North Reading School Committee ratifies two union contracts, advances $42.5 million budget

NORFOLK -- April 13, 2026, North Reading School Committee unanimously ratified two union contracts and advanced a $42.5 million FY2027 budget with a narrow $32,781 remaining gap. Business Administrator Michael Connelly presented a "modified level services" plan reflecting a $1.7 million, or 4.3 percent, increase over FY2026, driven largely by contractual salary obligations and a $300,000 spike in special education tuitions and transportation costs that arose after new students enrolled in March. The North Reading Federation of Paraprofessionals secured a three-year agreement covering FY2026 through FY2029 with cost-of-living adjustments of 4, 3, and 4 percent and an expanded work year; the administrative assistants accepted a parallel 3-3-3 agreement with added steps and consolidated scheduling. State Representative Bruce Descoteaux Jones and a state senator addressed the committee on Chapter 70 reform, noting that more than 270 Massachusetts school districts now receive only minimum per-pupil aid and that the governor's House 2 proposal of $75 per pupil is "significantly less" than what the legislature has historically carried. Committee members warned the current year's balanced budget reflects one-time factors and that a Proposition 2½ override may be necessary within the year.