Analysis: Town and Schools
What the town is deciding now
17 things still open, 3 settled. Each one tracked across every board that touched it.
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Newly raised
These first came up in the last two months, and are still open.
- Open — started at the School Committee, Sep 16, 24 days agoLast vote: passed (roll call, all yes) — Pass over the reratification of the paraprofessional contractWhen is the paraprofessional contract ratified, and what is in it?1 board · 1 meeting · 1 vote · voted on, not decided
- Open — started at the Trust Fund Commission, Sep 10, 30 days agoLast vote: passed unanimously (2-0), roll call: John Bowen aye, Richard Howard aye — Approve the rewritten warrant article on continuity of trust fund administration during a vacan…Who administers the town trust funds when the commission has a vacancy?1 board · 1 meeting · 1 vote · voted on, not decided
- Open — started at the Board of Assessors, Sep 9, 1 months agoDoes the veterans property tax exemption increase, and what does it shift onto other taxpayers?1 board · 1 meeting · 0 votes · a date is set
- Open — started at the Sewer Commission, Sep 8, 1 months agoLast vote: passed (heard as "motion carries") — Authorize development and advertising of a comprehensive procurement combining sewer pump stati…Does one multi-year contract cover sewer pump operations, maintenance and capital repair?1 board · 1 meeting · 1 vote · voted on, not decided
- Open — started at the Personnel Committee, Aug 31, 1 months agoWhich bylaw changes to the town's pay plan pass, and what does the comp study cost?1 board · 1 meeting · 0 votes · a date is set
What is moving now
- Turkey Hill: rebuild or renovatepicking upOpen — last discussed at the School Committee, Sep 16, 24 days agoDoes the town rebuild Turkey Hill, renovate it, or neither -- and with what MSBA help?2 boards · 14 meetings · 0 votes · a date is set
- Open — last discussed at the School Committee, Sep 16, 24 days agoLast vote: passed 5-0 (all yes on roll call) — Request the town raise/appropriate/borrow funds for a full feasibility and schematic study of t…Does the town borrow for a feasibility and schematic study of the turf field and track?2 boards · 2 meetings · 1 vote · voted on, not decided
- Open — started at the School Committee, Sep 16, 24 days agoLast vote: passed (roll call, all yes) — Pass over the reratification of the paraprofessional contractWhen is the paraprofessional contract ratified, and what is in it?1 board · 1 meeting · 1 vote · voted on, not decided
- TC Passios: the site's futurepicking upOpen — last discussed at the Select Board, Sep 15, 25 days agoLast vote: not audible (recording ends during discussion) — Article 24: transfer $121,800 from free cash for TCP building operating/decommissioning costs a…What happens to the TC Passios site -- senior housing, a community centre, both, or demolition?5 boards · 12 meetings · 4 votes · voted on, not decideddiscussed by 5 boards over 12 meetings and settled by none
Ordered by when each last came up, newest first.
Everything still open
Schools and my kids
- Turkey Hill: rebuild or renovatepicking upOpen — last discussed at the School Committee, Sep 16, 24 days agoDoes the town rebuild Turkey Hill, renovate it, or neither -- and with what MSBA help?2 boards · 14 meetings · 0 votes · a date is set
- Open — last discussed at the School Committee, Sep 16, 24 days agoLast vote: passed 5-0 (all yes on roll call) — Request the town raise/appropriate/borrow funds for a full feasibility and schematic study of t…Does the town borrow for a feasibility and schematic study of the turf field and track?2 boards · 2 meetings · 1 vote · voted on, not decided
- Open — started at the School Committee, Sep 16, 24 days agoLast vote: passed (roll call, all yes) — Pass over the reratification of the paraprofessional contractWhen is the paraprofessional contract ratified, and what is in it?1 board · 1 meeting · 1 vote · voted on, not decided
- Open — last discussed at the Town Meeting, May 2, 5 months agoHow did a surplus that size arise in the school budget, and does the explanation hold?2 boards · 3 meetings · 0 votes · plans being drawnthose boards have met 10 times since without returning to it
- The extended day programme feeraised onceOpen — raised at the School Committee, Apr 15, 6 months ago, and nothing sinceDoes the extended day programme fee go up, and by how much?1 board · 1 meeting · 0 votes · talked about onlythat board has met 9 times since without returning to it
