Several town and school officials commented on the March 16 Lincoln Squirrel article headlined “Residents demand more oversight of Hanscom funding,” specifically:

• Questioning the use of “judgmental” words such as “error” and “mistakenly” to describe the allocation process involved, rather than using more neutral language.
• Noting that the Collins Center report was a comprehensive review of the Hanscom contract, not an audit.
• Noting that the School Committee has no power to spend money from the town’s general fund, only from the Hanscom fund.

The article has been updated to reflect these changes. A more detailed response from one or more of those officials will be published as a “My Turn” piece in a day or two.

(Editor’s note: This article has been updated after conversations with several town and school officials on March 17. Changes are indicated with strikethrough and red text. A more detailed response in the form of a “My Turn” piece from one or more of those officials will be forthcoming in a day or two.)

Dozens of residents speaking by Zoom at the March 11 Finance Committee meeting demanded greater oversight of education spending after about $2 million was mistakenly allocated from Lincoln town funds for Hanscom School benefits and pensions from FY2021–2025.

The error inaccurate allocation was first brought to light in 2022 by resident David Cuetos. The School Committee performed an audit in 2024; also that year, a working group including Cuetos was formed. aided by a consultant. Since then, a revised allocation approach was adopted and about $560,000 has been returned, but he and others have been trying to get the town to recover the other $1.5 million.

Cuetos published his detailed report on the matter in a March 3 “My Turn” piece in the Lincoln Squirrel. FinCom chair Paul Blanchfield posted his own piece on the issue on March 9.

“Can you explain why it was OK for residents to lose control of that money? We didn’t get to vote on it or a say about what it goes towards,” Sarah Postlethwait said. “Hanscom needs to reduce their costs so they can save up for these [unfunded] liabilities. Why is this considered acceptable?”

Blanchfield said that the School Committee and not the FinCom has sole responsibility about how education funding in Lincoln is spent or saved. “In the vast majority of cases in town, I would say we have a direct democracy, but this is a little more representative. We elect School Committee members every year,” he said.

“We didn’t vote on their having the $2 million in their pocket,” Postlethwait said. 

“I’m not going to disagree with the sentiment of what you’re saying,” Blanchfield replied.

“It’s a gray area,” said FinCom member Greg Haines. “Technically [the School Committee’s]  prerogative, but the Finance Committee could make a recommendation.” 

“It’s a mistake to transfer money from the general fund to pay for Hanscom expenses,” said resident Sarah Liepert. “They should return it to where it’s supposed to be. I can’t understand any other answer than that.”

However, Committee Chair Matina Madrick later made it clear in a conversation with the Lincoln Squirrel that the School Committee does not have any authority to spend from the town’s general fund and never has (only from the Lincoln and Hanscom school funds), so it’s solely a question of what allocation of costs should be made to the Hanscom contract.

The FinCom said they would recommend that the School Committee institute a formal reserve policy. The Hanscom issue will be discussed at the latter committee’s March 19 meeting.

“I actually think the School Committee does not have the prerogative to use that money,” Cuetos said, adding that he would consult town counsel about the question. He suggested that there should be a vote on the issue at Town Meeting rather than the School Committee.

“We need as a town to reevaluate how Hanscom funds are handled,” said resident Karla Gravis, suggesting a multi-board approach rather than the School Committee having sole oversight.

“This is really complicated,” Blanchfield said, adding that Lincoln is one of only three school districts in the country that contracts with the Department of Defense to educate children of active service members living in town.

Officials have decided to pass over the Town Meeting agenda items on funding a new HVAC system for the library after learning that the projected tax incentives were too optimistic.

Warrant articles 7 and 8 would have asked voters to approve a $5.4 million project to install for a ground-source heat pump system or, failing that, $330,000 for a conventional boiler for the library to replace the library’s aging gas-fired boiler and air conditioning system. After a $1 million grant and $1.93 million in tax incentives, the cost to the town was pegged at about $2.47 million. This would not have resulted in a tax increase; the amount was to be bonded with the debt paid from future Community Preservation Act funds.

In summer 2025, the Green Energy Committee was awarded a three-year MassSave Energy Manager Grant, which was used to hire Power Options, Inc. as the town energy manager. The firm targeted the library decarbonization study as the most immediate need and brought in Energy Systems Group (ESG) to perform a more detailed study of library decarbonization strategies and develop 2-year life-cycle cost estimates, according to a Jan. 8 memo.

But ESG found that the expected tax credits were “best case scenario… it changed the dynamic. $1.9 million was not the number we felt comfortable with,” Assistant Town Administrator Dan Pereira told the Finance Committee on March 11. The group working on the project “made a recommendation to pause and allow us more time to work on the tax incentive side and get a better second opinion on costs.”

The group expects to present a revised spending proposal to voters at a Special Town Meeting in the fall. In the meantime, tax consulting firms feel that the incentives now on the table are “stable” and will still be available later this year.

Potential capital projects for Lincoln (click image to enlarge).

The FinCom discussed what to do with the unexpected drop in expected spending for FY27. Several members suggest “giving back” some or all of the money in tax relief to residents. In February, the FinCom had recommended a tax increase of 3.5% for the median household in FY27, inclusive of the library HVAC program. The committee is now recommending using an additional $1.3 million ($2.3 million total) to offset debt service to result in a recommendation of a 0.0% increase in FY27 taxes for the median household, FinCom Chair Paul Blanchfield said.

Aside from the library, major capital costs expected in the new few years include $5.32 million in FY28 (the largest being $2 million for Ballfield Road restoration) and about $2 million in FY2029–30, with the next big expenditure coming in FY31 for a comprehensive road project currently estimated at $12 million. Farther in the future: a rebuild of the DPW site on Lewis Street, and land acquisition to expand the Lincoln Cemetery.