Woburn Finance Committee Receives $677,000 Northeast Voc Assessment Increase for FY27

WOBURN — May 26, 2026 — Woburn's Finance Committee absorbed a $677,449 increase in its Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational School assessment at a May 26 budget session. Finance Director Jay Picone told councilors the district's total FY27 operating budget is $48,516,400, an 11.89 percent jump over FY26, with Woburn's share landing at $3,925,906 after the district applied $2.4 million in offsetting revenue. The increase is driven by a $2,580,408 debt service normalization — after a one-time $2.7 million payment artificially lowered FY26 costs — and a $1,949,328 rise in the state-mandated minimum contribution, while Chapter 70 aid for a 35-student enrollment increase came in at only $526,000, down from $910,000 received the prior year for a 31-student increase. "Something is not adding up," Picone told the committee. The committee also heard level-funded budgets from the Building, Engineering, Purchasing, and Conservation departments, and the Committee on Infrastructure and Public Lands unanimously advanced an RFP authorization for a ground lease of the Wyman School at 679 Main Street to the full City Council.