Tonight is Lakeville Special Town Meeting to revote school budget

LAKEVILLE -- Town Meeting voters will gather Monday, July 27 to take another vote on the Freetown-Lakeville regional school district budget.

The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. at Apponequet Regional High School.

Voters will be asked whether to fund the entire amount requested from Lakeville for the regional school budget.

The Freetown-Lakeville Regional School Committee had asked Lakeville to fund $1.7 million to cover their portion of the increase in the school budget. Instead, the town opted at the June 6 Town Meeting to pay $350,000, leaving the schools $1.3 million short.

An earlier override vote that would have increased taxes to come up with the funds failed.

School officials have said the budget reduction would cause layoffs, cuts to programming and possibly cause the New England Association of Schools and Colleges to look at the high school’s accreditation.

After the Town Meeting rejection, the regional school committee then called for a special town meeting in Lakeville to reconsider the vote.

Lakeville select board members were required to request the additional funding and proposed taking it out of the stabilization fund, often called the “rainy day fund.’’

Three other articles are proposed by resident Bryan Enloe. These articles take funds from a variety of town sources, including free cash, which is money that wasn’t spent in prior years, and the septic loan program.

The select board and finance committee unanimously voted against using the rainy day fund. Although the board proposed the article, members noted that were forced to develop an option but they didn’t support it.

They didn’t take a vote on Enloe’s option because it was submitted by a resident and was not an official town article.

Freetown voters have already approved their portion of the regional school budget.