Somerset School Budget Stays at 5.8 Percent as Committee Demands Deeper Cuts

SOMERSET — February 10, 2026 — Somerset School Committee pushes administration to cut an additional $300,000 from the FY27 budget after reducing it to a 5.8 percent increase. At the February 10 remote work session, Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Schoonover presented roughly $500,000 in reductions since the prior meeting — including pulling approximately $240,000 in security upgrades to a capital town meeting article, consolidating a second-grade class at Chase Elementary, and shifting paraprofessional costs to the preschool revolving fund — but the net operating budget increase remains approximately $1.5 million over FY26. Chair Victor Machado said flatly, "I'm not comfortable with 5.8," and noted the district failed to clear the two-thirds town meeting supermajority required for passage last year. The committee's stated target is a 4.5 to 4.6 percent increase. Discussions focused on possible bus-route consolidation at $86,000 per bus, special education caseload restructuring, and inter-district service sharing with neighboring communities. The governor's proposed Chapter 70 minimum aid would bring Somerset's state education funding to $11,152,527 for FY27, an increase of $112,650.