Override Case Studies: Melrose, Stoneham, and the Statewide Pattern
Timeline
- June 2024: $7.7M override fails 55-45 (~900 vote margin, 5,150 no / 4,280 yes)
- FY25 cuts (July 2024): 13 school positions, sustainability manager, economic development director, social services coordinator. 5% OT cuts to police/fire/DPW. Salary freeze for 60+ non-union employees. Reduced AP courses, fewer paras, no Chromebook repairs.
- FY26 cuts (July 2025): 21 MORE city positions, 30+ MORE school positions. Shared principal between middle and high school. Class sizes proposed up to 32 elementary, K from 17 to 25. Teaching & Learning office closed. Sunday library eliminated. Senior van drivers cut.
- Total damage: $6.3M in cuts, 61.4 FTEs eliminated over two years
- Staff exodus: Teachers leaving for stable/higher-paying districts. “Smallest new teacher orientation in many years” (17 hires). Superintendent noted “We have lost staff members who barely kept their job this year because of the budget and are going somewhere more stable.”
- Nov 2025: Three-tier override ($9.3M / $11.9M / $13.5M). ALL THREE passed. Maximum $13.5M passed 6,018-5,052. Largest municipal override in MA in 35+ years.
- What $13.5M restores: 17 school positions, 5 DPW positions, 2 police officers, plus curriculum and road maintenance.
- Tax impact: Average single-family home ($818K) pays $1,374/yr more.
- DOR data: Tax rate spiked from $9.90 (FY25) to $11.47 (FY26), +$1.57 / +16%. Biggest single-year jump in the 24-year dataset.
- Per-pupil spending: Bottom 8% in MA at $18,600/student (FY24).
Key lesson
Voted no on $7.7M. Lived through the cuts. Came back and voted yes on $13.5M (75% MORE). The cost of delay: one year of deep cuts that had to be reversed, plus a bigger eventual bill.
Stoneham (population ~23,000)
Timeline
- April 2025: $14.6M override fails
- Summer 2025: Town raids $1.2M from stabilization (emergency) reserves. Override Study Committee launches weekly public meetings.
- Staff exodus: 28 vacant positions at start of school year. Teachers earn 30% below market. Qualified candidates won’t apply. Teachers without a contract since July 2025.
- Firefighters: 8 per shift vs national standard of 16.
- Library: $100K+ cut. Weekend/evening closures. All paid programming eliminated. 4 vacancies unfilled. Risk of losing state accreditation (which would cut off state funding and resource-sharing).
- Dec 2025: Two-tier override. $12.5M fails by 43 VOTES. $9.3M passes by 727 votes.
- Result: Got $9.3M instead of $14.6M originally requested. Service gaps will persist.
Key lesson
Even after living through cuts, the larger amount STILL nearly failed. 43 votes. Community was deeply divided. The information campaign (Override Study Committee, weekly public meetings) was critical to getting even the $9.3M across.
Statewide Pattern (from DOR and news sources)
- FY25-FY26 override ballot questions statewide approached $240M, more than the previous seven years combined.
- 590 communities passed an override within one year of an initial defeat.
- 100 communities did so within 60 days via special elections.
- Towns that fail and return typically ask for MORE:
- Auburn: $500K failed, $1.3M passed 33 days later (+160%)
- Reading: $250K failed, $4.5M passed 42 days later (+1,700%)
- Melrose: $7.7M failed, $13.5M passed 17 months later (+75%)
- Operating override success rate historically: ~60-65% (vs 81% for debt exclusions)
- Marblehead’s own history: 3 of 21 operating overrides approved (86% failure rate). Last success: June 2005.
Marblehead in Context
| |
Marblehead |
Melrose |
Stoneham |
| Deficit |
$8.47M |
$7.7M (2024) |
$14.6M |
| Override structure |
Three-tier ($9M/$12M/$15M) |
Three-tier ($9.3M/$11.9M/$13.5M) |
Two-tier ($9.3M/$12.5M) |
| FY26 residential rate |
$8.56 |
$11.47 (post-override) |
$10.06 |
| Tier 3 / max post-override rate |
~$10.06 |
$11.47 |
N/A yet |
| Previous failed attempt |
FY24 (by ~400 votes) |
June 2024 (by ~900 votes) |
April 2025 |
| Median home |
$1,010,100 |
$817,630 |
lower |
Even at Tier 3 ($15M), Marblehead’s rate ($10.06) would be lower than Melrose’s post-override rate ($11.47) and roughly equal to Stoneham’s current rate ($10.06). Marblehead has the lowest baseline rate of all four comparison towns and would still have the lowest rate after any tier passes.
Sources
- DOR Tax Rates by Class FY2003-2026 (downloaded April 2026)
- Marblehead Current, “Overriding Considerations” (March 2026)
- Commonwealth Beacon, “After a Prop 2.5 defeat, Melrose passes $13.5 million override” (Nov 2025)
- Melrose Messenger, “Back to School Staffing Changes” (Aug 2025)
- YesForMelrose.org, “Why an Override?” (2025)
- SaveOurStoneham.org, election results and blog posts (2025)
- Boston Globe, “Massachusetts towns face tax override debates” (Nov 2025)
- Local Headline News, Melrose override coverage (2024-2025)