West Brookfield's Finance Committee mapped a $717,323 budget gap Wednesday that officials say cannot be closed without a Proposition 2½ override on the May 5 ballot.

West Brookfield's Finance Committee approved roughly 15 department budgets for fiscal year 2027 at its April 8 meeting, with a 73 percent increase in vocational school costs emerging as the sharpest line item.

West Brookfield Finance Committee votes through a dozen budgets and hears three school closure scenarios as town faces structural deficit.