Cohasset Schools Enter State Building Authority Process for Middle-High School

COHASSET — December 17, 2025 — Cohasset schools enter state building authority process for the first time after years of rejected applications. The Massachusetts School Building Authority voted December 12 to accept Cohasset's Statement of Interest and invite the co-located Cohasset Middle and High School into its 270-day eligibility period, running April 1 through December 28, 2026. Superintendent Dr. Sarah Shannon told the School Committee at its December 17 meeting that the state will reimburse approximately 30 to 34 percent of reimbursable project costs — illustrating that a $100 million project could yield roughly $30 million in state funds — and that the full process from eligibility to occupancy could take five to seven years. The committee also heard that 83 percent of grades 3-8 students met or exceeded MCAS expectations last spring, placing Cohasset among only 13 districts statewide to match or surpass 2019 benchmark scores in both ELA and math. A budget soft freeze is in effect after expenditures reached 99.94 percent of budget utilization, with utilities tracking toward a $237,928 shortfall.