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Superintendent presents $26.89 million Somerset school budget; public hearing opened and closed
Summary
Somerset School Superintendent Jeffrey Schoonover presented a proposed 2026–2027 budget of $26,889,305 — a 3.59% increase over FY2026 — at a joint virtual meeting of the town’s School Committee, Board of Selectmen and Advisory & Finance Committee; the public hearing was opened and closed during the session with no recorded vote on the budget.
Superintendent Jeffrey Schoonover presented the Somerset public schools’ proposed 2026–2027 budget of $26,889,305 at a joint virtual meeting of the Somerset School Committee, the Board of Selectmen and the Advisory & Finance Committee on April 14. "The proposed budget of $26,889,305 is an increase of 3.59%, the increase is $931,288 over fiscal year 2026," Schoonover said.
The proposed budget reflects an increase driven by contractual obligations, special-education tuition, transportation costs and general operational inflation, Schoonover told the joint meeting. He said the figure represents a trimmed version of an earlier draft from Jan. 12 that had totaled $28,136,655 (an 8.39% increase); reductions and reallocations to staffing, capital and resources, and use of state and federal funding brought the plan to the current total.
School Committee Chair Jennifer Ashley moved to open a public hearing on the budget at 6:42 p.m.; the motion, moved by Victor Machado and seconded by Carlton Medeiros, was approved by roll call. Schoonover and Ashley answered questions from members of the School Committee, the Board of Selectmen, the Advisory & Finance Committee and members of the public during the hearing.
At 8:16 p.m. Jennifer Ashley moved to close the public hearing; the motion, moved by John Ventura and seconded by Christine Courville, passed by roll call. There was no recorded vote during the joint meeting to adopt or approve the budget amount presented. The Board of Selectmen’s portion of the meeting adjourned at 8:17 p.m.
The presentation placed key pressure points for next-year spending on special-education tuition, transportation and contract obligations; committee members asked questions and sought clarifications while Schoonover and Director-level staff identified state and federal funding as partial offsets. The joint meeting did not record any formal budget adoption or a final vote on the proposed total during this session.
