Second MA School District Defunds Schools, Plans Layoffs For All Employees

UXBRIDGE, MA — Uxbridge Superintendent Michael Baldassarre on Wednesday issued a correction to comments he made after Town Meeting voted down the school district budget last week.

Town Meeting voted 221 to 216 against Baldassarre's $27.6 million fiscal 2025 budget request. Last Thursday, he issued a press release saying the Town Meeting members voted down the budget after being told the district could be funded on a month-to-month basis rather than for the full year. Public school districts can't be funded that way under state rules.

Although the month-to-month information was talked about at a previous public meeting, it was not explicitly discussed at the May 14 Town Meeting, he said in an updated news release.

"While it is true that members of the public were told at previous meetings and budget forums that a 1/12 budget would be allocated in the event of a 'no' vote, this specific question did not come up at the May 14 town meeting until after the budget vote was cast," he said. "This was an error on my part, and I sincerely apologize to the community for offering incorrect information. That is never my intention."

This week, the town agreed to hold a special Town Meeting on June 18 to consider a new budget for the district.

Uxbridge isn't the only town to have rejected a school budget this year. Winchendon Town Meeting rejected the district's $17 million budget request on Monday. The town is in the process of scheduling a special meeting to reconsider the budget, but in the meantime the district will start issuing layoff notices to all district employees.