
One of the articles heading before Westborough Town Meeting is funding for the Westborough Public Library repair project. (Photo/Maureen Sullivan)
WESTBOROUGH – Requests to establish a special education reserve account and an enterprise fund for waste management will be among the articles on the warrant during Town Meeting in March.
The Select Board got a first look at the warrant during its meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 14.
The special education reserve account is being requested by Westborough Public Schools to cover unanticipated costs like transportation and out-of-district placements.
“Special education tuition and transportation are some of the most unpredictable parts of a school budget because we do not know whether the number of students with complex needs will go up or down in a given year,” said WPS Superintendent Allison Borchers.
According to Borchers, many other school districts have created this type of a reserve account as a way to set aside funds to pay for unanticipated costs for special education. The balance cannot exceed 2% of the annual net school spending of the school district.
“Instead of trying to account for all possible changes that might necessitate additional tuition or transportation costs, the district can budget for changes that are probable and avoid potentially unnecessary inflation of the operating budget,” she said.
The fund can be created through a majority vote by the School Committee and Town Meeting.
Once the reserve fund is established, Borchers said, “The district needs a majority approval vote from both the school committee and the select board in order to access funds. Money can only be added to the account with a vote at Town Meeting.”
Funding could come from Medicaid reimbursement money that school districts obtain through the provision of services such as speech therapy, she said, adding that other possible sources could be designated.
In 2022, WPS had to go before Town Meeting to obtain additional funds to pay for a higher-than-expected number of out-of-district placements.
As part of her presentation, Town Manager Kristi Williams also discussed the possible creation of an enterprise fund to cover waste management expenses. A portion of the revenue would come from the sale of Pay As You Throw (PAYT) permits and bags.
“While it is not anticipated that the revenue will fund the entire budget, the creation of this fund will allow the town to use the revenue as a direct funding source for landfill expenses,” said Williams in her 2026 fiscal year budget message to the town.
Those expenses include paying for three part-time PAYT coordinators.
Also in the warrant — a funding request for the Westborough Public Library repair project. According to Sean Keogh, the board’s representative on the Library Building Committee, bids for the project should be in the committee’s hands on Feb. 19. That will give the committee time to provide a final financial number for the warrant article.
The project is currently estimated between $13 million and $14 million.
The warrant will also include requests to help subsidize Westborough TV, which is losing revenue because of fewer cable subscribers; and to replace the heating, ventilation and air conditioning rooftop units at the Community Center.
According to Williams, there are currently 24 articles in the warrant, which will close at the second Select Board meeting in February.
The Annual Town Meeting will convene on Saturday, March 22, at 9 a.m. in the high school auditorium.