Town Edition
Plymouth County
Marshfield, Massachusetts
Photo: T.S. Custadio aka ToddC4176 at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
In June 2026 so many Marshfield residents packed the high school gym that the overflow had to sit in the cafeteria, and by a show of hands they voted a $7 million override rather than watch the school budget cut roughly 80 positions, the late buses, and the freshman sports teams. That vote by itself does not raise a dollar. An override only becomes real when the voters approve it a second time at a ballot election, which sent the whole fight directly back to the Select Board. This guide shows you how that room works, and how to get into it.
Marshfield at a Glance
Sources: Massachusetts DESE, district profile · Secretary of the Commonwealth, voter enrollment · US Census Bureau (data.census.gov).
- County: Plymouth. Marshfield is a coastal town on the South Shore, about 29 miles south of Boston, with five miles of public seashore on the Atlantic. It is bordered by Duxbury, Pembroke, Norwell and Scituate, and covers 28.6 square miles of land.
- Government: open Town Meeting, with an elected three-member Select Board and an appointed Town Administrator. Peter Morin holds that office on an interim basis while the Select Board runs a search for a permanent appointment.
- Schools: Marshfield Public Schools, about 3,552 students across eight schools, led by Superintendent Dr. Patrick Sullivan.
How Marshfield’s Government Works
Marshfield runs on an open Town Meeting, which means there are no elected Town Meeting members at all: every registered voter in Marshfield is a member, and any of them can walk in, speak, and vote on the budget. Voters also elect a 3 member Select Board to set policy between meetings and the School Committee that oversees the schools. The Select Board hires a professional Interim Town Administrator to run the town day to day. So the money is voted by whoever shows up, the direction is set by the Select Board, and the daily work is carried out by the Interim Town Administrator.
Town Meeting
The legislative body, and it is not a committee. Every registered voter in Marshfield is a member. Town Meeting adopts the annual budget, passes town bylaws, and approves major spending. This is direct democracy in its literal sense.
Select Board
3 members elected town-wide. They set policy, sign the warrants that decide what reaches Town Meeting, appoint residents to many town boards, and hire and supervise the Interim Town Administrator.
Interim Town Administrator
The appointed chief administrator. Runs the departments, builds the budget, and answers to the Select Board. Hired under contract, not elected.
School Committee
5 members, elected town-wide. It sets school policy, approves the school budget, and hires the Superintendent.
- Residents elect the 3 members of the Select Board and the School Committee.
- The Select Board hires the Interim Town Administrator and decides what goes on the Town Meeting warrant.
- Town Meeting votes the budget and the bylaws, and every registered voter present can vote.
- You take part: register at 16, vote at 18, and once you are registered you are already a member of Town Meeting.
Civic Calendar
- Select Board: meets at least twice a month on Mondays at 5:30 p.m. in the Select Board Chamber at Town Hall, 870 Moraine Street. Meetings are hybrid, in person and on Zoom, and Marshfield Community Media records them for Verizon channel 35 and Comcast channel 15.
- Town Meeting: the Annual Town Meeting is held in the spring. The warrant, which is the list of everything Town Meeting may vote on, opens for articles on the first Monday in January and closes on the fourth Monday in January, so January is the month to get something on it.
- Town elections: Marshfield holds an annual town election in the spring across seven precincts. On May 2, 2026, 4,179 of the town’s 22,195 registered voters cast a ballot.
- State and federal elections: even-numbered years. The 2026 primary and general are this fall.
Explore the Marshfield Edition
- Town Administrator’s OfficeThe town’s chief administrative officer
- Select BoardYour three board members
- School CommitteeSuperintendent & committee
- Town DepartmentsWho does what at Town Hall
- Boards & CommissionsWhere residents serve
- LegislatorsYour voice in Boston & D.C.
- Marshfield HistoryWinslow, Webster, and the Fair
- DemographicsWho lives in Marshfield
- Non-ProfitsCommunity organizations
- Student DataMarshfield schools by the numbers
Your County Officials
Two of the people with the most direct power over your life are elected countywide. The district attorney decides who gets charged with a crime, and what they get charged with. The sheriff runs the county jail. Both of them answer to the voters of Plymouth County, and that includes Marshfield. They appear on your ballot. Now you know what to look for.
Every county in Massachusetts elects its own, and the job is the same everywhere: the charging decisions, the jail. Look up any town in the state and see who holds these two offices there.
Your First Civic Action in Marshfield
You do not have to wait until you can vote to be heard in your own town. Here is how to take a real concern to the people who decide.
- Pick the right body. Town policy, roads, and police or fire go to the Select Board. Schools go to the School Committee. The budget and bylaws are voted by Town Meeting.
- Find the meeting. The Select Board meets at least twice a month on Mondays at 5:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 870 Moraine Street, and the charter requires the agenda to be posted at least twenty-four hours in advance.
- Know your members. All three Select Board members are elected town-wide, so every one of them answers to you.
- Speak. Meetings are open to the public and residents may address the board. Check the agenda for how to sign up.
- Or skip the trip. Report a pothole, a broken light, or a missed pickup to the Department of Public Works at 965 Plain Street, (781) 834-5575, which is the department that owns the repair.
- Town Hall: 870 Moraine Street, Marshfield, MA 02050. Select Board office 781-834-5540.
- Town Clerk & agendas: 781-834-5540, with meeting agendas and minutes posted at marshfield-ma.gov.
- Public schools: Marshfield Public Schools, 76 South River Street, 781-834-5000.
Local government works best when residents show up. Find your Select Board, speak at a Monday evening meeting, or simply register to vote and take your seat at Town Meeting.