Cohasset Schools Face $1.2 Million Budget Shortfall, Consider Staff Cuts and Fee Increases
Superintendent presents plan to address deficit through reductions and revenue increases while preserving classroom instruction
COHASSET - March 11 - Cohasset Public Schools face a $1.2 million budget shortfall for the upcoming fiscal year, prompting officials to consider staff reductions, program cuts, and fee increases to balance the budget.
Superintendent Sarah Shannon presented the preliminary FY2026 budget to a joint meeting of the Select Board, Advisory Committee, and School Committee on March 11, outlining strategies to address the deficit while maintaining educational quality.
"We are focusing on non-student facing reductions first, trying not to make reductions in core classes," Shannon says. "We think that with $575,000 in reductions, we are reducing as many of the non-student facing positions as we can."
The district has identified nearly $600,000 in potential cuts through staff reductions and other non-staffing opportunities. Officials are also exploring revenue increases through various fees to help close the gap.
Shannon explains that the budget challenges stem from multiple factors creating what she calls "a perfect storm" of financial pressures. These include inflation, rising special education costs, and changes to kindergarten funding.
"Many other school districts hit that fiscal cliff going into this coming year, more so than even Cohasset did," Shannon says. "It's why there's such a push of all the professional agencies coming together to start to make some pressure on the senators and the representatives to start looking at the funding formula for schools."
Special education costs represent a significant portion of the budget and are particularly volatile. Out-of-district tuition placements increased by 14% in FY2024 and another 4% in FY2025, with projections of a 3.67% increase for FY2026.
"Special education is something that we do at a variety of levels as a district. And it's something that we have to legally and morally provide for our students," Shannon says.
The district is exploring building more in-house special education programs to reduce out-of-district placements. Shannon notes that even though creating these programs requires additional staffing, there can be significant savings.
"If you have a cohort of four or five students who are going out and it's $100,000 per student, if you build a program for those students and you have two staff members, you're still saving approximately $300,000," she explains.
School Committee Chair Craig MacLellan acknowledges the committee's responsibility for the budget situation.
"The school committee, one of its fundamental duties is the oversight of the school budget. So we need to take and accept responsibility for the circumstances," MacLellan says.
He adds that while the district faces financial challenges, student achievement remains strong.
"From a teaching and learning perspective, the public schools is in an outstanding position and student achievement is off the charts," MacLellan says. "We are matriculating students to amazing colleges and universities, military academies, Ivy Leagues for those students that choose to attend college."
The discussion also touched on potential regionalization with neighboring districts as a long-term solution. Select Board member Paul Grady raised the question of whether Cohasset has considered partnering with other towns.
"Have we ever given any thought to regionalization? I look at Dover-Sherborn, I mean, we have, say, for instance, Cohasset maybe 40 students in their graduating class," Grady says.
MacLellan responds that while regionalization makes financial sense, there hasn't been serious consideration of the option.
"I personally don't believe that the community would have an appetite for that. I think financially it makes a lot of sense," MacLellan says.
Shannon mentions she has had preliminary conversations with another superintendent about potentially sharing some regional special education programming.
Select Board Chair Ellen Maher encourages exploring cooperative services with neighboring communities.
"We can't do everything on our own and we're not going to be able to in the future," Maher says. "Is there economies in purchasing, is there economies in providing services in adjacent townships that doesn't put a burden on transportation or on families?"
The school committee will be discussing several potential fee increases at upcoming meetings, including: athletic fees, transportation fees, building rental fees, student parking fees, and full-day kindergarten tuition.
The district is also examining its bus routes and transportation costs. Currently, the district operates eight bus routes with eight leased buses, but three routes are at maximum capacity with routes exceeding 40 minutes. Officials are requesting an additional bus through the capital budget.
Shannon notes that the district is also looking to end its bus parking lease, which costs about $48,000 annually, by finding a way to park buses on school property.
The school committee will hold a budget hearing at its next meeting, followed by discussions on proposed fees. The committee plans to vote on fees at a March 27 meeting, with a final vote on the FY2026 budget scheduled for April 2.
Despite the financial challenges, Shannon emphasizes the district's commitment to maintaining educational quality.
"We want to make sure we're providing a robust and rigorous program offering, because that is what allows our students to be so successful when they leave our district," she says.