Tewksbury Finance Committee Questions Shawsheen Tech Budget Controls, Feasibility Study

TEWKSBURY -- March 16, 2026, Tewksbury Finance Committee presses Shawsheen Valley Tech over budget mismanagement as FY27 school reviews begin. The committee reviewed a $44,338,798 Shawsheen Valley Technical High School budget for FY27, up 6.09 percent when a transportation accounting correction is factored in, alongside a Tewksbury Public Schools budget carrying a 3.44 percent overall increase of roughly $2.2 million. Superintendent-Director Tony McIntosh acknowledged a roughly $210,000 FY24 budget overspend covered by the district's Excess and Deficiency fund and confirmed an interim business manager from TMS Solutions has been in place since July at a cost of $112,000. Finance Committee member Lindsey Dunlevy Tosto said she lacked confidence in the district's management, calling the budget presentation "apples and oranges," and warned that approving a warrant article for a feasibility study felt like "throwing good money after bad." Tewksbury's FY27 Shawsheen assessment rises $472,397 over last year; Tewksbury Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Terry O'Regan disclosed that federal grant losses tied to the town's MBTA Communities Act non-compliance total roughly $213,000 and that entitlement grants face a projected 10 to 14 percent reduction.