Milton Finance Committee Hears $750,000 Wharf Park Bond Request and School Budget Cuts

MILTON — March 17, 2026 — Milton Finance Committee reviews $750,000 Wharf Park bond and a school budget that cuts 6.9 positions. The Warrant Committee — Milton's Finance Committee — heard Tuesday from the Community Preservation Committee on a proposed $750,000 CPA bond toward a $1.2 million redesign of the Milton Wharf Park, with annual debt service of $72,000 to $82,000 paid entirely from CPA revenues over a suggested 15-year term. School officials presented a $75,613,973 FY27 budget — a $2,740,060 increase, or 3.76 percent, over FY26 — that falls $1.049 million short of level service and eliminates 6.9 full-time equivalent positions, including a high school English teacher, a director of fine and performing arts, and one of two 504 coordinators. Interim Superintendent John Field pledged the district "will not overspend" its allocation. Finance Committee subcommittee member Julia warned the committee that projections capping school budget growth at 3 percent annually are "not sustainable," adding, "we're going to keep seeing cuts." No votes were taken; formal action on all items is expected at the March 23 meeting.