COHASSET — Nov. 4, 2026 — Two Cohasset school buses are out of service with brake problems, forcing doubled-up routes, Superintendent Sarah Shannon told the School Committee on Wednesday, as the committee voted to recommend capital requests that include a three-year lease for new buses. An 11th bus is expected but needs registration and inspection first.
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Buses. Parent Casey Cameron told the committee that her family’s route has had repeated disruptions this fall, sometimes announced by email the night before, after the family paid $800 for bus service for two children. She asked whether the district has a plan or whether disruptions would continue all year.
Shannon said two buses cannot run because of brake issues; parts for one have been delayed twice, and the district hoped to have it back by the end of the week or early next week. She said an 11th bus ordered so the district could absorb two breakdowns at once is expected by the end of the week but will need about one to two weeks for registration and inspection before it can carry students. She said families deserve more than a day-at-a-time plan, while noting that the district sometimes does not know until the day itself whether a bus will be available.
The current eight buses are at the end of their lease and having more mechanical problems, Shannon said. The district is recommending a three-year lease instead of five because repairs in years four and five would outweigh the savings of a longer lease. The district is also trying to hire a permanent crossing guard for an elementary campus, at $23 an hour.
Budget priorities and capital requests. On a second read, the committee approved the district’s FY28 budget priorities, with one change to the stated assumption: that students achieve more when schools and programs are fully funded. Shannon said positions considered for restoration would likely return in a different form to meet current needs. No positions were approved. Shannon said the first draft of the FY28 budget and an updated five-year forecast will be presented at the Nov. 10 One Town One Budget meeting with town boards.
The committee also recommended the FY28 capital requests, which now include facilities items once considered for the school stabilization fund. The recommendation is not a final lease or a Town Meeting appropriation.
