Braintree Council Approves Nearly $194,000 in High School Scholarship Gifts

BRAINTREE — March 3, 2026 — Braintree Town Council unanimously accepts nearly $194,000 in scholarship gifts and introduces two new department heads. The council voted without dissent Tuesday to authorize acceptance of a $128,000 bequest from the estate of longtime Braintree High teacher Robert Corey and a $65,811.03 charitable trust in memory of 1981 graduate Michael J. Kossaboom, who died in the 1994 crash of USAir Flight 427; the gifts join a town-administered scholarship pool already holding roughly $1.722 million across 35 funds. Mayor Joyce introduced new Director of Facilities Jacqueline Gould, a South Shore native who oversaw facilities for a national fitness chain, and new Economic Development Director Catherine Rollins, a former city of Everett deputy chief of staff and municipal project manager on the $2.6 billion Encore Boston Harbor development, who cited Braintree's municipal electric utility — rates she said run about half those of investor-owned utilities — and MBTA Communities zoning activity as early competitive advantages. The council also unanimously reappointed Susan M. Cimino to a new three-year term as clerk of the council effective July 21, 2026, and continued a public hearing on a storm ward ordinance amendment to March 18.