March 29, 2024

SOS: Moving Forward

Posted

The DR School Committee once again showed our community that they are working, as a whole, for the greater good of the students.

On Thursday night, two very important and very crucial motions were passed by the School Committee, the first of which was motioned by SC member Tom O’Connor of Dighton. Mr. O’Connor, a concerned parent himself, made a motion to take $90K out of the district’s E&D account (savings account) to make sure fall sports and activities are able to start up this summer and into the first weeks of school. Knowing that this budget crisis could drag on into September or even until early December, Mr. O’Connor made his motion to show the people of Dighton and Rehoboth that the School Committee was willing to act. Mr. O’Connor, with the apparent help of Rehoboth SC member George Solas who seconded the motion, came up with a number that was safe to take out of the crippled E&D account while still providing an adequate number for sports and activities to couple with booster club fundraising. The motion carried, opposed only by Rehoboth member Anthony Arrigo. The administration is currently working to make sure this motion is legal; we will update you as soon as we find out.


Earlier in the meeting, when we were still in the media center, Deputy Commissioner of Secondary and Elementary Education Jeff Wulfson answered questions from the committee about regionalized districts, de-regionalization, and the regional district budget process. The main highlight of Deputy Commissioner Wulfson’s comments was when School Committee Chairperson Katherine Cooper asked him about district-wide meetings, which we have been referring to as ‘tent meetings.’ Mr. Wulfson clarified that the Special Town Meeting vote on Tuesday in Rehoboth to pass the 1.32% budget contingent on a Proposition 2 ½ Override was essentially a ‘no’ vote, legally. Therefore, the committee would be able to schedule a district-wide meeting before the override election, despite the comments of Rehoboth officials.

Rehoboth School Committee member Craig Chapman made the motion to send the 1.32% budget assessment decision to a district-wide ‘tent’ meeting, which was seconded by Dighton School Committee member Glenn Jefferson who was calling in. The motion passed, with only Rehoboth members Anthony Arrigo, George Solas, and Richard Barrett in opposition. The motion was contingent on the Chair and Vice-Chair scheduling the meeting and finding a venue.

Save Our Schools would like to emphasize that this fight DOES NOT END HERE! Just because the School Committee MAY be able to fund fall sports and activities DOES NOT guarantee a full-year budget. This is why you MUST pay attention to announcements regarding the district-wide ‘tent’ meeting! As soon as the School Committee announces the details about the event, it will be all over Save Our Schools’ pages!

Again, we would like to ask for your help spreading the word about this budget crisis! In order to avoid these crises moving forward, we need supporters like YOU to volunteer to help a school district in need.

Here are the many ways you can help:

1.Like, comment, and share both Save Our Schools’ pages (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) and our posts! The more interactions our supporters have with our posts, the more informed they will be!

2.Sign up to volunteer! SOS needs help spreading the word through media, fieldwork, and student outreach. Here is the link to our sign-up: https://forms.gle/XuNAWxxzZvbNAtn46

3.Donate! In order for SOS to stay around, we need our supporters to ensure we exist! Here is our annual upkeep donation link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/sos-upkeep?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=p_na+share-sheet&rcid=67275393b9d545798e1d7fe123a0cf5d

Thank you, and we’ll see you at the district-wide meeting!

SOS Leadership Team
info@savedr.org

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