Cohasset School Committee Moves Toward $1 Million Budget Gap Vote on March 25

COHASSET -- March 18, 2026, Cohasset School Committee holds FY27 budget public hearing with $1 million gap and override vote on the horizon. Superintendent Dr. Sarah Shannon presented a proposed budget built on a 4.99 percent town allocation increase, approximately $1.2 million, the largest in recent memory, that still falls short of the 8.82 percent needed for level service, leaving reductions including 3.4 student-facing teacher positions, one middle school technology role, arts and academic staffing reductions at the high school, and a $25,000 athletics cut targeting low-enrollment co-op programs. Chair Jennifer Lesky confirmed an operational override is under active consideration, with a tentative timeline of community outreach beginning this summer and a special town meeting vote as early as November, followed by a separate ballot. State Senator Patrick O'Connor, addressing the committee's regular session, described a "full-blown municipal funding crisis" driven largely by health care costs, citing Cohasset's health care budget rising 40.2 percent from FY19 to FY26 and projected to nearly double by FY30, and called on residents and school committees statewide to pressure the legislature to increase Circuit Breaker reimbursement from 75 to 80 percent in the upcoming House and Senate budget cycles. A formal budget vote is scheduled for March 25.