Nashoba budget clears all three towns as PRISM literacy grant faces state funding threat

PEPPERELL -- May 13, 2026, Nashoba Regional School District's fiscal year 2027 budget won approval from all three member towns as the School Committee celebrated dual state program recognitions but confronted a potential loss of its $280,000 PRISM early literacy grant. At the May 13 meeting, Assistant Superintendent Laura Friend reported that DESE found Nashoba meeting all 28 ESSA federal grant compliance criteria with no findings and designated the district an exemplar in federal grant program administration, earning an invitation to present at a statewide conference June 9. Friend also announced Nashoba is one of four districts statewide selected as a PRISM-1 focused district, with DESE studying its rural early literacy model for replication. The district has seen a 27 percent reduction in students requiring literacy intervention in kindergarten through grade 3, but both the House and Senate FY27 state budgets have zeroed out the $25 million literacy launch line item that funds the program; Senators Kennedy and Lewis have filed a conference committee amendment to restore it. Assistant Superintendent Russ Mulcairn reported member towns approved over $1.8 million in capital commitments across fiscal years 2027 through 2031. Bolton resident Dan Dean urged the committee during public comment to adopt a five-year budget forecast, video-record warrant committee meetings, and hold community informational sessions before final budget votes, noting he had been awaiting answers to specific financial questions for two months.