Whitman Town Meeting Restores School Busing Funds, Passes $51M FY2027 Budget

WHITMAN -- May 4, 2026, Whitman voters restored $202,347 in non-mandated school busing at the May 4 Annual Town Meeting, overriding a Finance Committee recommendation that had zeroed out the line. The meeting of 278 voters approved a $51,018,720 general fund operating budget for fiscal year 2027, with the busing fight consuming more than an hour of debate before a 186-to-35 standing count amended Line 21 to fund transportation for students living between one and one and a half miles from school, drawing from free cash rather than the General Stabilization Fund after Finance Committee member Kevin Wolf objected to the stabilization source. Whitman-Hanson Regional School Committee Chair Ryan Trussell warned that a failed budget could require layoff notices to 30 to 40 staff before a June 1 statutory deadline; Interim Superintendent Dr. John Marcus told voters, "If any part of the budget that we presented fails, the entire budget fails." Finance Committee Vice Chair Kathleen Otina argued the town has been overpaying its share of non-mandated busing costs under a 1992 regional agreement, with Whitman absorbing roughly 80 percent of those costs despite having 60 percent of district enrollment. A $500,000 Proposition 2 1/2 override article failed 17 to 138. Town Administrator Mary Beth Carter reported a March refinancing of the Whitman Middle School building project reduced annual interest costs by roughly $460,000, from $1,230,350 to $770,350, on a combined $61 million in outstanding school construction debt.