The committee in charge of advising the town on ways to reduce its energy consumption and costs has asked the Select Board for permission to pursue plans for a solar installation to supply electricity to town-owned buildings.

There were handshakes and smiles all around at Monday’s School Committee meeting, as current Assistant Superintendent Dana Labb signed the contract by which he will become superintendent of Harvard schools, effective July 1, 2026.

The long wait for a full-time Department of Public Works director is finally over. Eric Ryder, currently employed as the DPW director in Hudson, will begin working in that capacity in Harvard on Monday, Jan. 5.

The Capital Planning and Investment Committee met Dec. 4 and voted to recommend 14 of the 17 requests it received from town departments. All but one would be funded by the Capital Stabilization and Investment Fund.

When the Devens Committee and Devens Educational Advisory Committee convene in January, four freshman representatives will be seated at the table.

Harvard’s already limited public transportation has been sharply reduced this month. The reason MART gave for discontinuing all these services was extremely low ridership.

The Select Board has approved its own representatives to a nine-member committee that will consider what changes might be needed in the Harvard Town Charter when it comes up for renewal after 10 years in use.

At a time when costs for everything from houses to eggs seem to be rising, Harvard residents may be surprised that the total school budget proposed for fiscal 2027 is slightly less than this year’s budget.

A new regional initiative launched last week promises to address health care access challenges facing Nashoba Valley communities, including Harvard and Devens, following the closure of Nashoba Valley Medical Center in August 2024.

Devens residents were voting this week to fill seats on its two elected advisory committees in one of the most contested elections in the community’s 40-year history.

Advocates for a new athletic field on Old Mill Road assured the Select Board and voters this fall that private donors were ready to contribute to the cost of its design and construction. Last week, the first donation arrived, a $20,000 gift from a longtime Harvard resident.

The odds that voters will be asked to approve another increase in their property taxes beyond the limits set by Proposition 2½ grew this week.

In the wake of two conduct violations this year that resulted in the censure of one Select Board member and the early resignation of another, the board has revised the code of conduct for the town’s elected and appointed officials.

With an estimated $1.51 million to spend and a total of $1.49 million in requests, the committee in charge of disbursing money from the town’s community preservation fund is working on a January deadline to decide which projects to recommend for funding.

The town has been offered the right of first refusal on a 4-acre lot on Madigan Lane. Though now used as a hayfield, the property is a legal building lot in a residential district, and the owners intend to sell it as such.

The Harvard Town Charter’s final provision requires that the charter be reviewed at least once every 10 years.