Pembroke school committee declines interdistrict school choice for 2025; may consider high school next year

The Pembroke School Committee voted during a public hearing April 29 to not participate in interdistrict school choice for the 2025–26 school year, following a presentation on enrollment, costs and classroom capacity.

District presenter Erin, a staff member, told the committee that “we as a district have never participated in inter district school choice,” and walked the committee through how the program works, tuition revenues and the limits on seats and grades a district may offer. She said the state’s base tuition for choice is $5,000 and added that “there’s a sped increment piece depending upon the student,” producing an average revenue figure the presenter described as roughly $7,000 per incoming choice student for districts that accept transfers.

Committee members and staff focused discussion on classroom capacity, special-education needs and recent changes to Pembroke High School’s graduation requirements. Erin said the district spends about $19,000 per pupil in-district, and that “$5,000 is in no way, shape, or form covering the cost of a teacher or a paraprofessional.” She recommended against opening elementary grades to choice at this time and urged caution on middle school because Pembroke just adopted a split team schedule. The presenter recommended that any serious consideration be directed to the high school “maybe not this year, but potentially next year.”

School committee member David moved that the district not participate in interdistrict school choice for the coming year and revisit the question next year; a second was given and the motion was approved by voice vote. The committee did not record a roll-call vote or a named tally in the public hearing minutes; the minutes show the chair called for those in favor and received “Aye.” The committee then adjourned the school choice public hearing and opened the public budget hearing.

Discussion at the hearing included several operational points: in 2024 Pembroke had 16 students enrolled in other districts, nine in the statewide online program TECA and seven spread across the state; committee members noted that accepting students through choice commits the district to those students through graduation if seats are opened. Erin said districts set the number of seats and the grades they will accept and that districts do not receive advance disciplinary or attendance records for choice applicants.

Committee members raised staffing and scheduling implications for the high school, where committee members discussed options such as opening a modest number of ninth-grade seats (committee members discussed figures ranging from 2 seats to a cohort of 15–20) to test demand. Members also discussed the effect of a town decision about vocational education membership, noting that participation in choice does not create a pathway into the regional vocational district; a committee member clarified that vocational programs require residency in member towns.

A member of the public, resident Don Bryant, also spoke during public comment on an unrelated policy issue and urged the committee to avoid language that might “step over the line into victim shaming” in future policy debates. The committee’s immediate action on school choice was limited to the single-year decision not to participate; members asked administrators to return with any new information or recommendations before revisiting the issue.

Clarifying and logistical details raised at the hearing included the following: the state base tuition for interdistrict choice is $5,000; a special-education increment commonly discussed at the hearing was estimated at about $1,500–$2,000 per student (presenter described the increment as “not monumental” and dependent on individual need); in-district spending per pupil was described as about $19,000; Pembroke’s FY26 administrative recommended budget figure discussed later in the meeting was $40,005,050; transportation costs were described as about $2,000,000 with roughly $100,000 in fees collected. Committee members said any opening of seats would be decided by grade and number of seats per grade and that choice students would pay the same activity and extracurricular fees as resident students but the district would not provide transportation for nonresident students.

The committee directed staff to monitor demand and return with recommendations and data if members decide to consider high-school openings in a future year. No formal policy change was adopted beyond the committee’s decision not to participate in interdistrict school choice for 2025–26.