Halifax Board of Selectmen Declines to Correct School Override Math Before Town Meeting Vote

HALIFAX -- May 12, 2026, Halifax Board of Selectmen declines to correct a $174,448 school overfunding error before the annual town meeting vote. Meeting for roughly 40 minutes on May 12 at Halifax Elementary School, the two-member board approved a routine vendor warrant for $145,485.54 before spending the bulk of its session on a citizen-raised arithmetic issue: votes taken the prior evening under Articles 3A and 3B, combined with a $424,012 school grant offset, would leave the elementary school with access to approximately $8.33 million, about $174,448 above the school committee's own voted budget of $8,157,387. A correction would have reduced the override from $999,777 to $798,840 and potentially restored a $69,721 Council on Aging wage cut. The board, citing the risk of further eroding public confidence by introducing more number changes at the eleventh hour, chose to proceed without a reconsideration motion, saying it would respond only if a resident raised the issue from the town meeting floor.