November News Briefs

Town Meeting Approves Leasing Anawan School for Affordable Housing
Voters at town meeting approved an article authorizing selectmen to petition the State Legislature to allow the town to enter into a 99-year lease with the Women’s Development Corporation to renovate the former Anawan School on Bay State Road into affordable housing for seniors and senior veterans. The project is expected to cost $5 to $6 million and will be paid by the state. The building will contain 38 units. See article on the special town meeting for more information.

Town Must Return Appropriation Used for Budget Deficit
A vote taken at the special town meeting in August which appropriated approx. $503,000 from a sale of real estate fund to help cover the budget deficit had to be returned. It was determined that the fund could not be used for that purpose. In order to balance the Fiscal Year 2015 budget, special town meeting on Oct. 27 appropriated monies from taxation and certified free cash. For details, see the article on the special town meeting in this issue.

Voters Approve Procedural Change for Town Meeting
Voters at town meeting approved a bylaw amendment giving the town moderator authorization to deny a motion to reconsider unless the motion is based on new information not previously presented. For details on the vote, see article in this issue.

Chief Pray Given Final Alarm Send Off
Fire Chief Robert Pray was honored on his last day with a final alarm send off from the Bristol County Fire Chiefs, a tradition that Pray himself started several years ago. Chiefs and firefighters from several area towns attended the event to pay their respects and say good-bye to the chief. Pray has served the Rehoboth Fire Department for 38 years and led the department as chief for 18 years. Although Pray’s official retirement date is not until next March, his last office day was October 3.

Deputy Chief Appointed New Fire Chief
Deputy Chief Frank Barresi was appointed the town’s new Fire Chief. Barresi succeeds Chief Robert Pray, who is retiring after serving the department for 38 years. Barresi has been with the department for 27 years. Barresi started his new job last month.

New Council on Aging Director Appointed
Linda Sherman has been appointed as the new Director of the Council on Aging, succeeding Norie Palmer, who left the position last month after serving for 10 years. Sherman has been Norie’s right hand for three years, serving as Administrative Assistant and Office Manager. Sherman said she is “thrilled’ about the new position because she really enjoys working with the seniors. There were nine applicants for the position.

Three School Roof Projects Starting
The project to replace the roofs at three schools in the district – Dighton Elementary, Dighton Middle and Beckwith Middle School were expected to start at the end of October.
The projects were accepted into the Massachusetts School Building Authority Accelerated Repair Program, which provides a 52 percent reimbursement of the total costs. The contract for the Dighton schools was awarded to MDM Engineering Co. in Dudley and the contract for Beckwith was awarded to Greenwood Industries in Millbury. The work is expected to be completed by the end of December.

Rehoboth to Create New Capital Expenditure Fund
New legislation signed by Governor Deval Patrick will allow Rehoboth to create a capital expenditure fund with revenue from solar farms. The bill, which was sponsored by State Representative Steven Howitt in the House and Sen. James Timilty in the Senate, can be used only for capital improvements. It will give the town the ability to use income from solar farms for building projects.

D-R High Performs Well on MCAS Tests
Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School scored consistently above the state average on last year’s MCAS tests. Other schools in the district reported mixed results. At the high school,
94 percent of students scored proficient or higher in English, compared with 89 percent statewide, and 83 percent scored proficient or higher in math, compared with 78 percent statewide. At Beckwith Middle School, 77 percent of students scored proficient or higher in English, compared to 69 percent statewide, and the math scores were close, with 56 percent of students scoring proficient or higher compared to 60 percent of the state. Palmer River Elementary students were below the state percentages in both math and English. D-R is ranked as a Level 2 district out of five accountability levels with 1 being the highest.

Study Ranks D-R in Top 100 Schools in State for Best Education Value for the Money
Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School was ranked 98 out of 266 school districts by the website Nerdwallet.com, a consumer advocacy site, for offering parents the best “bang for their buck.” According to an article in the Sun Chronicle, nerdwallet.com used census and state education data to identify high quality schools in affordable communities. Schools were defined as “high quality” by looking at standardized test scores, college readiness and class size and then weighing that information against affordability metrics. Several other school districts in the area were ranked in the top 100, including Mansfield which came in fourth; Seekonk, 77; King Philip School District, which serves Norfolk, Wrentham and Plainville was ranked 19; North Attleboro, 82; and Foxboro, 65.