LAKEVILLE — School Committee members’ “all-time favorite” meeting agenda item happened on Wednesday, May 24 as Apponequet Regional High School’s top 10 graduating seniors received honors and a chance to address the committee.

At the meeting, students thanked their families, friends and teachers while also speaking of their experiences at Apponequet and providing recommendations on how the district can improve.

The ten students honored were: Rebecca DiClemente, ranked 10th; Sophia Kyranos, ranked ninth; Mary Tomaszewski, ranked eighth; Abigail Menendez, ranked seventh; Katelyn Hague, ranked sixth; Lucas Quinn, ranked fifth; Jocelyn Carvalho, ranked fourth; Elizabeth Ashley, ranked third; salutatorian Amirtha Santhosh, ranked second; and valedictorian Eoin Gallagher, ranked first.

“I have always loved school, and as a lifelong student of this district, I can attribute my love of learning to the amazing teachers and staff we have here at every level,” Gallagher said. “I have truly grown a lot here and cannot be more appreciative to our district for making me the person I am today.”

The students also listed the many accomplishments they earned, the memories they made, and the challenges they faced in their high school careers. Advanced Placement United States History was a common struggle for many honorees.

Many of the students recommended the committee consider offering Advanced Placement courses — which can count for college credit — to ninth- and 10th-grade students. According to Apponequet Principal Kahlan Dessert, the school will begin offering one Advanced Placement class for 10th-graders in the coming year.

Carvalho recommended improving the accessibility of Advanced Placement courses, including potentially helping to subsidize Advanced Placement exams, which cost $97 for each test. 

Gallagher advocated for the district to cover the costs of Advanced Placement exams and sports team fees, which can cost families hundreds of dollars per year, he said.

Menendez suggested the district and committee allocate more money toward the school’s Distributive Education Clubs of America, commonly known as DECA, because the high travel costs for competitions and conventions can prevent some students from participating.

Ashley said she found that Apponequet has the second-lowest expenditure per student among surrounding districts. She recommended the School Committee organize more fundraisers.

The Freetown-Lakeville Regional School District is in the bottom 40 of over 300 public school districts throughout the state in terms of expenditure per student as of 2021, according to data from the state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

“With such an underfunded budget, the school committee has to think of creative ways to improve the schools and equipment in classrooms in order to be competitive with surrounding districts,” Ashley said.

DiClemente said the district should implement stronger measures to hold students who cheat on schoolwork accountable. Doing so, she said, would benefit both the district and individual students in the long run by stressing the importance of integrity in academics and in life.

After Apponequet, the students will head off to college with the goals of continuing their respective educations and setting themselves up for their careers.

The top 10 will attend schools including the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s honors college, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Boston University, the University of Delaware, Bowdoin College, the University of Rhode Island and Dean College.