Pembroke School Committee Approves Fee Increases for 2025-2026 School Year
Budget balances at $40 million with new priorities despite funding challenges
PEMBROKE - April 1 - The Pembroke School Committee approves several fee increases for the 2025-2026 school year, addressing budget constraints while maintaining essential programs and services. The committee voted on transportation, athletic, co-curricular, and parking fee increases during their April 1 meeting.
Transportation fees will increase from $255 to $300 for individuals and from $355 to $500 for families. The committee discussed the significant jump in the family cap but ultimately approved the increase in a 3-1 vote, with member Allison Glennon opposing.
"We were grossly under almost every community we looked at," said School Committee Chair Patrick Chilcott. "Our family cap was way below anything else."
Superintendent Erin Obey emphasized that families facing financial hardship can request assistance.
"If you qualify for SNAP benefits or any assistance from the government, you automatically get free transportation," Obey said. "In addition to that, we probably hear from maybe a dozen families a year that are either looking for a payment plan or a hardship waiver, and that's always granted."
Athletic fees will also increase, with the individual fee rising from $275 to $300 and the family cap from $435 to $550. Additionally, the premium fee for hockey and football will increase from $50 to $150, generating approximately $5,800 in additional revenue.
The committee approved increasing co-curricular fees from $25 to $50 for each activity after the first (which remains free), with a family cap increase from $50 to $100. This measure passed 3-1, with Glennon again voting against the increase.
"I will not support this unless there's an overall cap completely for all fees," Glennon said. "We got a lot of pushback from students themselves, because they tend to be the ones that pay this."
Parking fees will increase from $50 to $75 per year, also in a 3-1 vote with Glennon opposing.
The fee increases are part of a balanced budget of $40,005,050 for the 2025-2026 school year, representing a $1.5 million increase from the current year's budget of $38.5 million. The budget includes $14.5 million from Chapter 70 state funding and $25.5 million from town contributions.
Obey presented the administration's recommended budget, which includes both staffing reductions due to enrollment changes and new positions to support student needs.
"Through all of the budget presentations that we've had so far today, you did not hear anyone say anything was a required addition," Obey said. "We've identified $415,500 as level one priorities."
The level one priorities include:
- A teacher and registered behavior technician for a social-emotional behavioral program at Hobomock
- Increasing the Pathways Coordinator position from part-time to full-time at the high school
- Adding a .4 business teacher to maintain business course offerings
- A full-time board certified behavior analyst to share across all five buildings
- A coordinator of counseling position (half grant-funded)
- Moving some technology services to managed services
- Adding a math interventionist to be shared across three elementary schools
- A $5,000 increase for high school extracurricular activities
The budget also includes five enrollment-based staffing reductions totaling approximately $459,000:
- One less third-grade teacher at North Elementary
- One less sixth-grade teacher at Hobomock
- Two fewer staff at the middle school (one science, one social studies)
- One district-wide ESL teacher position that has remained unfilled for two years
"This is the first time in a long time that we're discussing really reinvesting those funds into supports and programming for our students," Obey said.
Chilcott expressed concern about ongoing contract negotiations with teachers, noting that current proposals from the teachers' association would cost approximately $2.3 to $2.5 million.
"If I did my math right, that comes out to somewhere around $2.3 to $2.5 million. To get back to this number, how many teaching positions would that end up being?" Chilcott asked.
"It would be 25 to 30," Obey responded.
Chilcott emphasized the financial challenges facing many school districts.
"You have Milton with a $9.5 million deficit, North Andover's talking about laying off 40 roles, Newton is having a problem, Duxbury has voted down an override, Hanover voted down an override and laid off a bunch of people last year," he said.
The committee also discussed potential grant opportunities, including "pothole grants" from state legislators and an opioid settlement fund that could support additional positions like a health teacher.
Other business at the meeting included:
- Approval of a conceptual plan for a Pembroke High School field trip to Ireland in 2026
- Approval of new course proposals for Pembroke Community Middle School
- Approval of the 2025-2026 PCMS program of studies
- Discussion of a joint meeting with the Select Board and Advisory Committee scheduled for April 15