Acushnet School Committee backs solar canopy, accepts nearly $15,000 library gift

ACUSHNET -- October 18, 2025, Acushnet School Committee voted to send a letter of support to the Board of Selectmen for a proposed no-cost solar canopy project and accepted a $14,958 donation toward a library renovation at Ford Middle School. The October 18 meeting saw the committee back the letter four to one, advancing a two-year-old proposal by Select Energy to build and own a solar canopy over the parking lot between Acushnet Elementary School and FMS, with the district purchasing discounted electricity under a 25-year agreement. PJ Keating president Derek Hill and area manager Rick Daywell presented the donation check, raised through the company's Pushkin River Valley Golf Tournament, earmarked for what they called a "reviving and thriving" library project. Superintendent Dr. Bailey's 2025-2027 goals, anchored by a social-emotional learning target of at least a four-point improvement in student engagement and safety survey scores over a spring 2025 baseline, were approved unanimously. A spring 2025 MCAS data presentation showed the district outpacing the state in ELA, math, and science achievement overall, while chronic absenteeism and lower-than-state growth scores at FMS remain unresolved concerns.