses are rising so fast, say faster than the rate of inflation, and Coughlin explained some of the differences between the consumer price index and what the town is really dealing with. Natick and other communities have been hit with unfunded mandates from the state regarding vehicle upgrades, for example, she said. Errickson pointed to rising healthcare costs for employees, as well as the expense of hiring in a competitive job market that includes public and private sector employers. The school system faces similar economic challenges.
One attendee questioned the town’s use of one-time COVID funds, and wondered why residents should trust the town to spend override monies wisely. Errickson said the town received about $10.4M in American Rescue Plan Act funds during the pandemic, and spent most of it to offset lost revenue as a result of things like people not staying in local hotels or eating out at restaurants. Other things, like PFAS removal (water cleanup), also popped up.
The School Committee’s Brunell made a plea for members of the public to trust local officials or hold them accountable by voting them out (or by running for office). “This is Natick and everything is transparent,” she said. “You can come (to meet people), you can call them, you can email them.” Brunell said she figured many in attendance had already decided on how they would vote on the override, but hoped that she and others had shifted some views that night.
