By Dakota Antelman, Managing Editor
UPDATE: Incumbent School Committee Member Jon Wensky has won a three way race for a seat on the School Committee.
SHREWSBURY – Voters in Shrewsbury greenlit a $9.5 million proposition 2 ½ budget override in municipal elections, May 4.
Drafted to address what officials described as grave budgetary issues, the vote allows Shrewsbury to fund a larger budget by bypassing a state limit on annual tax rate increases.
The question passed with a 60 percent majority according to unofficial results from Town Clerk Sharyn Thomas.
“We can all be proud that a significant majority of our community members were willing to pay more in taxes in order to preserve and enhance the quality of public education, public safety, and municipal services in Shrewsbury,” Schools Superintendent Joseph Sawyer wrote in a “thank you” note to the community.
He elaborated, saying “I am confident that our school district’s collective efforts in the coming years will validate the trust that our community members have placed in us by making this historic investment in our schools.”
This override is the second successful ballot question of its type to pass in town.
Voters approved a separate override in 2014 amid similar concerns about funding schools and other municipal services.
That, in turn, came six years after the town’s first ever override request failed at the polls back in 2008.
Beyond the override, voters also settled a three-way race for a seat on the School Committee, May 4.
Incumbent Jon Wensky won reelection with 52% of the vote. Sanam Zaer finished second with 18 percent while Andrei Kapoustine came in third place with 12 percent.
Fifteen percent of voters did not weigh in on the School Committee race.
This is an ongoing story. It will be updated with any additional information that becomes available…
