[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":44,"_46":47,"_48":49,"_50":51,"_52":53,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":59,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":65,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",5973281,"mediaKeyId","5829765-923cdb65942964e4567cf79d31dc4a50","parentId",5829765,"title","School committee accepts donations, hears Eagle Scout campus project and approves facility fee increases","audioSeconds",0,"startMs",4282000,"endMs","viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5829765-923cdb65942964e4567cf79d31dc4a50&start=4282&end=4282","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5829765-923cdb65942964e4567cf79d31dc4a50/thumbnail_4282000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/5973281/Massachusetts/School-committee-accepts-donations-hears-Eagle-Scout-campus-project-and-approves-facility-fee-increases","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/5973281-2507079e9b7621996bff89c4cf98defb/orig.mp4?Expires=1771146941&Signature=U3GBZ8XfzJwxFEZVcqb4vG9-igy7N6p8ujh1uLRIut5uxDaTT05go2PUArEAuYTeLOLeHHDNlJ826jJXuFTj9mxU4zCkqJh4gOhWpnEQ7l9kMk-HHq2YYo1kdPyiBYWkq0WOPNDS4MGZyHpE5DyproQgpnY-Xanf7WqEkxFEtqw2fgxfpP7-~Y1Pwxy2RI7svj4D3sYEKvhqqb4hWKrFSj2wdri7jmv~OLFDVGykvmuwOiKF66NwmXuMirtPHnzrWQ3agJvdQRTf2Dlv3NgD4YSUqISje86bAOGxUQDSmiznJrhHns7ljKVSGK0xhKlWbnlyQwCjn~ImgvIDuEDJuA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Lakeville","date","2025-09-26T04:56:57.993Z","article","At the Sept. 24 meeting the Freetown-Lakeville Regional School Committee accepted several donations, approved an Eagle Scout improvement project, and voted to raise campus facilities user fees.

Donations and projects
- Profile Tavern donated $521.83 raised at an event to buy start-of-year supplies for Freetown Elementary School kindergarten teachers. The committee voted to accept the donation, with district central office ordering the items on behalf of the teachers.
- The Freetown Elementary School PTO offered to donate playground equipment purchased last year and to pay for installation. Documents in the packet show equipment cost at $18,491 and installation at $18,790; the committee voted to accept the PTO donation and the installation arrangement.
- ARHS senior Sullivan Gray presented an Eagle Scout project to repaint campus posts: he counted approximately 390 ground posts and 41 yellow safety posts, estimating 12 gallons of brown paint and 2 gallons of yellow paint. Murphy’s Painting donated paint for the project; Gray said he planned volunteer workdays and aimed to complete the project by Nov. 14, his Eagle Scout deadline. The school committee approved the Eagle Scout project.
- The committee accepted furniture donations for the ARHS “life suite” (apartment) — additional items offered by a donor (Gail Trink) to finish the space — and agreed to commission staff and student volunteers to install donated items.

Fees and permissions
- The committee approved an update to campus facilities user fees discussed at earlier meetings: packet materials note an increase of $10 per hour for one-time event fees and an increase of $10.10 per participant for continual use fees. The vote to adopt the updated user-fee schedule passed by majority vote.
- The committee granted permission to participate in Macy’s charity-roundup program; the proposed window is Oct. 16–31 at the Dartmouth Macy’s store, with rounded-up register donations directed to the FES student activities account. The committee approved moving forward with the retailer’s program; no projected revenue estimate was provided.

Financial details and process
Jack Higgins, interim superintendent, reported the FY25 certified Excess and Deficiency (E&D) figure and explained budget items elsewhere in the agenda. Committee members later voted to return $450,000 of school-choice dollars that had been held as a placeholder pending expected state revenue increases; the two-thirds roll-call vote to restore that money to the school-choice account passed unanimously.

