Whittier Tech Committee Votes Unanimously to Increase FY26 Budget by $1.19 Million

NEWBURYPORT — May 13, 2026 — Whittier Tech School Committee unanimously approved a $1,188,512 increase to the district's fiscal year 2026 operating budget, with no additional cost to member municipalities. Business Manager Ms. Cosmos told the committee that $950,000 will move from the excess and deficiency account into the district's stabilization reserve — a buffer against capital costs in an aging facility — while $238,512 from the regional transportation revolving account will fund replacement vans and buses, bringing the total FY26 general fund to $32,846,515. The committee also voted to redirect approximately $10,714 in unclaimed class funds from the COVID-era graduating classes of 2020 and 2021 — $6,315 and $4,399 respectively — to the Whittier Tech Educational Foundation for student hardships and scholarships, and referred future policy on unclaimed funds to the policy subcommittee. Before the financial votes, the committee recognized 31 SkillsUSA state medalists, including the four-person Health Knowledge Bowl gold medal team — three of them sophomores — who will compete at nationals in Atlanta.