Brockton panel agrees to study merging city, school departments

Other Committee · Meeting of September 10, 2026

Brockton council committee agrees to study merging city and school departments, starting with school police. The Committee on Accounts heard from Superintendent Dr. Tahiliani and School Committee Vice Chair Claudio Gomes on stalled efforts to consolidate the school police force with the Brockton Police Department, with Councilor Susan DeCastro citing Massachusetts General Law Chapter 71, Section 37M, as the path to merge departments.

Councilor Jeff Chanel pressed on why "so many complications" persist, prompting Tahiliani's blunt answer that zero other municipalities run school police like Brockton does. City Auditor Warren Gonzalez separately warned that a $98,000 library budget cut jeopardizes roughly $350,000 in state aid, and that a $780,000 gap from reduced state aid and higher assessments must be closed with stabilization funds before Brockton can set its fiscal 2027 tax rate. Councilors also voted unanimously to demand department heads provide more detailed warrant descriptions after struggling to identify what two identical $43,348 pickup trucks charged to the library were for.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 2,467 words

Source: the Other Committee meeting of September 10, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.