Braintree School Committee votes 6-1 to opt out of statewide school choice for 2025–26

Braintree — The Braintree School Committee voted 6–1 on Monday to opt out of Massachusetts’ School Choice program for the 2025–26 school year, citing large class sizes and budget uncertainty.

In a public hearing and subsequent motion, committee member Dr. Horak recommended the district not participate in school choice this year. He said participation would allow out-of-district students to enroll where seats are available and remain until graduation, and that the district could become reliant on the revenue from choice seats. “My recommendation is that we do not participate,” Dr. Horak said, pointing to “very large class sizes across our district” and the district’s ongoing budget pressures.

Committee members asked whether the district must accept every applicant under school choice; administration responded that the district sets the number of available seats and admits students by a blind lottery up to that capacity. Administration staff also said some schools currently have no available seats and that summer enrollment changes make it hard to predict capacity reliably.

After discussion the committee passed the motion to opt out of the school-choice program for 2025–26. The recorded vote was 6 in favor, 1 opposed. The district must report its participation decision to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) by the May 1 deadline; the administration noted that this is an annual, binary decision.

Ending: Committee members said the decision reflects current capacity and budget constraints rather than a permanent stance, and recommended a broader community discussion if the district considers participation in future years.