Committee members thanked donors and volunteers. The approvals will allow district central office to accept and process donations, to coordinate installation and to oversee the Eagle Scout project and fee changes going forward.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Freetown-Lakeville Regional School Committee, 9-24-25","oneSentenceSummary","The committee accepted multiple donations — including a PTO playground donation and a Profile Tavern fundraiser — approved an Eagle Scout campus-painting project, and voted to raise campus facilities user fees; members also granted permission to participate in Macy’s in-store charity roundup.","taxTitle","Town of Lakeville, Plymouth County, Massachusetts","taxId",58187,"location","Massachusetts","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_46":81,"_48":82,"_50":83,"_52":84,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":85,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":86,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},5973287,"District leaders present three-year school improvement plans; committee approves SY2026–28 plans",3690,2550000,6240000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5829765-923cdb65942964e4567cf79d31dc4a50&start=2550&end=6240","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5829765-923cdb65942964e4567cf79d31dc4a50/thumbnail_2550000.jpg","/articles/5973287/Massachusetts/District-leaders-present-three-year-school-improvement-plans-committee-approves-SY202628-plans","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/5973287-ac65fe3c27e64779fb405fbdbb4ab4fe/orig.mp4?Expires=1771146941&Signature=kO8me8wpXEJcAzdzei3qeB-iLXvdIewWM2W88qOB6QcbQqWXIW8xNTsr0ntbHwH98~tpBdKt0Aqjo1rr7XwfADtqekyr9p~Q42EgpXc4-LvGSAC0k0EnmrQ1y-X8w1-YIY-LxQ7g8oz-uZqzIOra3QDtuPZsHeDvNyDBHpayQCYOVYDNR8~RCF3VPgiUcaeu51gzmTmnbiV-n1pK0IexY2fvL74cq0YBlrdwAhu~l1bgC-H5TTIz2PWMzYxeEn1SmGQ63d4BVFiIPlHvhXe98LZ4mlZ97sttjvrRP3mz-CsBK5yAzHQWJX~xI3AJQJej73LimiK3rFJC-XZu3ui~-g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Freetown-Lakeville school principals presented three-year school improvement plans at the Sept. 24 school committee meeting and the committee voted to approve the district’s SY 2026–2028 school improvement plans.

Administrators described aligned goals across grade levels: early literacy and foundational math emphasis in elementary grades; a district-wide focus on writing instruction, building writing stamina and rubric development at the intermediate grades; and targets at the middle and high school levels for grading practice alignment, climate and attendance, and expanded career-pathway programs at the high school.

Principal Pinault and Principal Ward, presenting jointly for the elementary schools, described three primary goals: strengthening early literacy and foundational math; piloting a more robust writing curriculum and developing rubrics and graphic organizers to improve comprehension and written responses; and rebuilding family and community partnerships with a baseline year of work to increase purposeful parent engagement and two new community partnerships annually.

Principal Nicole Sullivan (George R. Austin Intermediate School) described upper-elementary goals emphasizing academic discourse, writing conventions and writing stamina, and math precision assessed with three district performance tasks per year.

At Freetown-Lakeville Middle School, Principal Brian Olivera summarized goals to align grading, assessment and homework practices across the building; to reduce chronic absenteeism through family engagement and a staff-to-student mentor program; and to study advisory or “wind” block options to improve student belonging.

At Apponequet Regional High School (ARHS), leaders discussed a “portrait of the graduate” process and three-year goals to expand career pathways, pilot a health-care pathway, pursue internships and industry credentials, and revise competency determination in line with state changes that removed MCAS as the sole competency gate. The high school plans also include a focus on on-time attendance and reducing excessive absenteeism.

The presenters identified measures for progress: benchmarks and rubric calibration for writing; three annual math performance tasks; surveys and partnership counts for family engagement; and identification of at-risk students this fall as part of competency-determination work. Administrators repeatedly requested additional common planning time and targeted professional development to support rubric calibration, vertical alignment and writing and math instruction.

The school committee approved the SY 2026–2028 school improvement plans by majority vote during the meeting. Committee members thanked administrators for cross-district alignment and for outlining measurable action steps.

Several new administrators were introduced at the start of the meeting: Brian Olivera, principal at FLMS; Jennifer Gargiulo, assistant principal at FLMS; Nicholas Pilla, new administrator at ARHS; and Justin W. Smith, special education administrator for the district. Those introductions preceded the school improvement presentations.

