Cohasset School Committee rejects recommendation on $300,000 kindergarten petition

COHASSET — October 8, 2025 — Cohasset School Committee votes against recommending a $300,000 citizens petition to restore tuition-free full-day kindergarten. The committee voted 3-0, with one abstention, to decline endorsing the special town meeting warrant article after petitioners Will Ashton and Victoria LaTonzie presented data showing Cohasset is one of only 14 Massachusetts districts still charging kindergarten tuition, despite ranking in the 90th percentile for overall per-capita budget spending. Members Corey Evans and Jacob Squatrito argued the petition was "structurally unsound" and could not legally bind the committee to spend any transferred funds on kindergarten, while Lance C. Dial abstained, saying it was not the committee's place to opine on citizens' money. Superintendent Sarah Shannon noted the district held its first FY27 budget leadership meeting the same day and said all parties are "committed to finding a sustainable way to get to a place where we have free kindergarten," but no funding commitment was made. The article proceeds to special town meeting without the board's blessing.