Plainville School Committee Proposes $8.67 Million Budget, Seeks Added Special Ed Staff

NORTH ATTLEBORO — March 8, 2022 — Plainville School Committee opens public hearing on $8.67 million FY2023 budget, a 9 percent increase over current year. Superintendent David Rees presented a level-services proposal of $8,668,771 — revised downward by $56,000 from an earlier draft after updated tuition reviews — that adds two special education teachers, a half-time speech-and-language position, an English language learner paraprofessional, and a continuation of nursing support, while cutting one general-education classroom teacher. Wood School nurse Caroline Pascantonio and Jackson School nurse Angela told the committee the current 0.2 supplemental nurse — roughly three hours of help per nurse per week — was dangerously insufficient given rising medical complexity among students: "We are in dire need of some extra help." A parent in the audience pushed back on the level-services framing, calling on the committee to "swing for the fences" and let residents vote on what students actually need, prompting a member to respond that two failed overrides had left the district with little fiscal room. The committee also unanimously confirmed membership for a 13-member superintendent search committee with three alternates, set to hold its first MASC-guided procedural meeting March 17.