Town Moderator Richard Green introduces an article to reduce the tax rate at the May 11 Town Meeting.
Reminder Publishing photo by Sarah Heinonen
HAMPDEN — The town of Hampden conducted its annual Town Meeting on May 11, approving 18 of the 20 articles on the warrant.
The articles that garnered the most discussion were those that dealt with the operating budget and the repeal of the Community Preservation Act.
Article 7 asked voters to approve the fiscal year 2027 operating budget, totaling $18.6 million. Nearly half of the budget — $9.43 million — was the assessment for the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District.
Resident Gary Weiner stepped to the microphone to express his displeasure with academic achievement in the schools. He described the School Committee, state Legislature and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as a “circular firing squad” and said all parties were “failing our students.” Weiner said only 41% of students in the district are reading at grade level. He lamented a time when the district was among the top five statewide. In 2025, U.S. News & World Report ranked Minnechaug Regional High School 134th out of 366 high schools in the state. This year, Niche ranked Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District 69th out of 217 districts in Massachusetts.
Gabrielle Fisk defended the district’s teachers, saying that they are rising to meet challenges despite limited resources. Her comments earned a round of applause from residents. Meanwhile, Matthew Bean noted it was the first year in which the MCAS is not a requirement for graduation and cautioned against leaning into the rankings until more time has passed.
Select Board member Donald Davenport asked Assistant Superintendent for Finance, Operations and Human Resources Douglas Slaughter if the district had settled its contracts. Slaughter said the only unit not to ratify their contract is the paraprofessionals.
The budget, including the school district assessment, passed unanimously.
Article 8 sought $34,652 for Hampden’s portion of capital expenses for Minnechaug Regional High School. The district was looking to replace a dump truck/sander and network switches at the school. Because it is a regional school, the financial responsibility is split to reflect the enrollment percentage for each town. Wilbraham’s portion of the $170,000 worth of costs was $135,348. The Advisory Committee recommended not passing the article and instead bring it back to Town Meeting this fall. Voters overwhelmingly voted the article down.
Advisory Committee Chair Doug Boyd presented Article 14, which asked voters to repeal the town’s adoption of the Community Preservation Act. The state law allows municipalities to charge a property surtax to be used for historical preservation, affordable housing or open space, conservation and recreation.
Boyd said it is one of the few taxes that the town has control over. In the years immediately after the Community Preservation Act’s passage, the state matched 100% of the funds raised. As more municipalities have adopted the Community Preservation Act, the state funding available to match municipalities has shrunk. This year, the base match is 16.7%, Boyd said.
Nonetheless, the Advisory Committee recommended not repealing the law. Boyd said the amount of money contributed by the state makes the program worth it. Likewise, Davenport said the Select Board recommended not voting for the repeal and said it costs taxpayers $0.13 per day.
Parks and Recreation Director Dan Blanchard urged residents not to repeal the adoption of the law. He listed a half-dozen projects funded through the Community Preservation Act. He added that no other community had repealed its adoption. The repeal failed.
No Action was taken on several articles, including ones to pay prior years’ bills, funding the town’s 150th anniversary celebration, adding money to the General Stabilization fund and reducing the tax rate. The last of these will be taken up again in the fall.
