Dighton Boards Challenge School District to Cut Budget Closer to Town's 2.5 Percent Limit

DIGHTON — March 10, 2026 — Dighton Select Board and Finance Committee pressed the regional school district to cut its FY27 budget request closer to the town's 2.5 percent spending target at a joint budget session March 10. Superintendent William Rooney, appearing via Zoom, presented a revised Dighton assessment increase of 3.15 percent — down from an earlier 4.54 percent projection — citing buy-ahead spending and lower-than-expected health insurance costs, but acknowledged the 2.5 percent figure "never came up" in prior discussions. State Chapter 70 aid to the district collapsed from $309,470 in FY26 to $136,351 for FY27, a drop officials said is forcing towns to absorb an unfair share of costs. The Finance Committee unanimously approved a $4,563.50 reserve fund transfer for a new fire department records management system after the existing vendor's platform upgrade failed federal compliance requirements. Town officials repeated throughout the evening that without a debt exclusion vote passing, layoffs across police, fire, and highway departments are unavoidable — the first time in the town's recent memory such cuts have been openly discussed.