D-R School Committee Hope to ‘Bridge’ Budget Gap

The members of the Dighton-Rehoboth Regional School Committee remain hopeful that a solution can be found to deal with a potential budget shortfall.

On November 8, Rehoboth voters rejected a debt exclusion to pay for the $305 million Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical School construction.

The tally was 2,017 in favor and ,2896 in opposition. 441 ballots were left blank for that question. 5,354 voters, representing 53 percent of the town’s 10,172 voters, cast ballots.

The cost to the town will be approximately $150,000 for the first year, $450,000 for the second year, and $615,000 for the remaining years with no Proposition 2 and a half override to pay that debt.

If the debt exclusion had been approved, Selectman Michael Deignan estimated an extra $25 would have been added to residents’ tax bills for next year.

The school committee members were alarmed by recent comments made by Rehoboth Selectmen chairman Skip Vadnais.

On November 14, Vadnais said he would be advocating for taking money from the regional school district. “I’m dead serious. The money’s coming from your educational pie. If someone out there has a better solution, talk to me.”

“I’m sure there’s a way we can work collaboratively with the town to bridge that gap,” Chairman Chris Andrade said, noting the committee has “set very good relationships with the town under the support of (D-R Superintendent) Bill Runey.”

The board of selectmen might decide to place another debt exclusion question on the April town election ballot.

“If I knew my (children) were in the (regional school district), and I had the option of either having their services cut or I can pay $75 more a year as a resident, I think I would probably vote for the debt exclusion,” Runey said at the November 22 meeting.

“I think Rehoboth (officials) has done a great job of running their town with very little,” said committee vice-chairman Aaron Morse. “It’s a tough situation to be in.”

Dighton Selectmen Chairman Leonard Hull told the committee about what his board intends to do regarding a debt exclusion vote.

“We’re working on those plans,” Hull said. “We have a responsibility to explain both sides of the issue so that we do schedule a (vote), it will be done with the full facts available for the voters can make an intelligent decision.”
The Bristol-Plymouth building project was approved last March.

Although the project was rejected in Rehoboth, there were enough votes for passage in the member communities which included Berkley, Bridgewater, Dighton, Middleborough, Raynham, and Taunton.
There were 3,353 "yes" votes in favor of a new building, while 3,047 voted "no." The total "yes" votes amounted to 52.4 percent of the vote.

The Massachusetts School Building Authority provided authorization for a Project Funding Agreement for the Bristol-Plymouth project in September 2021. The agreement includes reimbursement of 62.25 percent of eligible project costs up to a maximum reimbursement amount of $125, 569, 759 toward construction of a modern Bristol-Plymouth school facility.