Manchester Essex School Committee Cuts FY2026 Budget $85,000 After Insurance Break

ESSEX — April 15, 2025 — Manchester Essex Regional School District trims its FY2026 budget by $85,000 after a late health insurance negotiation. The School Committee voted unanimously at its April 15 meeting to reduce the previously adopted operating budget to $32,597,141 after the district's broker secured a final health insurance rate of 22.95 percent, roughly one and a half percentage points lower than the prior offer. Superintendent Kate Montesano credited persistent negotiation: "We kept being relentless with our broker." The committee also spent the bulk of the meeting debating two information requests — one seeking health insurance records, one seeking budget actuals, special education program breakdowns, and three-year projections — with Chair Chris Erickson arguing that any new document production must flow through the elected committee first. Manchester's town meeting is April 28, Essex's is May 5, and a ballot vote is set for May 12, with the superintendent warning that a failed override would trigger required staff notification notices before any second vote could be completed.