There will be fresh faces at the table when the Devens Committee and Devens Educational Advisory Committee convene in January.

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.

The Bromfield boys soccer team is once again a state champion after shutting out the No. 5 seed Rockland Bulldogs 1-0 in the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 4 final before an enthusiastic crowd of supporters Nov. 21 at Doyle Stadium in Leominster. The championship was Bromfield’s 14th since 1979.

From a pool of 24 applicants, the School Committee interviewed three finalists to be Harvard’s next superintendent of schools. After hearing from each candidate, the committee voted unanimously to appoint Dana Labb to succeed Superintendent Linda Dwight.

Tyler Robichaud is Harvard's newest police officer.

The School Committee has submitted a list of eight projects to the Capital Planning and Investment Committee for funding in fiscal 2027. Some were brand new, others were familiar requests from past years, and at least one is likely making its last appearance.

Voting began this week to fill open seats on the Devens Committee and the Devens Educational Advisory Committee, two volunteer boards created in 1994 to advise MassDevelopment—the agency that oversees the development of the former U.S. Army base—on the delivery of municipal services and education to Devens residents.

With last month’s departure of the interim executive vice president for Devens, Meg Delorier, MassDevelopment has named a transitional team to oversee operations as the agency searches for a replacement.