West Bridgewater Select Board Presses School Department on 4.93 Percent Budget Increase

WEST BRIDGEWATER — March 18, 2026 — West Bridgewater Select Board challenges school department's $19.5 million budget request as fiscal concerns mount. The board closed its FY27 budget hearing season Wednesday with Town Administrator David Gagne delivering a sustained challenge to the West Bridgewater Public Schools' request for a $916,949 increase — 4.93 percent above FY26 — arguing the real underlying increase is closer to 6 percent once a one-time $170,000 agricultural school assessment overbudget is removed. Gagne said he surveyed counterparts at seven comparable districts and found universal level funding or reductions, and told the board, "We legitimately are headed for an override — that is just crystal clear." Superintendent Robert Grant and Business Manager Kathy Quinn defended the additions, which include a floating nurse for five incoming diabetic students, additional occupational therapy time, a reading specialist, and a long-vacant library media specialist position required for NEASC accreditation. The board also voted unanimously to ratify Kathryn Goulet as Assistant Library Director effective March 23, accept the retirement of 50-year Board of Registrar member Francis Boyd as the annual town report dedicatee, and accept the retirement of Council on Aging Director Marilyn Mathers. The board's FY27 budget vote is scheduled for April 1.