Two days after Arlington voters approved what may be the largest operating override in Massachusetts history, the Select Board gathered Monday evening for its annual reorganization — a routine procedural meeting freighted with the previous Tuesday's landslide result.
Arlington's landmark $14.8 million Proposition 2½ override dominated the weekend — here's that and everything else happening in town today.
Arlington's historic override vote dominates the news as the town heads into a busy week of budget meetings and Town Meeting prep.
Arlington wakes up the morning after a historic vote — here's everything you need to know.
Arlington's annual town election on Saturday, March 28, 2026 features two ballot questions and races for several town offices. This guide covers each ballot question with arguments on both sides, and provides a comparison of candidates in the two contested races.
Election Day in Arlington. Polls are open, a major tax question is on the ballot, and the day's schedule includes rallies, a library talk, and a health expo.
The Arlington Conservation Commission voted 6-0 March 19 to approve a home addition near Alewife Brook after a regulatory standoff over riverfront performance standards — while a separate last-minute decision to pull a native plant bylaw from the Town Meeting warrant signals a consequential shift in how the town will govern its public green spaces.
Arlington heads into a busy weekend: a $14.8 million tax override vote, contested school board seats, and a Health & Wellness Expo are all on tap for Saturday.
Twelve days before Arlington voters decide whether to approve a $14.8 million operating override, school administrators handed the Finance Committee a stark choice: a $107.7 million budget that holds programming largely intact, or a $103.6 million level-funded reality that eliminates dozens of positions, charges families to play sports or study an instrument, and packs more students into every classroom.
Arlington's School Committee spent most of its Thursday evening meeting on a detailed look at two very different futures for the district: one where a March operating override passes, and one where it doesn't.
Crystal Haynes Copithorne, an Emmy award-winning journalist, educator, and nonprofit leader, has announced her candidacy for the Arlington School Committee, running on a platform of equity, representation, and fiscal stewardship. If elected, she would be the first person of color to serve on the Arlington School Committee.
Candidates for Arlington's Select Board, School Committee, and Board of Assessors made their cases to voters at the League of Women Voters Candidates' Night on March 18, 2026, with nearly every candidate urging a "yes" vote on the town's $14.8 million override referendum scheduled for March 28. The forum featured substantive exchanges on budget cuts, school fees, DEI policy, artificial intelligence in classrooms, and cell phone restrictions.
Arlington's Redevelopment Board heard three citizen petition zoning warrant articles headed for the 2026 Town Meeting, including expanded home occupation rules, a rezoning from R1 to R6 to enable a 145-unit assisted living facility on St. Camillus Church land, and a proposal to allow certain transparent fences at street corners. The board offered feedback but took no formal votes on the articles, which will ultimately be decided by Town Meeting.
Dmitri Vasiliev, Crystal Haynes Copthorne, and Sean Berry squared off in a debate hosted by ACMi ahead of the March 28 special election to fill a one-year vacancy on the Arlington School Committee. The candidates clashed over math curriculum, equity and representation, student voice, and how to navigate potential budget cuts if a $15 million override fails.
The Arlington Conservation Commission debated how to handle a 52-square-foot patio encroachment into the Sims Woods conservation restriction area and agreed to bring the long-dormant Mount Gilboa feasibility study back for deliberation at its first meeting in May. Two public hearings were continued without discussion.
Arlington's Finance Committee voted 13-3-1 to endorse the Community Preservation Committee's $3,055,500 project plan for fiscal year 2027, which includes funding for affordable housing, court reconstruction, veterans memorial renovation, and town hall restoration. The committee also heard a citizen petition to exempt Arlington from Chapter 61B tax classifications for private country clubs, declined to take a position on it, and began reviewing DPW budgets with concerns about energy costs and staffing vacancies.
The Arlington School Committee voted 7-0 to approve two FY27 budget scenarios: a $107.7 million plan contingent on a successful override vote on March 28, and a level-funded $103.6 million plan if the override fails. The revised budgets restore weekly ACE planning blocks for elementary teachers and maintain multilingual learner staffing, while reducing 2.3 specialist positions and eliminating a deputy IT director role amid declining enrollment and potential loss of Title I federal funding.
The Arlington School Committee unanimously endorsed a $14.8 million property tax override headed to voters on March 28, after reviewing two starkly different FY27 budget scenarios — one with a 4% increase to $107.8 million and one level-funded at $103.6 million. Both scenarios feature only reductions with no new additions, including cuts to elementary specialists, multilingual learning teachers, and central office staff.
Arlington's Redevelopment Board voted 4-1 to approve a 28-unit affordable housing project at 840-846 Mass Ave and 17 Newman Way by the Housing Corporation of Arlington, racing to meet a March 19 state funding deadline. The board also received its first formal feedback session on a proposed 100% affordable housing overlay district and continued hearings on several zoning warrant articles for the 2026 town meeting.
