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Middleborough schools say DESE withheld $~73,000 behavioral-health grant; committee votes to coordinate formal response
Summary
The Middleborough School Committee learned that a discretionary DESE mental-health grant the district believed it had been awarded will not be funded; members unanimously voted to work with the select board, superintendent and town manager to craft a joint response and explore legal and budgetary options.
The Middleborough School Committee was told the district's Supporting Students: Social, Emotional, Behavioral Health and Wellness grant award would not be funded, a change administrators said will create a roughly $73,000 hole in the current budget.
"We are deeply disappointed to announce that our district has lost the supporting students ... mental health and wellness Grant," the superintendent told the committee, saying DESE later cited the town's noncompliance with the MBTA Communities Act as the reason the district is now ineligible. The superintendent said staff began work after an initial award notice and that the district had designated funding for the grant's intended services.
Committee members expressed strong concern about both the fiscal hit and the timing. One member said the loss of funds "makes it doubly so" because money already had been spent; another called the decision "outrageous" and urged residents to contact state lawmakers.
After discussion about legal and intergovernmental options, a member moved that representatives of the school committee work with the select board, the superintendent and the town manager "to form a response" to DESE's decision. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously.
The committee did not specify a dollar-for-dollar replacement plan during the meeting. Administrators said the town manager has assured the committee that the town will assist in addressing the unplanned shortfall, but if that support does not materialize the district may cover the expense from the current fiscal-year general fund.
The superintendent and staff said they have reached out to DESE for clarification and requested a meeting. DESE's communications to the district, as read at the meeting, said discretionary grant awards consider compliance with the MBTA Communities Act as part of executive-branch guidance. Committee members said they had sought but not yet received substantive follow-up responses from the department at the time of the meeting.
Next steps: the committee will draft a joint response with the select board and may seek legal counsel; members indicated they will also press the town's state legislative delegation for assistance and pursue every available administrative avenue to restore the funding or obtain alternate support.
The committee's public hearing for the FY26 budget is scheduled for March 13; committee leaders said they will incorporate updated budget impacts into upcoming budget deliberations.
