Norwell school leaders face a paradoxical fiscal reality as they move toward the annual town meeting: a balanced budget for the upcoming year that nevertheless requires significant cuts to high school programming and hides a looming $1.5 million shortfall for 2028. During its February 9 meeting, the School Committee adopted a preliminary FY27 budget request of approximately $1.13 million, a figure Superintendent Matthew Keegan indicated the town is prepared to meet. However, the path to that balance includes the elimination of several wellness and technology electives and the near-total depletion of the district’s special education reserve fund.

The human cost of these fiscal constraints took center stage during a review of the Norwell High School Program of Studies. Principal Marcus Baptiste outlined several modifications to the curriculum guide, including the consolidation of specific wellness electives like yoga and basketball into a general wellness class and the removal of technology courses such as Robotics 2 and TV Studio Internship. While Baptiste described the moves as aligning with our current staffing and our offerings, committee members were quick to highlight the underlying cause. Member Alison Link challenged the terminology, noting that the phrase was a graceful way of describing the loss of student opportunity. I think we also need to be really clear about what it means, Link said, which means that we have had to make significant cuts, and they are causing significant cuts to the programming that we can offer.

The technology department also saw a cleanup of courses that had not run in several years due to low enrollment. Member Lisa DiFrisco questioned the status of the technology offerings, to which Baptiste confirmed that several, including the TV studio internship, had been dormant for some time. Despite the reductions, the district is continuing a three-year transition in social studies to move U.S. History 1 to the ninth grade and World History to the 10th grade to better align with state standards.

At the middle school level, Principal Jim Thomas reported a different set of challenges and opportunities. To accommodate a massive 6th-grade band class of 60 students—which Thomas called an awesome problem to have—the school is adjusting music schedules and reducing some health blocks to increase physical education balance. Additionally, the middle school is shifting Strategic Literacy and math support from elective courses to targeted interventions under the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) model. Superintendent Keegan explained that this shift ensures students receive help only when data shows they need it, rather than remaining in a permanent course. The committee also welcomed the addition of new 8th-grade electives titled History vs. Hollywood, which Link praised as the kind of course that can have a big impact on kids for a really long time.

While the district is currently meeting its immediate budget targets, Director of Finance and Operations Warren MacCallum delivered a sobering second-quarter forecast. He noted that the FY26 budget was already $500,000 behind previous years due to the loss of a one-time tuition offset from the town. Rising costs are further straining the bottom line, with legal settlements and utility spikes causing concern. MacCallum highlighted a staggering $44,000 natural gas bill for the high school for the month of January alone. Even more concerning is the dire status of the Special Education Circuit Breaker revolving account. MacCallum projected the fund will end FY27 with a balance of just $4,710, creating a massive $1.5 million gap for the FY28 budget cycle. This is kind of a sad story with the circuit breaker, MacCallum told the committee. This is going to put us in a hole for ‘28.

Link emphasized that the town must prepare for the reality that these special education costs are federal mandates. What ‘get a grip on it’ means is that that money has to come from taxes, Link said. We are digging through the bottom of the barrel. Despite these long-term warnings, the committee moved forward with the immediate request for the Advisory Board. Motion Made by C. Kane to adopt a preliminary FY27 Norwell School Committee budget for presentation purposes to the Advisory Board for the March 5th meeting. Motion Passed (5-0). Committee members Kristin McEachern, Christina Kane, Alison Link, Lisa DiFrisco, and Scott Dyke all voted in favor.

The fiscal discussion was punctuated by critical feedback from the public. Resident Cara Peters argued that school spending has outpaced enrollment and requested for the third time that the district reinstate elementary literacy specialists and librarians. As taxpayers, we both have the right and the responsibility to ask hard questions, Peters said. You can't cut essential early intervention specialists while maintaining high school class sizes of eight, ten, and 12 students. Earlier in the meeting, Director of Teaching and Learning Meredith Coffey presented the 2025 District Report Cards, which showed that while Norwell spends less per pupil than the state average, its achievement levels and graduation rates remain significantly higher.

In other business, the committee finalized the 2026-2027 school year calendar, which maintains a post-Labor Day start for students. Motion Made by C. Kane to approve the 2026-2027 school calendar for second and final reading as proposed. Motion Passed (5-0). The board also handled a variety of routine travel requests. Motion Made by C. Kane to approve the consent agenda, including out-of-state trip requests to Washington, D.C. and Chicago. Motion Passed (5-0). Chair Kristin McEachern opened the meeting noting the upcoming February vacation and closed by praising the recent Kindergarten Fair, where high school students helped incoming families explore world languages. The kids are just mesmerized by it, Keegan added, noting that the current student representative’s class was the first to participate in the fair years ago.