Hanover Town Meeting Approves Override Budget Nearly Unanimously

Hanover residents overwhelmingly approved the town’s proposed override budget Monday night, passing it nearly unanimously during the first night of Annual Town Meeting.

The budget passed nearly unanimously, following statements from officials describing the potential consequences of budget cuts if the override were not approved.

“The Hanover School Committee strongly supports the 2026 override budget as proposed by the advisory committee,” said School Committee Chair Peter Miraglia, reading a statement voted by the committee earlier that day. “This budget represents a critical step forward in rebuilding the staffing and educational resources necessary to support all students across the Hanover Public Schools. While it does not fully restore the services and programming levels of the past, it enables the district to begin reinvesting in the core elements that Hanover students, staff, and families expect from the schools, including smallest class sizes, expanding core and elective offerings, reliable and instructional technology and essential instructional resources.”

Select Board Chair Vanessa O’Connor urged residents to support the plan, emphasizing its role in maintaining services while ensuring fiscal responsibility. “The override is a necessary, necessary strategic measure to maintain financial stability while preserving essential services,” O’Connor said, reading from the board’s prepared statement. “It aims to prevent deep budget cuts, protect the services residents rely on and support long-term sustainability.”

Without the override, town leaders warned that Hanover would have faced steep reductions in staffing and services, potentially closing the library and senior center, reducing school programming, and cutting back on public safety personnel in coming years.

“We do have a solid plan,” said Town Manager Joe Colangelo. “There is a path to make this proposal sustainable, maintain and sustain our services.”

One official expressed disagreement with the plan and pushed for an eventually unsuccessful additional increase in funding.

Elizabeth Corbo, a member of the School Committee, delivered a nearly 15-minute statement critiquing the town’s budget process, emphasizing that the advisory committee’s recommended budget for the schools was developed without consultation or collaboration with the School Committee. She noted that the advisory committee’s budget increase fell significantly short of the School Committee’s unanimously approved budget, translating to an inability to restore lost teaching positions and programs following last year’s override failure.

Corbo described the process as unprecedented, stating, “This is the first time in memory that the town and schools did not reach consensus on a budget,” and argued that the advisory committee’s approach undermined the collaborative budgeting practices that had guided Hanover in the past.

Maraglia explained that adopting the higher funding figure proposed by Corbo would require hiring more teachers without a sustainable plan to retain them, describing it as a “high risk course” for the district. He emphasized trusting the advisory committee’s process and focusing on sustainability

The override budget passed with near-unanimous votes in both the auditorium and the gymnasium, where voters had been split to accommodate high turnout.

The vote sets the stage for a corresponding ballot question in the upcoming town election, where voters will decide whether to officially approve the Proposition 2½ override that enables the budget to be enacted. Election day is Saturday, May 17.