Lenox School Committee Unanimously Approves $14.8 Million FY2027 Operating Budget

LENOX — March 23, 2026 — Lenox School Committee unanimously approves $14.8 million net operating budget for FY2027. The committee voted 6-0 at its March 23 public budget hearing to approve a gross operating budget of $17,680,869, reduced by $2,847,500 in applied revenues — including $2,275,000 in school choice receipts and $295,000 in special education Circuit Breaker funds — to a net of $14,833,369, a 7.94 percent increase. Business Manager Melissa Volkowski noted that 32 percent of the increase stems from rising special education costs, and that health insurance benefits, budgeted separately at $4.5 million, rose 10.31 percent. The committee also pressed other town bodies to support entry into the Massachusetts School Building Authority's reimbursement program for a $4 to $5 million roof replacement at Lenox Memorial High School and Morris Elementary School, with member Kim Graham arguing, "I don't understand why we would do that if the money is out there — we can get 40 percent and cost less of a tax burden on the townspeople." The roof capital plan discussion continues at the committee's April 14 meeting.