Dartmouth committee votes to continue school choice for 2025–26 amid budget shortfall

The Dartmouth School Committee voted on Jan. 27 to continue participation in Massachusetts’ School Choice program for the 2025–26 school year, approving the motion after a discussion of enrollment and finances.

Committee members heard that Dartmouth High School currently enrolls 122 school choice students—about 13% of the high school population—and that the district has planned more than $1.3 million in expenditures related to those students. James Kiely, speaking to the finances, said the district expects to use reserves in the short term and continue to seek town support to avoid exhausting those funds.

Why it matters: school choice brings students and tuition revenue but also creates ongoing budgetary commitments. School leaders emphasized that, while choice helps enrollment and program participation, expenditures continue to outpace revenues and reserves will be drawn down if additional support is not secured.

During the discussion several members outlined their positions. Elizabeth Coughlin said she supports adopting choice for the coming year while continuing to study long‑term effects. Committee members discussed whether to expand choice to additional grade levels, with Chair Chris Oliver and district leadership saying a formal study would be required before any expansion to middle school.

Action: the motion to adopt school choice for the 2025–26 school year carried 4–1. The transcript records John Nunes as the member who moved the motion and Elizabeth Coughlin as the second; the minutes record the final tally as 4 in favor and 1 opposed (a transcript inconsistency about Mr. Nunes’ recorded vote is noted in the audit). The Committee did not record an itemized roll call of individual yes/no votes beyond the opposition notation.

Next steps: district staff will continue budget planning through a Feb. 3 budget subcommittee meeting and the full budget presentation to the Committee on Feb. 10.