WESTFORD — Town officials continued deliberations on the proposed Fiscal Year 2027 budget this week, with educators and residents warning that current funding levels are placing increasing strain on schools.
The Select Board and Finance Committee held a joint meeting on Jan. 29 to review departmental budgets, including public safety and education, following public comment that echoed concerns raised earlier this month at a School Committee meeting.
During the meeting’s open forum, Norman E. Day School fourth-grade teacher Kristine Jussaume urged town officials to reconsider the proposed budget, citing unsustainable class sizes and mounting stress on educators. Jussaume previously addressed the School Committee at its Jan. 20 meeting, where she spoke on behalf of the Westford Education Association.
“I feel like all of the big departments in town are all coming from hearing a similar message that Westford cannot fund the services that we know the community deserves,” Jussaume said, “We would like to know what is the town going to do about it.”
At the School Committee meeting, Jussaume had said that fourth-grade classes at Day School currently range from 25 to 26 students, with additional enrollment expected over the summer. She also cited state data showing Westford’s per-pupil spending at $17,626, significantly lower than neighboring communities.
She and other educators suggested that town leaders consider changes to the tax structure, including higher rates for commercial properties. She went on to say that a good solution would be to look at the tax rates and asking that they be higher for businesses.
Nabnasset School student support teacher Jacki Cunniffe also addressed the board and committee, noting that while she supported the most recent override effort, there does not appear to be sufficient community support for another override at this time.
“Given that reality, I respectfully ask the town to consider other available tools,” Cunniffe said.
She pointed to the possibility of reinstating a split tax rate, which would tax commercial properties at a higher rate than residential properties.
Select Board Chair Thomas Clay acknowledged that a split tax rate is an option but emphasized that it would not increase overall revenue.
“If you shift it, we wouldn’t have more dollars to spend,” Clay said, “It would just incrementally take fewer of those dollars from homeowners and more of them from businesses.”
Public safety and Police
Following public comment, the joint meeting moved into departmental budget reviews, beginning with public safety.
Police Chief Mark Chambers and Deputy Chief James Peloquin discussed the police department’s FY27 budget, which proposes less than a 1% increase, totaling approximately $7 million.
Chambers said the department is currently fully staffed with 48 members, down two from earlier staffing levels in 2025. While operations are manageable, he said staffing at minimum levels limits the department’s ability to expand proactive initiatives.
“It’s delaying us from really being able to make a hard push,” Chambers said. “If we had those two officers that we cut, we’d have the staff appropriately.”
Education Westford Public Schools
The meeting then turned to education, with Superintendent Christopher Chew and Finance Director Jenny Lin presenting the FY27 Westford Public Schools budget. Chew said the district was required to reduce its request by approximately $223,000 to bring forward a balanced budget to Town Meeting.
The proposed $71.49 million school budget was approved by the School Committee on a 6–1 vote Jan. 20, along with the district’s fee schedule, despite extensive public comment from teachers urging the committee to vote against it.
Finance Committee member Nate Mackinnon said that the School Committee has come up with some creative solutions, and he commends them for that. However, he said that those decisions have “pushed off the inevitable.”
“Like most people in this town, I moved here because of the high-quality schools, and I think we are on a very dangerous track right now to head towards a path that doesn’t sustain those high-quality schools,” Mackinnon said.
Mackinnon continued saying that Westford should “re-embrace the schools as the backbone of the community.”
Chew said the effects of budget decisions often take years to fully materialize, particularly in areas such as academic achievement and course access. He pointed to reduced access to Advanced Placement courses and the combining of world language levels at Westford Academy as examples of how budget constraints affect student opportunities.
He also emphasized that class size is one of the most critical issues, particularly in early grades.
“It seems like it’s not a big deal, but when we’re talking about a first-grade classroom with 24 students in it, these are the students who are learning how to read,” Chew said, “The research has been clear for at least 30 or 40 years that class sizes above 15 in grades pre-K through three have a significant impact on students.”
While Chew said Westford remains a strong school system with dedicated staff and welcoming classrooms, he warned that the cumulative impact of years of cuts is taking a toll.
“They are being asked to do more and more and more every year with less and less,” he said. “The biggest challenge going forward will be continuing to make schools happy places for kids to learn while morale in the buildings is starting to wane because of what we’re asking educators to do.”
Budget discussions will continue as the FY27 budget moves toward Town Meeting consideration with the Finance Committee and Select Board meeting again on Feb. 5 for another FY27 budget hearing.
