Town Edition
Essex County
West Newbury, Massachusetts
West Newbury owns the hill. When the Cardinal Cushing Academy on Main Street closed, the town bought the property, turned the classroom building into the Dr. John C. Page School, and kept the 270 acres around it, which is why the trails at Mill Pond and Pipestave Hill are public land today. That is how this town works: the big calls get made in the open, by the people who show up. The budget and the bylaws are voted at Town Meeting, where every registered voter in West Newbury is a member and can stand up, speak and vote. Between those meetings an elected three-member Select Board runs the town, and right now it is doing the most visible job it has, choosing the town’s next chief executive. When West Newbury’s first Town Manager left in 2026, the board brought in an interim manager, Sean Fitzgerald, and opened a search for a permanent one. At the Annual Town Election on May 4, 2026, 838 ballots filled the open seats, one of them by a write-in. This guide shows you where the rooms are and how to get into them.
West Newbury at a Glance
Sources: Massachusetts DESE, school and district profiles · US Census Bureau (data.census.gov).
- County: Essex. West Newbury covers about 13 square miles on the south bank of the Merrimack River, with Mill Pond, Pipestave Hill and Archelaus Hill, the town’s highest point, and farmland that includes Long Hill Orchard, running since 1896.
- Government: open Town Meeting, with an elected three-member Select Board and an appointed Town Manager, held on an interim basis by Sean Fitzgerald while the board searches for a permanent hire.
- Schools: West Newbury has no school district of its own. Its students belong to the Pentucket Regional School District, shared with Groveland and Merrimac, about 2,285 students across six schools, led by Superintendent Justin Bartholomew.
How West Newbury’s Government Works
West Newbury runs on an open Town Meeting, which means there are no elected Town Meeting members at all: every registered voter in West Newbury is a member, and any of them can walk in, speak, and vote on the budget. Voters also elect a 3 member Select Board to set policy between meetings and the School Committee that oversees the schools. The Select Board hires a professional Interim Town Manager 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 Interim Town Manager.
Town Meeting
The legislative body, and it is not a committee. Every registered voter in West Newbury 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
3 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 Interim Town Manager.
Interim Town Manager
The appointed chief administrator. Runs the departments, builds the budget, and answers to the Select Board. Hired under contract, not elected.
School Committee
9 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 3 members of the Select Board and the School Committee.
- The Select Board hires the Interim Town Manager 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: meets every other Thursday evening in the First Floor Hearing Room of the 1910 Building at West Newbury Town Hall, 381 Main Street. Each agenda is posted in advance on the town’s Agenda Center, so check it before you go.
- Town Meeting: the Annual Town Meeting is held in the spring, and the town can call a Special Town Meeting when business cannot wait.
- Town elections: the Annual Town Election is held in May, with one Select Board seat on the ballot each year. The 2026 election was held on May 4, when 838 ballots were cast. The next is in spring 2027.
- State and federal elections: even-numbered years. The 2026 primary and general are this fall.
Explore the West Newbury Edition
- Town Manager’s OfficeThe town’s chief administrator
- Select BoardYour three board members
- School CommitteeSuperintendent & committee
- Town DepartmentsWho does what at Town Hall
- Boards & CommissionsWhere residents serve
- LegislatorsYour voice in Boston & D.C.
- West Newbury History1819, the combs, and the hill
- DemographicsWho lives in West Newbury
- Non-ProfitsCommunity organizations
- Student DataWest Newbury 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 Essex County, and that includes West Newbury. 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 West Newbury
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 meets every other Thursday evening at West Newbury Town Hall, 381 Main Street, and the agenda is posted in advance on the town’s Agenda Center.
- Know your members. Three 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, which is the department that owns the repair.
- Town Hall: 381 Main Street, West Newbury, MA 01985. Main line 978-363-1100; the Select Board office is at extension 1125 and the Town Manager’s office at extension 1115.
- Town Clerk & agendas: 978-363-1100 ext. 1139, with meeting agendas and minutes posted at wnewbury.org.
- Schools: the Pentucket Regional School District, prsd.org, which West Newbury shares with Groveland and Merrimac.
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.