Ayer-Shirley school budget shortfall heads toward June 17 meeting

The Ayer-Shirley Regional School Committee is heading toward its June 17 follow-up meeting with a FY25 general fund budget shortfall still unresolved, along with a non-unit employee pay vote and bargaining strategy for AFSCME units. Because the district serves both Shirley and Ayer, those decisions can affect staffing, services and the cost pressure that ultimately lands on local taxpayers.

The June 2 agenda put the shortfall item on the table as a vote to use the certified FY25 excess and deficiency balance to close out the general fund gap. It also listed a 2026-2027 non-unit employee annual increase and an executive session on collective bargaining. The agenda does not show those matters were finished that night, so they should be treated as pending.

The district says the 2025-2026 school year ends Monday, June 22, 2026, and the next school committee meeting is Wednesday, June 17, at 6:30 p.m. in the Middle School Library. That puts the budget discussion in the final stretch of the school year, when staffing and service decisions can move quickly.

The school committee’s own members page says the committee is responsible to residents in Ayer and Shirley, and Shirley’s official town calendar also lists the group. For Shirley families and school employees, the key question is whether the committee can close the gap before summer or pushes the decisions farther down the road.

Sources

• Ayer-Shirley Regional School Committee agenda, June 2, 2026
• Ayer-Shirley Regional School District homepage
• Town of Shirley calendar: Ayer-Shirley Regional School Committee