Masconomet committee narrows FY27 plan to meet towns’ 2.5% guidance after heated debate over Chinese program

The Masconomet Regional School Committee met March 9 and, after an extended public-comment period and hours of discussion, directed administration to prepare a formal “baseline + B” motion that would combine transportation reductions and select staffing cuts to move the FY27 proposal close to the towns’ roughly 2.5% guidance.

The meeting opened with the chair setting a 60-second limit for public commenters. More than two dozen parents, students and staff spoke; many urged the committee not to eliminate the district’s Chinese (Mandarin) language program. “If you cut the Chinese program, it takes away the community and the belonging for many of our students,” Masconomet sophomore Kaywin Zhao told the committee, speaking as a Chinese-American student. A Masconomet teacher who represents the program, Ailey Maskell, said preserving the department mattered to Asian American families and to the district’s identity.

Committee members and staff then reviewed budget scenarios and line items. Administration described three scenarios (A, B and C) and a ‘baseline’ worksheet, noting that reducing one bus route (from 24 to 23 routes) would save on the order of $106,000–$107,000, and that different mixes of staffing reductions and department-head consolidations would close varying amounts of the gap toward the towns’ guidance. The chair also reminded the meeting that the district has been accepted into the MSBA process for a capital project and that approving a debt exclusion would potentially yield a large capital reimbursement (administration cited a roughly $70 million project with up to 40% reimbursement).

Discussion focused on three linked trade-offs: (1) cuts that remove student-facing positions (teachers, counselors) and their class-size implications; (2) administrative or department-head consolidations that would reduce overhead but shift duties; and (3) transportation and other noninstructional savings that are less visible in the classroom. Guidance staff and teachers warned that cutting a guidance counselor or a middle-school team would materially increase caseloads and risk student support; parents and students warned that larger average class sizes would diminish learning and student–teacher relationships.

Several committee members pushed for keeping the Chinese program if possible, arguing it is a differentiator for Masconomet and supports student belonging. Others cited persistent low enrollment in the program and suggested phasing or online alternatives as a way to preserve some access while reducing cost. Committee members repeatedly framed the choices against the risk that one or more member towns would trigger an operating override if the district’s assessed increase exceeded local thresholds.

After successive straw polls and line-item swaps, a majority of the committee coalesced around a package described internally as “baseline + B” — which, as discussed, includes transportation consolidation, the recommended reduction of one high-school English teaching FTE, and two department-head consolidations (the packet and lines describing those changes were presented on-screen). The chair asked administration to prepare that package as a formal motion for the committee’s next meeting; members who supported that step signaled assent in a roll-call style affirmation (several members voted yes; at least one member abstained). The committee then entered executive session and did not return to open session to adopt a final budget that night.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to have administration prepare a formal “baseline + B” budget for the next meeting: motion seconded and approved for preparation; formal adoption pending the committee’s next public meeting. - Capital/technology adjustment: the committee approved a cut in the immediate capital replacement plan (fewer Chromebook carts / fewer devices replaced this year) as a mechanism to reduce the FY27 ask; administration provided dollar deltas associated with that change.

What comes next

Administration will draft a formal motion reflecting the baseline + B package and present it at the committee’s next meeting for a recorded vote and for certification of the FY27 numbers to member towns. Committee members repeatedly urged that, if the Chinese program is retained in the near term, the district should prioritize transparent recruitment and enrollment-growth efforts so the program can reach sustainable levels.

Reporting note: direct quotes and attributions in this story come from the meeting transcript and the committee’s public remarks. Where the transcript used the shorthand “Masco,” this story uses the district’s formal name, Masconomet Regional School District, for clarity.