South Shore News...letter: Talking about Names
Health Insurance Crisis Forces South Shore Districts to Consider Layoffs
January 6-8, 2026
The first full week of municipal meetings in 2026 brought a sobering reality check across the South Shore: the region’s structural budget challenges are intensifying, and no amount of recent voter generosity can outpace the fixed cost pressures now bearing down on town halls and school districts. From Plymouth’s stalled budget vote to Weymouth’s warning about impending layoffs, municipal leaders confronted a “perfect storm” of rising health insurance premiums, utility spikes, and infrastructure emergencies that are consuming new revenue growth before it can reach classrooms or services. Even communities with recent override victories or robust free cash reserves found themselves navigating difficult choices about what to protect and what to cut.
This week also marked a wave of leadership transitions, as school committees and select boards moved to fill vacancies left by retirements and departures. Whitman-Hanson, Hanover, and Cohasset each took steps to secure new leadership, while Plymouth, Rockland, and Duxbury wrestled with questions of political unity and governance dysfunction. Beneath the headlines about budgets and personnel, communities continued the slow work of planning for long-deferred infrastructure projects—school roofs, water treatment plants, and aging buildings that represent both fiscal liabilities and multigenerational investments.
Health Insurance Crisis Triggers Budget Standoffs
The most urgent story across the region was the collision of soaring health insurance costs with municipal budget processes. Plymouth’s Select Board delayed a vote on the FY27 budget after learning of a projected 14% premium increase compounded by a $1.1 million calculation error discovered by Finance Director Lynne Barrett. The error involved incorrect Medicare base rates for retirees, adding to an already dire situation where claims are draining the town’s self-insurance trust fund at nearly $5 million per month. Chair David Golden refused to approve a budget that would exhaust the town’s “excess levy capacity”—the cushion between legal tax limits and actual collections—arguing that maxing out this buffer would jeopardize bond ratings and leave no room for emergencies. The Board voted unanimously to direct Town Manager Derek Brindisi to present a new budget cutting the proposed tax levy increase by 1%, approximately $2.5 million.
Rockland’s Town Administrator Doug Lapp similarly warned of a potential “double-digit increase” in health insurance costs as a major driver for FY27, while Cohasset officials noted their Town Manager search will inherit a 14% spike in health insurance costs despite the town’s AAA bond rating.
For school districts, the pattern was identical. Abington’s School Committee approved a $34.4 million “level service” budget representing a 5.41% increase ($1.76 million) with no new staff or programs—driven almost entirely by contractual salary obligations and escalating fixed costs. Regular education transportation is projected to jump 20% ($231,278) as the district enters a new contract cycle, while electricity costs will rise 12% ($58,586) under a new town-wide contract. Committee member Heidi Hernandez captured the bind: “A lot of what we’re seeing in this budget is things that there’s no way around... biggest increases we’re seeing right now are things that are literally out of our control.”
Weymouth’s Superintendent Melanie Curtin was even more direct, warning her School Committee that the district is preparing a budget with only a 1% increase—well below what’s needed to maintain current services. “In the next few weeks, it will get much more difficult because we’re going to have to talk about names,” Curtin said, indicating that layoffs are on the table. “We don’t take it lightly that we have people’s livelihoods and careers in our hands.”
Budget Tensions and Political Fractures
The financial pressures created friction between governing bodies that typically work in concert. Duxbury’s School Committee held a tense discussion about their December 3-2 split vote on the FY27 budget, with Chair Kellie Bresnehan reporting that the Finance Committee and Select Board cited the lack of unanimity as “problematic.” Committee member Jen Weedon strongly rejected pressure to vote unanimously for appearances, stating: “The goal isn’t to vote unanimously because of optics... If we decide to say, let’s not share, let’s not vote based on facts, data, our perspectives... that’s not a place that I would have to reconsider like how I spend my time.” The committee scheduled emergency sessions to develop a communication plan before the March Town Meeting.
Rockland’s Select Board went public with sharp criticism of the Board of Health, citing chronic absenteeism that is stalling town business. Vice-Chair Lori Childs and Chair Michael O’Loughlin directed their frustration specifically at Board of Health Chair Robert Stephens for the board’s inability to achieve a quorum for meetings. While Health Agent Delshaune Flipp manages day-to-day operations, she cannot legally approve variances, permits, or regulatory changes without board votes. O’Loughlin pointedly noted that nomination papers for the upcoming town election were available the next day, encouraging residents interested in Board of Health service to pick them up.
Infrastructure Investments and Creative Financing
Amid the budget pressures, communities continued planning for major capital projects using creative financing strategies. Silver Lake Regional School Committee voted unanimously to pursue what Committee Member Jason Fraser called a “net zero” tax solution to address $73 million in deferred maintenance for the middle and high school buildings. Rather than borrowing $60 million through traditional bonding, the district proposes capturing approximately $1.3 million in annual debt service payments set to expire this year and next. Instead of letting that tax burden drop, the three member towns would vote to keep the payment level and direct it into a dedicated “Silver Lake Stabilization Fund” for capital repairs. Fraser argued that because residents are already paying this debt service, continuing it to fund repairs would have “net zero impact on the taxpayers.”
Marshfield voters decisively approved a $3.4 million debt exclusion on Saturday, authorizing the town to fund critical repairs to the Martinson school roof. The measure passed 1,036 to 380 (approximately 73 percent) and carried all seven precincts, with the strongest support in Precinct 4 at 87 percent. The debt exclusion allows the town to raise property taxes temporarily above Proposition 2½ limits to service the debt.
