Town Edition
Bristol County
Easton, Massachusetts
Photo: Daderot, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The shovels that graded the transcontinental railroad were forged in North Easton, and the Ames money they made bought this town a Richardson library, a memorial hall, and the high school that still carries the family name. None of that endowment pays a teacher’s salary. That bill gets settled by people in a room, twice. On April 28, 2026, Easton voters decided two override questions at the Annual Town Election: $1,415,000 for five police officers and four firefighters, and $700,000 for roads, sidewalks and two public works operators. Voters said no to both, and the budget went to Town Meeting three weeks later without that money in it. Easton has not passed an operating override since 2006. This guide shows you those rooms and how to get into them.
Easton at a Glance
Sources: Massachusetts DESE, district profile · US Census Bureau (data.census.gov).
- County: Bristol. Easton covers about 29 square miles between Brockton and the Rhode Island line, roughly 30 minutes from Boston and 45 from Providence. Town Hall, the Ames Free Library and Oliver Ames High School all sit in the village of North Easton.
- Government: open Town Meeting, with an elected five-member Select Board and an appointed Town Administrator, Elizabeth Dennehy.
- Schools: Easton Public Schools, about 3,297 students, led by Superintendent Christine Pruitt.
How Easton’s Government Works
Easton runs on an open Town Meeting, which means there are no elected Town Meeting members at all: every registered voter in Easton is a member, and any of them can walk in, speak, and vote on the budget. Voters also elect a 5 member Select Board to set policy between meetings and the School Committee that oversees the schools. The Select Board hires a professional Town Administrator to run the town day to day. So the money is voted by whoever shows up, the direction is set by the Select Board, and the daily work is carried out by the Town Administrator.
Town Meeting
The legislative body, and it is not a committee. Every registered voter in Easton is a member. Town Meeting adopts the annual budget, passes town bylaws, and approves major spending. This is direct democracy in its literal sense.
Select Board
5 members elected town-wide. They set policy, sign the warrants that decide what reaches Town Meeting, appoint residents to many town boards, and hire and supervise the Town Administrator.
Town Administrator
The appointed chief administrator. Runs the departments, builds the budget, and answers to the Select Board. Hired under contract, not elected.
School Committee
5 members, elected by the voters of the district the schools serve. It sets school policy, approves the school budget, and hires the Superintendent.
- Residents elect the 5 members of the Select Board and the School Committee.
- The Select Board hires the Town Administrator and decides what goes on the Town Meeting warrant.
- Town Meeting votes the budget and the bylaws, and every registered voter present can vote.
- You take part: register at 16, vote at 18, and once you are registered you are already a member of Town Meeting.
Civic Calendar
- Select Board: typically meets two Mondays of each month at Town Hall, 136 Elm Street. Dates and start times vary and the agenda is posted in advance, so check the town calendar before you go.
- Town Meeting: the Annual Town Meeting is always the third Monday in May, and Easton usually holds a second Town Meeting later in the year. The 2026 Annual Town Meeting met on May 18 at the Oliver Ames High School Auditorium, 100 Lothrop Street. The Town Moderator, Kate Welch, presides.
- Town elections: Easton votes in the spring. The 2026 Annual Town Election was held on April 28 at the Oliver Ames High School Gym, across eight precincts numbered 1, 2, 3, 4A, 4B, 5, 6 and 7.
- State and federal elections: even-numbered years. In 2026 the state primary is September 1 and the state election is November 3, both at Oliver Ames High School, 7:00am to 8:00pm.
Explore the Easton Edition
- Town Administrator’s OfficeThe town’s chief administrator
- Select BoardYour five board members
- School CommitteeSuperintendent & committee
- Town DepartmentsWho does what at Town Hall
- Boards & CommissionsWhere residents serve
- LegislatorsYour voice in Boston & D.C.
- Easton HistoryBog iron, Ames shovels, and 1725
- DemographicsWho lives in Easton
- Non-ProfitsCommunity organizations
- Student DataEaston schools by the numbers
Your County Officials
Two of the people with the most direct power over your life are elected countywide. The district attorney decides who gets charged with a crime, and what they get charged with. The sheriff runs the county jail. Both of them answer to the voters of Bristol County, and that includes Easton. They appear on your ballot. Now you know what to look for.
Every county in Massachusetts elects its own, and the job is the same everywhere: the charging decisions, the jail. Look up any town in the state and see who holds these two offices there.
Your First Civic Action in Easton
You do not have to wait until you can vote to be heard in your own town. Here is how to take a real concern to the people who decide.
- Pick the right body. Town policy, roads, and police or fire go to the Select Board. Schools go to the School Committee. The budget and bylaws are voted by Town Meeting.
- Find the meeting. The Select Board typically meets two Mondays of each month at Town Hall, 136 Elm Street, and the agenda is posted in advance.
- Know your members. Five Select Board members are elected town-wide, so every one of them answers to you.
- Speak. Meetings are open to the public and residents may address the board. Check the agenda for how to sign up.
- Or skip the trip. Report a pothole, a broken light, or a missed pickup to the Department of Public Works at 508-230-0800, which is the department that owns the repair.
- Town Hall: 136 Elm Street, North Easton, MA 02356. Select Board office 508-230-0501.
- Town Clerk & agendas: 508-230-0530, with meeting agendas and minutes posted at easton.ma.us.
- Public schools: Easton Public Schools, 508-205-5900, eastonmaschools.org.
Local government works best when residents show up. Find your Select Board, speak at a meeting on the town’s published calendar, or simply register to vote and take your seat at Town Meeting.