West Bridgewater School Committee Approves $19.5 Million FY27 Budget Over Town's Objections

WEST BRIDGEWATER — March 9, 2026 — West Bridgewater School Committee votes 4-1 to send a $19.5 million FY27 budget to town meeting at a 4.93 percent increase. The committee approved an appropriation request of $19,526,865 — total budget $22,566,341 including school contributions — over the objection of member Kathleen Waller and despite a weekend email from Town Administrator David Gagne urging the committee to hold the increase to 4.5 percent and avoid adding net new staff. Chair Peter Dragani said preemptive cuts would send "the message that we don't need these resources when in fact we do." The budget includes a new middle school library media specialist, a 0.5 floating nurse, a reading specialist, and other positions tied to a high-needs student population that has grown from 24.1 percent to 35.6 percent of enrollment over 10 years. Head nurse Julie Dedrickson told the committee the district now simultaneously has seven students under age seven with type 1 diabetes — a caseload that had totaled seven over her previous 25 years at the district. The committee also unanimously approved a five-year capital plan prioritizing sally port entry systems, intercom replacements, and fire alarm panels at the elementary schools, with the town's Capital Budget Committee set to review the plan March 17.