Marshfield Schools Cuts Nearly 20 Positions in Two Years as District Confronts Budget Pressures
MARSHFIELD - December 2 - The Marshfield School District has eliminated almost 20 full-time positions and reduced its payroll by $1.64 million over the past two years through attrition, school officials revealed Tuesday, as administrators prepare for what could be contentious budget negotiations with town leadership amid what they called a “false narrative” about school spending.
The Full Story
Assistant Superintendent of Business and Finance Tom Miller told the School Committee that the district has made significant reductions without cutting any existing employees, instead choosing not to fill positions when staff retire or leave. Miller described the approach as “very, very diligent” and emphasized that “no one has lost” their job as a result of the changes.
The revelations came as Superintendent Patrick Sullivan and Miller prepare to meet with the interim town administrator and Select Board to begin discussions for the fiscal year 2027 budget. The district acknowledged it is “a bit behind” its typical timeline for budget development.
Miller presented data showing that over 21 years, the district’s budget has increased by an average of just 2.39 percent annually. More strikingly, documents provided to the committee showed that education’s share of the total town budget has actually decreased from 56.76 percent seventeen years ago to 49.59 percent this fiscal year, even as many communities across Massachusetts have seen education consume larger portions of their municipal budgets.
School Committee Chair Sean Costello reacted strongly to what he characterized as misinformation circulating in town. “There are unfortunately some folks in this town and some of them on certain boards in this town who believe that we need to reduce our budget even further, not recognizing how much Marshfield has reduced our budget already,” Costello said. He specifically referenced the Chair of the Select Board, stating his belief that some town leaders think the district does not need to spend as much on public education.
“That false narrative that you talk about is absolutely infuriating,” Costello continued, adding that the district’s students, educators, and families “deserve better.”
Miller also highlighted a significant shift in the district’s budget composition. For the first time in several years, the salary percentage has dropped below 85 percent while expenses have risen above 15 percent, a change he attributed to inflation affecting transportation, utilities, and other operational costs.
Meanwhile, the overall municipal budget for the town has grown 5.53 percent over the past 17 years, compared to education’s 3.25 percent increase during the same period.
Sullivan acknowledged the impact of the position reductions on remaining staff and students. “Those cuts are impactful. They put pressure on our staff to do things that are now more difficult to do because they don’t have the level of collegial support,” Sullivan said. “Those cuts were not made with... They were made with some hesitation and reservation. But we did it to be fiscally responsible and quite frankly, to save jobs.”
The superintendent also warned that the district’s financial position remains precarious. Miller noted that the district carried over just $30,000 in circuit breaker funds and is drawing down revolving accounts to sustain operations. “It’s not sustainable,” Miller said, despite receiving what he characterized as a “nice increase” of 4.4 percent in the current fiscal year.
The meeting also featured an enthusiastic spotlight presentation from South River Elementary School, where Principal Emily Baird and her kindergarten team showcased their new “Labs” program. The play-based learning initiative, which is part of the district’s EL literacy curriculum, divides students into rotating stations including Imagine, Explore, Create, and Engineer labs. Teachers emphasized that play has been “missing” from early childhood education and is critical for developing literacy skills, executive functioning, and social communication.
“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning, but for children, play is serious learning,” special education teacher Mrs. Figueiredo told the committee, quoting Fred Rogers. The program requires extensive coordination, with all kindergarten teachers and support staff working simultaneously to facilitate the sessions. Reading specialist Mrs. Gable explained that vocabulary development through play is “the largest indicator of reading comprehension success.”
Student representative Sophia provided updates on high school activities, including successful pep rallies, upcoming winter concerts on December 3rd and 4th, and winter athletic tryouts. She also spoke passionately about the Unified Athletics program. “I appreciate that Unified Athletics has been embraced by our community and I’m incredibly proud of my teammates,” Sophia said.
The committee unanimously approved two student trips: an AFS exchange to Roosevelt High School in Wyandotte, Michigan, scheduled for late January or early February, and the annual foreign language department trip to New York City on December 11th. The New York trip, which has been a tradition since 1995, takes seniors studying foreign languages to the Museum of Modern Art for educational programming. Foreign language teachers explained they switched to Amtrak travel five years ago because “some of the bus rides got a little scary.”
Sullivan also announced several other district initiatives and achievements. He praised the recent production of “Clue” by the high school theater department, calling it “spectacular.” The district established a new Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) committee, a spinoff of the belonging team, which is searching for a platform to use district-wide. The committee chose to implement a No Homework weekend over Thanksgiving after polling staff to determine which weekend would be “most advantageous for the students.”
Assistant Superintendent of Student Services Amy Scolaro announced that Wednesday afternoon would feature personalized professional development for special education staff. Different groups—including special education teachers, occupational and behavioral therapists, speech and language pathologists, psychologists, and social workers—will work on customized development plans tailored to their specific roles. Examples include exploring artificial intelligence tools for data collection, training on the Delis-Kaplan Executive Functioning System, and strengthening crisis team structures.
The district also announced its second Belonging Builders Award, honoring Furnace Brook Middle School EL teacher Joann Bohorquez for her leadership of the Empower Mentoring Program, which connects English learners with staff mentors for cultural activities and field trips.
Why It Matters
The budget discussion signals potential challenges ahead for Marshfield families and taxpayers. If the district cannot secure adequate funding in the fiscal year 2027 budget, additional cuts may be necessary, potentially affecting class sizes, programs, and services for students. The district’s warnings about sustainability suggest that the relatively lean increases of recent years, while praised by officials for fiscal responsibility, may have reached their limit. The committee’s public pushback against what it called misinformation suggests budget negotiations could become contentious, particularly as school officials advocate for increased investment while working to correct what they see as misperceptions about education spending in town. For families, the implications could range from larger class sizes to reduced support services, while for taxpayers, the debate centers on balancing educational investment against other municipal needs in a community where education spending as a share of the budget has actually declined over nearly two decades.
Meeting Minutes
Key Motions & Votes
Motion: To approve the AFS exchange trip to Roosevelt High School in Wyandotte, Michigan, for late January/early February. Outcome: Approved. Vote: 4-0-0 (Unanimous). (Timestamp: 00:22:56)
Motion: To approve the foreign language department trip to New York City on December 11th, involving 35 students and 5 chaperones. Outcome: Approved. Vote: 4-0-0 (Unanimous). (Timestamp: 00:27:03)
Motion: To approve minutes from previous meetings. Outcome: Approved. Vote: Not recorded. (Timestamp: 00:31:00)
Motion: To adjourn the meeting. Outcome: Approved. Vote: 4-0-0 (Unanimous). (Timestamp: 00:51:09)
Public Comment
No members of the public addressed the committee during the designated public comment period.
What’s Next
Superintendent Patrick Sullivan and Assistant Superintendent of Business and Finance Tom Miller will meet with the interim town administrator and town council on December 3rd to begin fiscal year 2027 budget discussions. The School Committee’s Budget Subcommittee will convene soon to review information from that meeting. The next School Committee meeting is scheduled for December 16th, where an annual race of rights presentation will be delivered and there will be an update on St. Patrick’s Institute. The committee also noted that December 11th will feature additional presentations. Committee Chair Sean Costello will not attend the December 16th meeting due to family commitments.