The Select Board on Tuesday heard from the unions representing the town’s teachers, police officers and firefighters questioning why nearly 100 of their members have yet to receive their 2024 IRS tax refunds due last year as the new tax preparation season starts.

Mason Challinor, vice president of the Hopkinton Teachers Association (HTA), read a joint statement during the meeting’s public comment period asking for the board’s help. It was signed by Challinor, HTA president Becky Abate, Hopkinton Permanent Firefighters Association Local 3772 president Travis Metcalf and Hopkinton Police Arbitration Association president Nick Walker. The statement was forwarded to the Independent as well.

“With the impending 2025 tax season upon us, concerns that this will be another year with mistakes and delays and frustrations are rising,” Challinor said, quoting the statement.

The letter stated that last year, Sheena Martin, the human resources director for Hopkinton Public Schools, “discovered that there had been a mistake in how W-2s had been issued and that it had likely been occurring for several years prior.” This prompted the town to issue new W-2s last June.

“For two years, numerous dedicated employees across three critical departments — School, Police and Fire — have suffered the frustration of having their tax refunds be delayed,” according to the statement. “To date, there are still close to 100 employees who have not received their refund for returns filed a year ago.”

The statement asserted that, despite multiple inquiries to Town Manager Elaine Lazarus and Select Board members, “We have either received silence or we have been offered denials that the Town’s errors had anything to do with the refund delays.”

Concerns raised to Markey last August

The statement indicated that U.S. Sen. Ed Markey ‘s office was contacted last August “in a desperate attempt to find someone who would help.”

In August 2025, the Independent interviewed Abate about the federal tax refund delay. Abate said then that she sent an email to all HTA members requesting that they contact Markey. In mid-August, Markey’s office reached out to Abate to coordinate a bulk mailing of an IRS release form that would allow the office to review the employees’ tax records and facilitate the refund process.

At that time, Hopkinton Public Schools Superintendent Evan Bishop stated to the Independent that “we have been working closely with Senator Markey’s office to assist HPS staff in expediting their 2024 federal tax returns.”

In a separate email last August, Kyla LaPierre, the town’s chief financial officer, stated that “there isn’t a consistent driver for the delay,” noting that some teachers received refunds while others did not.

LaPierre added then that she was “not aware of a clerical error that is impacting the tax refund delays.”

“The town has called the IRS multiple times, and the IRS has confirmed we are up to date on all of our tax filings,” she stated, adding that she was not aware of a clerical error by the town the previous year.

The Independent reached out to the IRS for comment in August, but no response was received.

Statement blasts town for ‘mistakes’

The statement raised concerns as to how the town will handle the W-2s this year. Teachers recently were notified that their W-2s would be sent out “soon,” according to what Challinor read.

During the meeting, LaPierre confirmed that the W-2s “were issued last week.”

“What astounds us is that the town continues to deny that any of their mistakes led to the delay of Hopkinton employee tax returns being processed,” he continued.

“The insult being the disrespectful, apathetic and, to be clear, gaslighting response from the town to the employees who, with unwavering dedication fulfill their duties to the community,” added Challinor.

While the statement acknowledged that the town did not have the power to expedite IRS actions, it made clear that it hoped for “assurances” that the information presented in the W-2s is correct this year.

“Whether you care to respond to this request being made tonight, please know that any further silence from the town will not be taken to say that a mistake wasn’t made but that the town is choosing to not hold themselves accountable for the mistake,” the statement concluded.

After Challinor spoke, Matthew Kizner asked “if there is any known risk” regarding the W-2s being issued in the immediate future.

As chair Joe Clark spoke with Kizner, Brian Herr made a motion to hold the question until later in the meeting. He cited an upcoming agenda item on the topic as his reason.

Kizner and Herr went back and forth about whether it was appropriate to discuss the issue at that time. They were halted when Clark admonished them to “back off.”