Braintree School Panel Backs $86.2 Million Budget With 12 Position Cuts

BRAINTREE — March 23, 2026 — Braintree School Committee backs $86.2 million FY27 budget with 12 staff cuts and hears stark facilities warning. Director of Finance and Operations Sarah Coffin presented the recommended budget Monday, trimmed $1 million from the February level-services figure of $87.2 million, with a second million-dollar gap still unresolved as the committee eyes a vote on March 30 or April 6. The reductions eliminate four elementary teaching positions at Flaherty, Highlands, Liberty, and Morrison, four paraprofessional positions at Highlands and Liberty, and four middle school positions split between East and South, pushing affected class sizes from roughly 17 to approximately 23 students. Department of Public Works Director Matt Jocks told the committee that Highlands Elementary is costing $4.56 per square foot to operate year-to-date — consuming $233,000 in maintenance this fiscal year alone — compared with $175,000 at Hollis and $125,000 at Ross, and estimated a full heating system overhaul at Highlands alone could exceed $7 million. "Continuing to invest at the current level across six elementary schools is not sustainable," Jocks said, recommending consolidation. The committee also unanimously welcomed Nick Fitzgerald, currently assistant principal at Canton High School, as the incoming Braintree High School principal effective July 1, and plans a temperature-check vote on four facilities consolidation scenarios at its March 30 meeting.