School Committee Hears Bleak State Aid Outlook as FY27 Budget Takes Shape

RAYNHAM -- February 4, 2026, Bridgewater-Raynham School Committee received a sobering state budget update and previewed its fiscal year 2027 spending plan at its February 4 meeting. State Representative Dennis Gallagher told the committee the governor's House 2 budget funds Chapter 70 per-pupil aid at $75 per student, down from $150 the prior year, and cuts transportation reimbursement to 88 percent, calling the numbers "a little disappointing" but pledging House action to restore them. Public commenter Ashley Mallard, an educator and district parent, cited cherry sheet figures showing the district sending roughly $1.1 million in school-choice tuition and more than $800,000 in charter costs to other schools, warning that underinvestment accelerates those outflows. Superintendent Powers reported that an outside five-phase financial review is targeted for completion by February 13 and that the UMass Collins Center operational review is due by month's end, with both reports slated for public release. The committee unanimously approved a consent agenda covering minutes, gifts, and payroll warrants, and introduced a motion to raise proctor pay 2 percent to $20.84 per hour for FY27, though the vote outcome was not captured in the available recording.