On June 16, 2026 the Select Board voted unanimously to appoint interim Town Administrator Dawn Dunbar as Harvard’s permanent Town Administrator and authorized the chair to negotiate a multi-year contract including performance review and COLA process. In the June 15 interview, Dunbar emphasized priorities such as increasing revenue, addressing housing, improving budget processes, and managing the landfill and municipal facilities issues that cut across town and school operations. The board’s FY27 goals explicitly assign the Town Administrator to lead a review of the pilot budget process, define roles of the Select Board, Finance Committee, and School Committee, and develop a long-term financial plan. This leadership change and mandate creates an opening for budget software vendors, capital planning and forecasting consultants, and policy advisors to help modernize financial workflows, integrate school-district needs, and support multi-year capital planning tied to facilities and land use priorities.

The administrator manages HR for both town and schools and has emphasized open communication and det...