Groton-Dunstable Officials Warn of $2.1 Million School Budget Gap in FY26

DUNSTABLE — October 24, 2024 — Dunstable and Groton officials warn of combined budget deficits exceeding $1.2 million heading into FY26. At a joint forum on October 24, Dunstable Town Administrator Jason Silva projected a town-side deficit of $117,000 and a school district gap of $486,000, complicated by a near-31 percent spike in the Middlesex Retirement pension assessment. Groton Town Manager Mark Haddad pegged his town's overall shortfall at roughly $750,000, noting the school district's preliminary assessment increase of $1.8 million alone exceeds Groton's anticipated new revenue of $1.25 million. The district, which cut 25 positions this school year after last spring's failed override, would need to eliminate another $2.1 million from its budget if no new funding materializes, Superintendent Jeff Bruno and Finance Director Sherry Kersey told the gathering. Haddad added that the closure of Nashoba Valley Medical Center has pushed Groton to consider hiring eight additional full-time firefighters at a cost exceeding $1 million — a move he said would itself require a separate override.