Pembroke Town Meeting Approves South Shore Voc-Tech Membership, Sends Two Questions to Saturday Ballot

PEMBROKE -- May 12, 2026, Pembroke Town Meeting votes to join South Shore Voc-Tech district, but Saturday ballot decides final outcome. Voters at the May 12 Annual Town Meeting, with 417 residents present, approved two linked articles to join the South Shore Regional Vocational Technical School District: Article 10, Pembroke's $2 million annual operating assessment, passed 262 to 156, and Article 11, a $117,000 first-year share of district construction bonds for a new building in Hanover, cleared the required two-thirds threshold 258 to 128, both moved by School Committee member Sue Bollinger. Both votes take effect only if corresponding Proposition 2.5 ballot questions pass at polls Saturday, May 17, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the community center; Town Manager Bill Chenard told the meeting that failure of any one of the four required votes kills the entire effort. Pembroke has had no students enrolled at South Shore Tech since 2022, when a state policy change ended tuition placements, and Superintendent Erin Obie confirmed full membership would eventually secure approximately 84 annual seats once the district's new Hanover building opens around school year 2028-29. The meeting also unanimously adopted an $83,788,482 FY2027 operating budget and a $45,191,700 capital plan, with $41,750,000 in water system borrowing authorized.