Town Edition
Middlesex County
North Reading, Massachusetts
Photo: John Phelan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
On March 22, 2013, North Reading voters walked into a special election and agreed, 1,964 to 1,090, to put another $15.5 million into a school they had already voted to build. The finished project added roughly $876 a year to the average homeowner’s tax bill, and it is the reason the campus at 19 Sherman Road exists at all. That is the shape of power in this town, and it comes in two halves: a room full of neighbors votes the money at Town Meeting, and then the whole town confirms it at the ballot box. On May 5, 2026 the only contested race on the ballot was a single Select Board seat, and Charles Tyler won it with 1,153 votes against 818 and 94. This guide shows you how to get into both rooms.
North Reading at a Glance
Sources: Massachusetts DESE, district profile · US Census Bureau (data.census.gov).
- County: Middlesex. North Reading sits north of the Ipswich River across 13.2 square miles of land, and it borders Andover, North Andover, Middleton, Lynnfield, Reading and Wilmington.
- Government: open Town Meeting, with an elected five-member Select Board and an appointed Town Administrator, Michael P. Gilleberto
- Schools: North Reading Public Schools, about 2,335 students across five schools, led by Superintendent Patrick Daly.
How North Reading’s Government Works
North Reading runs on an open Town Meeting, which means there are no elected Town Meeting members at all: every registered voter in North Reading 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 North Reading 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 the first and third Monday of the month at Town Hall, 235 North Street. The agenda is posted in advance, so check the town calendar before you go.
- Town Meeting: the Town Charter requires two a year, one in June and one in October. The Select Board can call a Special Town Meeting for business that cannot wait, and so can a petition of at least 200 registered voters.
- Town elections: North Reading votes in early May. The 2026 Annual Town Election was held on May 5 across four precincts, and the next is in spring 2027.
- State and federal elections: even-numbered years. The 2026 primary and general are this fall.
Explore the North Reading 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.
- North Reading HistoryA land grant, a shoe town, and 1853
- DemographicsWho lives in North Reading
- Non-ProfitsCommunity organizations
- Student DataNorth Reading 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 Middlesex County, and that includes North Reading. 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 North Reading
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 on the first and third Monday of the month at Town Hall, 235 North Street, and the agenda is posted in advance.
- Know your members. All five Select Board members are elected town-wide, so every one of them answers to you.
- Put it on the warrant. Ten registered voters’ signatures, certified by the Board of Registrars, oblige the Select Board to insert your article into the Town Meeting warrant. Ten. That is the whole threshold, and the Town Clerk’s Office hands out the template.
- Or skip the trip. Report a pothole, a broken light, or a missed pickup to the Department of Public Works, which is the department that owns the repair.
- Town Hall: 235 North Street, North Reading, MA 01864. Main line 978-664-6000, Town Administrator’s Office 978-664-6010.
- Town Clerk & agendas: 978-357-5230, with meeting agendas and minutes posted at northreadingma.gov.
- Public schools: North Reading Public Schools, 189 Park Street, 978-664-7810, north-reading.k12.ma.us.
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.