Town Meeeting rejects call for more school funds
People holding signs urging education support lined the sidewalk into the meeting at Apponequet Regional High School. Photos by Sandy Quadros Bowles 
Members of the Select Board, Finance Committee and other town officials sat on stage. 
Recent Apponequet graduate Lucas Soares tells fellow Town Meeting voters that budget cuts will significantly hurt the schools.
People holding signs urging education support lined the sidewalk into the meeting at Apponequet Regional High School. Photos by Sandy Quadros Bowles
Members of the Select Board, Finance Committee and other town officials sat on stage.
Recent Apponequet graduate Lucas Soares tells fellow Town Meeting voters that budget cuts will significantly hurt the schools.
LAKEVILLE -- Lakeville Town Meeting voters approved a $38.2 million budget Monday, June 8, rejecting efforts to add additional funds to the schools.
The total approved by Town Meeting calls for about $18 million to be allocated toward Lakeville’s share of the Freetown-Lakeville school district’s budget. The district had requested about $49 million in total from the two towns.
Without that funding, school officials have said, significant layoffs could occur and program cuts could threaten Apponequet Regional High School’s accreditation with the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
Lakeville voters went to the polls last month to decide whether to support a Proposition 2 ½ override to keep both school and town spending at their current levels. The override, which allows town to exceed state-mandated tax limits, failed.
Attempts at Town Meeting by some voters to move money from other portions of the budget to bolster the school funding were also rejected.
Motions were made to made to transfer money from the Plymouth County Retirement account, which funds pensions of retired employees.
Voters ultimately rejected that idea, along with a proposal to take money from the funds used to pay a loan for the recently completed installation of new doors and windows at Assawompsett Elementary School.
School supporters made their voices known even before voters entered the doors at Apponequet to attend the meeting. Voters were greeted with signs urging support for the schools.
“We can’t have this level of deficit or we are failing our kids,’’ resident Erica Cummings said at the meeting.
Recent Apponequet graduate and Harvard student Lucas Soares said academics are “under threat’’ with the reduced budget which he said would “severely neuter our teachers and our community.’’
Others argued that the town cannot afford the school budget.
“In a perfect world we all want to support the schools,’’ resident James Gallagher said. “But folks, we just don’t have the money. If we don’t have the money, we have to bite the bullet.’’
A resident asked what would happen if the budget as a whole was rejected. Town Counsel Kate Feodoroff said all operations would cease as of July 1, the start of the new fiscal year.
In other issues, Town Meeting voters approved:
A meals tax of .75 percent on all prepared foods in town to generate funds for the town budget.
A ban on cryptocurrency automatic teller machines. The town does not have any, but this vote would prevent any future installations.
A process to recall members of the Freetown-Lakeville School Committee.
Restrictions on water and electrical use for any potential data center projects.
A bylaw that would prevent work within 25 feet of a wetland.
