Under Article 22, Town Meeting members voted to appropriate $75,613,973 for the Milton Public Schools for fiscal year 2027. The budget represents a 3.76% increase over the previous year, an amount school officials described as roughly $1 million less than what would be required for a full level-service budget. To meet the shortfall, the district implemented cuts to staffing and professional development while prioritizing a new HR position and an additional school bus.

The appropriation sparked a debate regarding the school system's academic results versus its rising costs. Member Robert Hiss noted that while instructional staff has grown by 35 people since 2019, enrollment has decreased by 73 students. He cited declining MCAS scores and state accountability ratings as a cause for concern. In my business career, a common question was if you're going to get more inputs, what are the outputs you're going to get? Hiss asked. A representative from Precinct 7 went further, calling for a forensic audit and an efficiency study, labeling the 3.6% increase as excessive.

Defenders of the budget highlighted the qualitative successes of the district, noting that 90% of graduates attend four-year colleges. A Precinct 9 representative argued that Milton consistently outperforms other districts despite being on the lower end of per-pupil spending. Interim Superintendent John Phelan emphasized that the district's mission is to educate, challenge, and empower, focusing on tier-one instruction for all students to address pandemic-related learning loss.

Motion: That the town appropriate the amounts shown in the following tabulation under the heading recommendation fiscal year 2027 as set forth in the warrant and that to meet said appropriation, a sum of $75,613,973 be raised from the tax levy.

Vote: Passed 200-4-2