- Open — last discussed at the School Committee, Apr 1, 6 months agoLast vote: passed with one abstention — Motion to give the superintendent permission to discuss redirecting the $195,000 earmark (passe…Do the accessible bathrooms at Turkey Hill get funded, and from where?1 board · 5 meetings · 1 vote · voted on, not decidedthat board has met 10 times since without returning to it
- Open — last discussed at the Finance Committee, Mar 26, 7 months agoWhy does Lunenburg's Monty Tech assessment rise faster than Monty Tech's own budget?2 boards · 6 meetings · 0 votes · talked about onlythose boards have met 18 times since without returning to it
Town land and buildings
- Turkey Hill: rebuild or renovatepicking upOpen — last discussed at the School Committee, Sep 16, 24 days agoDoes the town rebuild Turkey Hill, renovate it, or neither -- and with what MSBA help?2 boards · 14 meetings · 0 votes · a date is set
- Open — last discussed at the School Committee, Sep 16, 24 days agoLast vote: passed 5-0 (all yes on roll call) — Request the town raise/appropriate/borrow funds for a full feasibility and schematic study of t…Does the town borrow for a feasibility and schematic study of the turf field and track?2 boards · 2 meetings · 1 vote · voted on, not decided
- TC Passios: the site's futurepicking upOpen — last discussed at the Select Board, Sep 15, 25 days agoLast vote: not audible (recording ends during discussion) — Article 24: transfer $121,800 from free cash for TCP building operating/decommissioning costs a…What happens to the TC Passios site -- senior housing, a community centre, both, or demolition?5 boards · 12 meetings · 4 votes · voted on, not decideddiscussed by 5 boards over 12 meetings and settled by none
- Open — last discussed at the Select Board, Sep 15, 25 days agoIs Brooks House sold, leased, reused or demolished?1 board · 7 meetings · 0 votes · a date is set
- 925 Mass Ave: the RFPmovingOpen — last discussed at the Select Board, Sep 15, 25 days agoWhat happens to the town land at 925 Massachusetts Avenue?1 board · 2 meetings · 0 votes · a date is set
- Open — last discussed at the School Committee, Apr 1, 6 months agoLast vote: passed with one abstention — Motion to give the superintendent permission to discuss redirecting the $195,000 earmark (passe…Do the accessible bathrooms at Turkey Hill get funded, and from where?1 board · 5 meetings · 1 vote · voted on, not decidedthat board has met 10 times since without returning to it
What I pay
- The stormwater feepicking upOpen — last discussed at the Select Board, Sep 15, 25 days agoLast vote: passed unanimously — Refer the special town meeting articles (zoning amendments and stormwater management bylaw fee …Will every property pay a new stormwater charge, how much, and billed how?4 boards · 13 meetings · 1 vote · voted on, not decideddiscussed by 4 boards over 13 meetings and settled by none
- Open — started at the Board of Assessors, Sep 9, 1 months agoDoes the veterans property tax exemption increase, and what does it shift onto other taxpayers?1 board · 1 meeting · 0 votes · a date is set
- Open — last discussed at the Town Meeting, May 2, 5 months agoHow did a surplus that size arise in the school budget, and does the explanation hold?2 boards · 3 meetings · 0 votes · plans being drawnthose boards have met 10 times since without returning to it
- The extended day programme feeraised onceOpen — raised at the School Committee, Apr 15, 6 months ago, and nothing sinceDoes the extended day programme fee go up, and by how much?1 board · 1 meeting · 0 votes · talked about onlythat board has met 9 times since without returning to it
- Open — last discussed at the Select Board, Apr 7, 6 months agoLast vote: passed unanimously — recommend approval of Article Y, solid waste disposal enterprise fund appropriationDoes trash and recycling move to an enterprise fund, and does that change what residents pay?3 boards · 6 meetings · 3 votes · voted on, not decidedthose boards have met 36 times since without returning to it
- Open — last discussed at the Finance Committee, Mar 26, 7 months agoWhy does Lunenburg's Monty Tech assessment rise faster than Monty Tech's own budget?2 boards · 6 meetings · 0 votes · talked about onlythose boards have met 18 times since without returning to it
