Town Edition
Middlesex County
Natick, Massachusetts
Your town began in 1651 as Natick, the first of the praying towns that the missionary John Eliot and the Massachusett people built along the Charles River, which makes the ground under South Natick some of the most consequential in New England. Today Natick is a town of about 37,000 people that still governs itself the old New England way, by an elected Town Meeting, even as it has grown into a busy hub between Boston and Worcester. This guide shows you how Natick runs right now: Town Meeting, the Select Board, the appointed Town Administrator, the legislators who carry your voice to Boston and Washington, and the data behind it all.
The Natick Civics Handbook
A plain-language guide to how your town works: who represents you, how decisions get made, and how to make your voice heard. Read it online.
Natick at a Glance
Sources: Massachusetts DESE, district profile · US Census Bureau (data.census.gov).
- County: Middlesex. Natick sits on the Charles River between Boston and Worcester, with Lake Cochituate, the historic village of South Natick, and a downtown built around the commuter rail.
- Government: representative Town Meeting with an elected five-member Select Board and an appointed Town Administrator, James Errickson, who has run the town since 2021.
- Schools: Natick Public Schools, about 5,223 students across seven schools, led by Superintendent Dr. Melissa Spash.
How Natick’s Government Works
Natick runs on a representative Town Meeting, an old New England form scaled up for a big town. Voters in each of Natick’s ten precincts elect Town Meeting members, 180 in all, and those neighbors hold the final vote on the budget and the bylaws. Voters also elect a five-member Select Board to set policy and a School Committee to oversee the schools. The Select Board hires a professional Town Administrator to run the town day to day. So the levers are split on purpose: residents elect the people, Town Meeting votes the money, the Select Board sets direction, and the Town Administrator carries it out.
Town Meeting
The legislative body. The 180 members elected from ten precincts adopt the annual budget, pass town bylaws, and approve major spending. It is the closest thing to direct democracy at scale.
Select Board
Five members elected town-wide to staggered three-year terms. They set policy, sign warrants, appoint many boards, and hire and supervise the Town Administrator. There is no single elected chief executive.
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
Seven 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 Town Meeting members, the five Select Board members, and the School Committee.
- The Select Board hires the Town Administrator and sets town policy.
- Town Meeting votes the budget and the bylaws up or down.
- You take part: run for Town Meeting at 18, speak at a Select Board meeting, or testify at Town Meeting.
Explore the Natick 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.
- Natick HistoryFrom the praying town to today
- DemographicsWho lives in Natick
- Non-ProfitsCommunity organizations
- Student DataNatick Public Schools by the numbers
Civic Calendar
- Select Board: meets on Wednesday evenings, generally at the Morse Institute Library, and the meetings are open to the public and streamed online.
- Town Meeting: the representative Town Meeting holds its main session in the spring and can be called back in the fall for special business.
- Town elections: Natick votes in late March. The 2026 town election was held on March 31. The next is in spring 2027.
- State and federal elections: even-numbered years. The 2026 primary and general are this fall.
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 Middlesex County, and that includes Natick. 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 Natick
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 from your kitchen table to the people who decide:
- Pick the right body. School question, take it to the School Committee. Streets, budgets, or licenses, take it to the Select Board. A new bylaw or the town budget itself, that is Town Meeting.
- Find the meeting. The Select Board meets Wednesday evenings, generally in the Lebowitz Meeting Hall at the Morse Institute Library, 14 East Central Street, and on Zoom.
- Know your members. Five Select Board members are elected by the whole town, so every one of them answers to you.
- Speak. Most meetings open with public comment. Check the posted agenda, sign up if asked, and say your piece.
- Or skip the trip. For a pothole, a missed pickup, or a broken light, use the town’s Report a Concern tool at natickma.gov.
- Town Hall: 13 East Central Street, Natick, MA 01760. Main line 508-647-6400.
- Clerk & agendas: meeting agendas and minutes are posted at natickma.gov; the Town Clerk’s Office can be reached at 508-647-6430.
- Public schools: Natick Public Schools central office, 508-647-6500, natickps.org.
Local government works best when residents show up. Find your Select Board, speak at a Wednesday meeting, or run for Town Meeting in your precinct.
Sources
This guide draws on public sources, refreshed July 2026: U.S. Census Bureau, Massachusetts DESE School and District Profiles, Massachusetts Legislature (malegislature.gov), and the official Natick government website.