Committee rescinds prior MEES decision, conditionally approves students’ return if water system is operable by August

The Blackstone‑Millville Regional School Committee on May 22 rescinded a previous decision that had kept students out of Millville Elementary School and then voted to allow students to return for the 2025–26 school year only if a new water filtration system is installed and operable by early August.

The committee first rescinded the earlier motion by a 5–3 hand count after testimony from town officials, educators and water‑system experts filled the meeting. Later, by a 5–2 vote, members approved a conditional plan to move students back to MEES for 2025–26 provided the filtration system is installed and demonstrably operating (committee discussion used an early‑August operability target and set construction/install milestones so staff and families can plan).

The decision followed hours of public comment. Jake Stanley, who introduced himself as deputy water and sewer superintendent for the town of Franklin, urged the committee to let the building operate under normal occupancy so engineers could “flow that system like it’s supposed to flow” and produce representative sampling data; he said the bottle‑water mitigation already in place makes short‑term occupancy safe and added, “I have zero zero zero concerns for his health when it comes to the drinking water in that school.”

Teachers and staff urged caution over timing. Jessica Barbado, who said she is a MEES staff member, told the committee: “We have 17 days left of school and someone who has to pack up a library in that amount of time — how is that even possible?” Staff said repeated moves have exhausted employees and that any return needs a clear rollout schedule so teachers can prepare without losing summer time.

Officials also discussed state oversight and funding. Committee members and selectmen summarized recent conversations with the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) and state regulators: MSBA asked for a written deliverable and warned its legal division could review any decision for potential financial implications, including a previously mentioned $850,000 clawback tied to a separate boiler grant. Committee members said MSBA gave the district roughly 30 days to submit a formal plan and documentation for review.

Administrators and selectmen described a $1 million state award intended to fund a remediation/filtration installation at MEES; the county and district have budgeted continued bottled water for cooking and drinking while the treatment system is installed and tested. Committee members emphasized the district is not abandoning bottled‑water safeguards during the installation and monitoring period.

The committee asked administration to return with a clear, dated rollout plan at or before the next scheduled meeting (June 12) so teachers, families and transportation planners know whether students will be in MEES in the fall and on what timetable. The superintendent and several committee members noted contingency language could allow teachers to pack classrooms in advance while preserving safeguards that would trigger staying in the existing arrangements if state testing or permitting required postponement.

The committee’s actions leave several procedural steps in place: MSBA’s legal review of a formal submission, state permitting for the specific filtration equipment, and the district’s operational planning (transportation, classroom allocation and staff assignments). The committee said it will continue providing bottled water regardless of the filtration timeline and monitor state permitting closely.

Next steps: the committee plans to monitor permitting and MSBA feedback and scheduled a follow‑up at its June 12 meeting. If the filtration installation is not substantially underway and producing operable results by the agreed milestone (early August in committee discussion), the conditional plan allows the district to delay a full return to MEES.