The committee’s approval authorizes the administrative team to implement the first-year actions and to bring updates to the committee as benchmarks are met.","Principals from the district outlined academic goals (writing, math, family engagement and climate) and high-school initiatives (career pathways, competency determination); the school committee approved the 2026–2028 improvement plans at its Sept. 24 meeting.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_46":93,"_48":94,"_50":95,"_52":96,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":97,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":98,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},5973292,"Freetown-Lakeville panel forms Gray's Pool subcommittee after open-meeting law complaint; committee names seven members",6044,141000,6185000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5829765-923cdb65942964e4567cf79d31dc4a50&start=141&end=6185","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5829765-923cdb65942964e4567cf79d31dc4a50/thumbnail_141000.jpg","/articles/5973292/Massachusetts/Freetown-Lakeville-panel-forms-Grays-Pool-subcommittee-after-open-meeting-law-complaint-committee-names-seven-members","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/5973292-a6e3fd3b024d088103acf7606962744c/orig.mp4?Expires=1771146941&Signature=B~mC3cvkegzhIWHIgLezK4y9IN-gr4hmdl9OuhWH8H~lty7oWksuVp9BbdAa9nJYiFerXWz22Ae-AUBnvFUOJ0yqkYexkITUlCjil0HREy0qnsgncdlFhPhEqETAuseq4owgJ4TA5YIjC8bJMxXDPnGzYFpYuE2wuYu1KBijrHSAyYDEczV9ywJPDhxQxwnFy1IwWsJta1y0bC~-YWKxkTF9PApO~cmEZcI9VwO93jI~y-GrPI79AHQyr5yl~S37fdCA9bwPSNYlUx4uSNVIY5eWzx-uaYtIxcNbefXiyQrcXWSV32E9lysW7fb4--7OuqEDkgUzeLgJziyryCxDDw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Chair Jen Blum announced at the Sept. 24 meeting of the Freetown-Lakeville Regional School Committee that the committee will formalize the Gray’s Pool subcommittee’s purpose, charge and timeline after an open-meeting law complaint was filed. The committee voted to approve the subcommittee’s purpose, tasks, charge and timeline and to appoint seven community members to the panel.

The complaint, filed in August by Margaret French, chair of the Town of Freetown finance committee, alleged the subcommittee had not been properly formed and that a meeting had not been published within 48 hours. Blum said the district consulted the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) and district legal counsel and “we do not feel as we did anything wrong,” but the committee will formalize the subcommittee’s structure to avoid further complaints.

The subcommittee’s stated purpose is to review, evaluate and make recommendations to the full school committee based on an engineering study. Its tasks include evaluating pool use — student programming, athletics and community use — and exploring funding options, grants and partnerships to support operations and improvements. The committee’s timeline sets an initial report of preliminary findings to the full school committee no later than January 2026 and a final report with proposed long-term strategies and funding considerations by April 2026.

The school committee appointed Tim Emery (Freetown), Crystal Ing (Lakeville), Lisa Pacheco (Freetown), Diane Topanga (Freetown), Kristen Moreau (Lakeville), Lauren Beagan (Lakeville) and Sarah Dudley (Freetown). The committee chair said the appointments will be sent to each town clerk for swearing-in, pending the school committee’s vote that night.

Members expressed frustration that the complaint was filed instead of being raised directly with committee members. Member Courtney Brightman asked why the committee was adopting changes if it believed it had done nothing wrong; Blum replied she preferred formalizing the process to avoid further open-meeting law enforcement costs and to “create peace.” Member Steve Sylvia said the “real issue here is the pool” and urged the committee to move quickly to get a sound recommendation from stakeholders.

Formal actions recorded at the meeting included a motion and vote to approve the subcommittee’s purpose, task, charge and timeline and a separate vote to appoint the seven named community members. Both measures passed by majority votes during the meeting. The committee also noted that the subcommittee had already been formally established by a unanimous 7–0–0 vote on March 12, 2025; the current vote ratified its charge and schedule.

The subcommittee will provide regular written updates to the full committee and present findings and recommendations for action. The school committee said it will review the subcommittee’s recommendations in April 2026 and decide next steps, including whether to implement recommendations or continue the subcommittee’s work.

Clarifying details recorded at the meeting include the subcommittee’s January 2026 preliminary-report deadline and April 2026 final-report deadline; that the March 12, 2025 formation vote was 7–0–0; and that the appointments will be processed through town clerks and include an official swearing-in.

The committee’s decision to formalize the subcommittee came amid disagreement about whether prior practice required the formal appointments. The district said MASC guidance and its legal review had not required the change, but the committee chose to adopt the explicit process to avoid future open-meeting-law disputes and associated costs to the district.

The committee did not set additional implementation details for pool work at the Sept. 24 meeting beyond the membership and timeline; the appointed subcommittee will meet and set its own schedule for stakeholder engagement and for reviewing the engineering study.","After an open-meeting law complaint from a town official, the Freetown-Lakeville Regional School Committee voted to formalize the Gray's Pool subcommittee’s purpose, charge and timeline and appointed seven members to the panel.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

School committee accepts donations, hears Eagle Scout campus project and approves facility fee increases

District leaders present three-year school improvement plans; committee approves SY2026–28 plans

Freetown-Lakeville panel forms Gray's Pool subcommittee after open-meeting law complaint; committee names seven members