Whately Finance Committee Reviews FY27 Budgets, Hears Franklin Tech Capital Project Update

WHATELY — March 18, 2026 — Whately Finance Committee reviews FY27 budgets and receives Franklin Tech building cost update. Franklin County Technical School Business Manager Liz Bouchard told the joint Finance Committee and Select Board meeting Wednesday that Whately's share of the district's $236 million building project is estimated at $3.78 million in principal, with total principal and interest reaching approximately $6.976 million over roughly 30 years and annual peak debt service of $233,000. Whately's fiscal year 2027 operating assessment to Franklin Tech will decrease slightly to $244,496, the result of one fewer enrolled student, even as the district's overall assessment rose 7 percent driven by insurance costs that included back-to-back mid-year and annual increases totaling nearly 40 percent in fiscal year 2026. A district-wide vote on the project is tentatively set for October 6, requiring a simple majority of all voters across the seven-town district tallied in aggregate. The town library's director requested a 41.5 percent increase in collection development funding — to $22,053 — to maintain state certification that allows residents to borrow from other Massachusetts libraries.