Can We Afford All Three?

Where the Reserves Go

Starting balance: $27.1 million in total operating reserves (Free Cash + General Stabilization Fund, after subtracting the $903K FY26 Supplemental already spent). Each row shows a proposed change to reserves. After all draws and projected replenishment, ending reserves are approximately $26.8M, nearly unchanged from the starting balance.

Reserves Exist for Moments Like This

One of the main arguments of the "No" campaign was that we shouldn't raise property taxes because the town already has so much cash. Signs around town stated "The town has $20M+ cash!" With the unfortunate failure of the override, we are now in a position where that cash is the only available tool to limit the damage to our schools. This is exactly what a reserve is for.

We acknowledge that making significant draws from reserves year after year would not be sustainable. But as the chart above shows, that is not what is happening here. After accounting for projected replenishment, the net impact on reserves this year is less than $300,000. Funding all three articles is well within what our reserves can absorb.

When skilled educators are laid off, they find other jobs and move on. Drawing on reserves is a recoverable decision; cutting more educators than necessary is not.

What About the Muraco Feasibility Study?

The Muraco feasibility study (Article 27) is funded differently than the other two articles. The $1.5 million cost would be borrowed rather than drawn from reserves, so it does not appear in the waterfall chart above. Debt service is not expected to begin until FY28.

Beginning in FY28, the town would see an estimated increase of approximately $70,000 per year to the general operating budget: roughly $100,000 in annual debt service, offset by the Massachusetts School Building Authority's (MSBA) reimbursement rate of approximately 32%. After the feasibility study, the town will vote on a debt exclusion to fund the portion of the full Muraco rebuild not reimbursed by MSBA. For this critical first step of the Muraco project, $70,000 per year is a modest price to pay.

What About Our AAA Bond Rating?

Winchester holds a AAA bond rating, which allows the town to borrow at lower interest rates for capital projects. Some have argued that drawing on reserves risks this rating. But given that our reserves decline by such a small amount after funding all three articles, this concern is largely theoretical.

Reserve levels are also just one of a number of factors in a town's bond rating. In its rationale section, Moody's February 2026 report cited Winchester's "resident income and wealth levels," the "ongoing development" in the town, and even "the town's ability to override the tax levy limitations of Proposition 2½." There is much more than reserve balance at play here.

The rating reflects the fact that people choose to pay a premium to live in Winchester. Our Town Meeting members have the power to protect the schools that are such a key part of that desirability, at virtually no cost to our reserve balance. The choice seems clear.