Marshfield's costs for South Shore Regional Vocational Technical School are poised to rise sharply over the next several years, with a 39% increase in the student assessment projected for fiscal 2028 and building debt payments expected to reach $2.34 million the following year.
Town Administrator Ted Langill outlined the increases during a Sept. 28 joint meeting of the Select Board and School Committee as part of a five-year financial forecast. He identified South Shore Tech as one of the significant expenses contributing to Marshfield's challenging budget outlook.
The town's costs are increasing on two fronts. Marshfield is sending more students to South Shore Tech, increasing the assessment the town pays for enrollment, while it will also begin paying its share of debt for the vocational school's new building. Langill said Marshfield's South Shore Tech enrollment is expected to increase by about 30 students annually until the increase reaches roughly 120 students. Based on that growth, the student assessment is projected to increase 39% in FY28 and another 28% in FY29. Building costs will be added on top of that assessment. Marshfield's debt service for the new school is projected at $856,000 in FY28 before rising to $2.34 million in FY29.
"So right now the town has no means to absorb that other than the operating budget," Langill said. "So that's why it's being plugged in there."
The rising enrollment at South Shore Tech also prompted a discussion about whether Marshfield Public Schools will save a comparable amount of money as students leave the district for vocational education. Select Board Chair Rick Smith cited a cost of about $19,000 annually for each Marshfield student attending South Shore Tech and asked whether Marshfield High School's expenses decline by the same amount when a student leaves. School officials said they do not.
School Committee Chair Sean Costello said losing 30 students from a grade with roughly 260 students does not reduce basic building expenses. The students also do not necessarily leave classes in a way that allows the district to eliminate corresponding teaching positions.
"Not just because you're losing 30 students in a grade of 260 doesn't mean it costs less to turn on the lights in the classroom," Costello said.
School officials explained that 30 students can be spread across numerous classes throughout the school day. Assistant Superintendent Tom Miller said that means a reduction in enrollment does not automatically translate into a corresponding reduction in staffing.
"When you think about 30 students leaving, it doesn't automatically equate to losing X amount of teachers," Miller said.
The shift is also occurring incrementally, with about 30 additional students attending South Shore Tech each year rather than 120 students leaving Marshfield Public Schools at once.
Miller said next year will be the third year of the increased student movement to South Shore Tech. He said the impact should begin to flatten the following year as enrollment reaches a more stable cycle. Another potential cost remains unresolved. Langill said Hanover, where the new vocational school is being built, was considering charging building permit fees for the project. Those fees were not included in Marshfield's five-year forecast because the issue remained under discussion.
Langill said the potential permit fees for the overall project could total between $2 million and $3 million, with Marshfield potentially responsible for between 17% and 19% of that amount.
"So if that does go through, that would be an added expense," Langill said. "But right now there are going to be significant increases just on the student assessment and the building debt service that the town is on the hook for."