Sandwich School Committee Approves $42.2 Million FY27 Budget Unanimously

SANDWICH — January 28, 2026 — Sandwich School Committee unanimously approved a $42.2 million fiscal year 2027 operating budget at its January 28 meeting. The 6-0 vote on the $42,205,431 proposal, a 2.60 percent increase over the current year, came after a public budget hearing in which Finance Committee member Jeff Picard of Captain Payne Road — attending as an individual — asked detailed questions about bus route consolidation, attrition assumptions, per-pupil spending comparisons, and grant trends. Superintendent Joseph Marischak said the budget now reflects a $159,300 Chapter 70 increase from Governor Healey's same-day House 1 budget release, bringing the projected state aid allocation to $8,223,276, and that the added funds will be directed to an accelerated classroom flooring replacement project targeting all 40 remaining carpeted or damaged classrooms at Oak Ridge and Forestdale, at a projected cost of roughly $8,300 per room, for completion by the April 2027 break. Marischak also noted that Sandwich Middle High School advanced from silver to gold in the College Board's AP recognition program based on the class of 2025, with 65 percent of graduates having taken at least one AP course.