How the town runs
- Open — started at the School Committee, Sep 16, 24 days agoLast vote: passed (roll call, all yes) — Pass over the reratification of the paraprofessional contractWhen is the paraprofessional contract ratified, and what is in it?1 board · 1 meeting · 1 vote · voted on, not decided
- Open — started at the Trust Fund Commission, Sep 10, 30 days agoLast vote: passed unanimously (2-0), roll call: John Bowen aye, Richard Howard aye — Approve the rewritten warrant article on continuity of trust fund administration during a vacan…Who administers the town trust funds when the commission has a vacancy?1 board · 1 meeting · 1 vote · voted on, not decided
- Open — started at the Personnel Committee, Aug 31, 1 months agoWhich bylaw changes to the town's pay plan pass, and what does the comp study cost?1 board · 1 meeting · 0 votes · a date is set
- The DPW union contractslowingOpen — last discussed at the Select Board, Jul 27, 3 months agoLast vote: passed unanimously — Ratify the collective bargaining agreement with Teamsters Union Local 170 (DPW).What is in the DPW contract, and what were the discrepancies labour counsel was asked to resolve?1 board · 2 meetings · 1 vote · voted on, not decidedthat board has met 7 times since without returning to it
Water, sewer, roads and trash
- Open — started at the Sewer Commission, Sep 8, 1 months agoLast vote: passed (heard as "motion carries") — Authorize development and advertising of a comprehensive procurement combining sewer pump stati…Does one multi-year contract cover sewer pump operations, maintenance and capital repair?1 board · 1 meeting · 1 vote · voted on, not decided
- Open — last discussed at the Select Board, Apr 7, 6 months agoLast vote: passed unanimously — recommend approval of Article Y, solid waste disposal enterprise fund appropriationDoes trash and recycling move to an enterprise fund, and does that change what residents pay?3 boards · 6 meetings · 3 votes · voted on, not decidedthose boards have met 36 times since without returning to it
Settled
FY2027
- Settled at Town Meeting, Sep 3 — passedAre the cut middle school sports and their transportation restored, and paid from what?4 boards · 9 meetings · 4 votes · decided
FY2026
- Settled at Town Meeting, May 2 — passed 100-9Does care and custody of the Kids Kingdom playground move from the schools to the town?4 boards · 14 meetings · 8 votes · decided
- Settled at Town Meeting, May 2 — passed 340-68Does the town fund a fourth fire shift, and out of the override or the regular budget?3 boards · 5 meetings · 0 votes · decided
What we looked at and did not open
A candidate rejected is recorded with its reason, so we looked and said no stays distinguishable from nobody looked.
- #budget — a FACET, not a matter — in 87 of 108 recent meetings
- Adult Activity Center — a VENUE, not a matter — fails the one-question test · revisit if a matter about the building itself arises
- Green Communities — routine appointments — the narrowed `office` kind excludes these · revisit if the Wallace Park lighting funding becomes its own matter
- the citizens petitioner (a person) — A PERSON IS NEVER A THREAD — rule 8
- the Pleasant Street no-trespass order — an INDIVIDUAL'S business — excluded by rule, not by threshold
- the dangerous/nuisance dog complaint — an INDIVIDUAL'S business — excluded by rule
- football helmets / fundraising policy review — low reach on the §2 bar · revisit if ANY further mention — see note
- the Eagle Scout loafing shed — died on reach
- the Town Hall / Ritter tour — scheduling, not a matter
- 49 excise tax abatements moved to the next agenda — routine administration
- the rec department library-space MOU — low reach; an internal booking arrangement · revisit if it becomes a paid or contested arrangement
The glyphs
- money — a fee, a rate, a cost residents pay
- a rule — a bylaw, a regulation, a policy
- a service — hours, staffing, a programme
- a contract — a union agreement, a vendor, a lease
- a project — a study, a design, a build
- town land or a building
- an office — a post that decides things, vacant or contested
All twenty, across time
Tracked through 166 meetings across 16 boards that left a record we can read, including 10 Town Meetings. The Town Clerk’s printed record of what Town Meeting voted is held for FY2011–FY2025; more recent votes are ours, from machine captions, until that year’s annual report is published.