District overview
Dennis-Yarmouth Regional School District
How Dennis-Yarmouth is governed, funded, and what it spends per student
Who runs this district, and how do two towns share it?
Dennis-Yarmouth is not a single town's school system. It is a regional school district created in 1955 and governed under a 1981 agreement (last amended 2019) between the towns of Dennis and Yarmouth. One Regional School Committee runs the whole district - there is no separate Dennis school board or Yarmouth school board. As of mid-2026 the committee has seven elected members: Jeni Landers (Chair), Glenn Martin (Vice Chair), Tomas Tolentino (Secretary), Marilyn Bemis, John New, Jon Pearson, and Joe Glynn. Members are elected to three-year terms at each town's own annual town election, and the agreement periodically rebalances how many seats each town gets based on population. Because the district spans two towns, its budget is not final when the committee votes. Each town must separately approve its share of the cost through town meeting or a town election, and this year both towns must also pass a property-tax override for the district to keep its full budget.
One committee, two towns
A single 7-member Regional School Committee governs all six D-Y schools. Members are elected separately by Dennis and by Yarmouth voters, not appointed by either town government.
Budgets need both towns to say yes
After the committee adopts a budget, each town must still appropriate its assessed share. For FY27, that includes a roughly $1,481,348 override vote in Yarmouth and about $348,050 in Dennis - on top of regular town budget approval.
Costs are split by formula, not evenly
Under the Regional Agreement, each town's operating share is based on a five-year rolling average of its share of district enrollment - currently about 69.5% Yarmouth and 30.5% Dennis. Some building costs use their own negotiated splits.
The agreement itself is up for debate
In February 2026 the Yarmouth Select Board asked the committee to reopen the governing agreement, including the seat split and building-cost formula. The committee held off in March 2026 pending more detail from both towns, and the topic was still on the agenda in August 2026.
None of this means the two towns are in conflict day to day. Members from both towns have voted unanimously on most budget and policy items this year; the disagreement so far is specifically about whether and how to update the 45-year-old agreement, not about running the schools.
Where the district stands
Up 4.223% from FY26's $84,438,405, after $2.3M in cuts from the superintendent's original January request.
Includes 6 paraeducators, 1 administrative assistant, and unfilled retirements; a failed town override could add up to 37 more cuts.
The district's own presentation put D-Y second-lowest per-pupil among Cape & Islands districts as of January 2026. This is a peer comparison, not an independently verified figure.
Split between Dennis and Yarmouth residents by population under the Regional Agreement; membership has ranged between 7 and 8 seats this year as vacancies were filled and the town elections reorganized the board.
Counted from the 23 collected regular meetings and workshops in the published period; most meetings covered districtwide business rather than one school, and all 5 named meetings were about Marguerite E. Small Elementary's building project.
Major projects
Marguerite E. Small Elementary building project
In state feasibility studyThe state is studying whether to renovate M.E. Small, combine it with Station Avenue Elementary, or build one new Yarmouth elementary school.
- Yarmouth Town Meeting approves $1.5M for the feasibility study
- Committee votes to sign the MSBA Feasibility Study Agreement
- MSBA board accepts the district into the feasibility study phase
- Jesse Craddock introduced as the school's incoming principal
Funding
$1.5M study funded by Yarmouth free cash (voted Nov. 2025), about 57% reimbursed by the state (MSBA)
Ezra H. Baker Innovation School building study
Planned, funding not yet confirmed in the recordA proposed study of ADA compliance and building systems (mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire, and security) at the Dennis school, raised once in the collected record.
- Capital Improvement Subcommittee identifies an FY27 feasibility study for ADA compliance and building systems at Ezra H. Baker
Funding
Proposed FY27 Dennis capital item (not shown as voted in the collected record)
FY27 budget override votes
Adopted by the committee, pending town votesThe committee's adopted $83,748,973 budget assumes both towns pass Proposition 2½ overrides; a failed override in either town would force further cuts.
- Committee adopts $83,748,973 FY27 budget, 5-2
- Committee reviews override contingency planning
Funding
Property tax override (Proposition 2½) in both Dennis and Yarmouth
Regional Agreement review
Under discussion, no decision madeYarmouth asked the committee to reopen the 1981 agreement that sets committee seats and cost splits between the two towns; the committee has not agreed to reopen it yet.
- Yarmouth Select Board sends letter asking to reopen the Regional Agreement
- Committee discusses the request and decides to hold off pending more detail
- Regional Agreement discussion still on the committee's workshop agenda
Funding
N/A - governance process
5-Year Capital Plan (FY27-FY31)
AdoptedA district-wide plan for building, equipment, and infrastructure projects expected to cost $25,000 or more and last at least 5 years.
- Committee votes to approve the FY27-FY31 Capital Plan
Funding
District capital budget and town capital funding, project by project
Every School Committee agenda, packet, and approved-minutes PDF the district posted to its website for the trailing year was collected, along with its Finance & Operations budget page and the town-facing FY27 budget presentations. Minutes were read in full; agendas were used where minutes had not yet been approved and posted.
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