Hingham’s Center for Active Living cost dropped to $29.9 million from a previous estimate of $34 million through design refinements including simplifying site amenities and switching from underground stormwater tanks to above-ground rain gardens. The project heads to April Town Meeting, though residents remain sharply divided between supporters pleading for a “home” for seniors and critics like Peter Goldstein calling it a “want and not a justified need” given other priorities like school upgrades and the South Fire Station. The town reported strong finances with $11.3 million in excess unassigned fund balance available for appropriation.
Rockland unanimously awarded the Pleasant Street Landfill capping contract to Clean Earth LLC, which will manage importation of material, capping, and closure at no cost to the town while generating an estimated $4.25 per ton in revenue. The agreement includes post-closure monitoring that will save the town approximately $40,000 annually currently paid from the general fund.
Pembroke set a minimum bid of $475,000 for the sale of the former fire station at 380 Washington Street, but strategically carved out a small portion housing a cell tower that currently generates $109,000 annually in lease revenue with automatic 3% annual increases plus 30% of sublease increases from carriers.
Leadership Transitions and Governance
Multiple school districts moved forward with superintendent and principal searches. Whitman-Hanson Regional School Committee welcomed Dr. John Marcus as Acting Superintendent and voted to partner with the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) to find an Interim Superintendent to serve through June 2027. MASC representative Sean Costello advised against rushing into a permanent search, recommending an 18-month interim to stabilize finances and culture before seeking a permanent leader in fall 2026 when the candidate field is typically strongest. Marcus, formerly principal of Duval Elementary, described his immediate focus as “stabilizing the ship” while managing three simultaneous budget cycles.
Hanover School Committee officially introduced Matthew Plummer as the next Principal of Hanover High School. A 1985 graduate and teacher in the district since 1990, Plummer’s appointment represents a commitment to institutional knowledge. He outlined priorities including review of the upcoming NEASC accreditation report, master schedule revisions, and new curricula in financial literacy, communications, and artificial intelligence. Plummer also shared his vision for a working greenhouse on campus where “any student who really wants to can go pick up a carnation or a mum and bring it home to their parents.”
Cohasset Select Board voted unanimously to hire Municipal Resources Inc. (MRI) to lead the search for the town’s next Town Administrator. While the Board praised the Collins Center for Public Management’s transparency, members ultimately favored MRI’s broader regional reach and multi-layered background check process. The next Town Manager will inherit a AAA bond-rated town facing immediate headwinds including the 14% health insurance spike, rising regional assessments, and execution of massive water treatment plant improvements.
Water, Harbor, and Infrastructure Challenges
Cohasset Water Commission outlined a two-phase master plan to address regulatory exceedance of Total Trihalomethanes (TTHMs) in the town’s water supply. Phase 1 involves a complete overhaul of the “sludge lagoons” (residuals management area) to be completed by roughly 2028. Phase 2 calls for construction of a new, larger water treatment plant projected to begin around 2033-2034, similar in scale to the facility currently being built in Scituate. Chair Chris Pratt emphasized the exceedance is a regulatory issue based on running annual averages, not an emergency, and the water remains safe for daily use.
Scituate grappled with defining “commercial fisherman” after State Representative Patrick Kearney filed a citizen petition to broaden the definition to include for-hire charter captains. The proposal seeks to ensure “equity” for the “blue economy,” but drew sharp pushback from traditional commercial fishermen—lobstermen and groundfish trawlers—who fear expanding the definition will dilute the limited pool of commercial moorings. The petition will appear on the April 13 Town Meeting warrant. Separately, the Select Board unanimously approved a five-year rate structure increasing mooring fees by $1 per foot every other year and slip fees by approximately 8-10% biennially to fund infrastructure without relying on Proposition 2½ overrides.
Policy and Programming Innovations
Plymouth Select Board adopted Police Chief Dana Flynn’s existing immigration policy as the board’s official stance after a marathon meeting stretching late into the night. Board Member Kevin Canty initially proposed a separate policy restricting employee cooperation with ICE, but ultimately agreed to adopt the Chief’s existing protocols with a requirement for annual review. Chief Flynn clarified that his officers do not ask about immigration status and do not detain individuals solely on civil ICE detainers, cooperating with federal agencies only on criminal investigations involving violent felonies, trafficking, or terrorism.
Duxbury’s new Special Education Director BJ McNamara presented findings from his first 100 days, revealing that Duxbury identifies students with autism at a lower rate (15.5%) than the state average (17.3%). He outlined a major shift toward co-teaching models where special educators provide “Specially Designed Instruction” alongside general education teachers rather than pulling students out for remedial work, addressing staff burnout despite favorable caseloads.
Silver Lake approved a new Artificial Intelligence course, with Committee Member Jason Fraser noting “We’re in the wild west right now of AI... Having a course where we can put some guardrails and having an instructor guide students through this I think is a wise move.” The meeting also showcased the Capstone engineering course with student prototypes including a wrist-buzzer system to combat “alarm fatigue” for lifeguards and an integrated ankle brace shoe for volleyball players.
Cohasset School Committee backed the establishment of a capital reserve fund for the South Shore Educational Collaborative, funded solely by surplus tuition revenue rather than new assessments. The reserve is intended for facility repairs or potential property acquisitions as the collaborative approaches the end of its Hingham lease. The committee also accepted nearly $100,000 in grants from the Cohasset Education Foundation ($89,825) and Parent School Organization ($8,143).