Freetown-Lakeville School Committee Votes 6-1 to Hold $49.5 Million Level-Service Budget

LAKEVILLE — June 10, 2026 — Freetown-Lakeville School Committee votes 6-1 to maintain its $49.5 million level-service budget, forcing a Lakeville special town meeting. Four days after Lakeville voters approved a reduced school assessment 276 to 149 at annual town meeting — a vote that would have triggered the elimination of 63 district positions — the School Committee chose Wednesday night to reaffirm assessments of $19,349,278 for Lakeville and $14,444,630 for Freetown, which had already approved the full budget unanimously at its own town meeting. Courtney Brightman cast the lone dissenting vote; Tim Emery and Brightman each abstained on separate salary and non-salary component votes. "Our job is to fight for the schools and the students," member Tim Emery said. "And if we don't do that, we're not doing what we were elected to do." More than 17 speakers — including current students, recent graduates, a 48-year elementary school reading interventionist, and retiring teacher Henry DeMello — urged the committee to hold firm, with DeMello telling the panel he was "genuinely astonished" by the way some select board members treat the district as a separate entity rather than a shared community institution. The committee also voted unanimously to move forward with repairs to the Grays pool once at least $150,000 in confirmed state funding is received.