Acushnet School Committee authorizes Fairhaven High tuition extension talks ahead of December vote

ACUSHNET — November 22, 2025 — Acushnet School Committee moves toward December 9 vote on high school tuition agreements as existing contracts with Fairhaven and New Bedford expire. Superintendent Dr. Shari Bailey told the committee the district currently pays $12,578 per pupil to Fairhaven High School and $12,853 to New Bedford High School, against a Chapter 70 per-pupil allocation of $11,714, producing a combined excess tuition cost of $177,046 — roughly three teaching positions — plus more than $279,000 in required transportation. The district offered all four prospective partners — Fairhaven, New Bedford, Freetown-Lakeville, and Old Rochester Regional — a starting figure of 70 percent of Chapter 70 funding per pupil; Freetown-Lakeville accepted but demanded exclusivity, a condition committee members called "a non-starter." The board voted unanimously to authorize Dr. Bailey to negotiate a one-year bridge extension with Fairhaven, whose school committee will take up the proposal December 3. Five community members, including two Ford Middle School students, urged the panel during public comment to preserve Fairhaven as an option, citing sibling placements, decades of community ties, and uncertainty created by a new lottery system at Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School. The board also ratified a 2025–2028 custodian and maintenance contract and accepted a $25,000 scholarship donation identified as coming from Judy Ford.