Regional District Earns Federal Exemplar Status as All Three Towns Pass Budget

FOXBOROUGH — May 13, 2026 — Neshoba regional school district earns federal exemplar status and clears all three town budgets. The School Committee heard May 13 that DESE has designated the district an exemplar in federal grant program administration after it met all 28 ESSA compliance criteria with no findings — an honor that carries an invitation to present at DESE's federal grants conference. Member towns Lancaster, Stow, and Bolton approved the district budget in votes School Committee Chair called "resounding," while over $1.8 million in capital facility commitments also cleared town meetings following a year of deliberate building tours led by Assistant Superintendent Mulcairn's office. The district's PRISM early literacy grant, which Assistant Superintendent Laura Friend credited with a 27 percent reduction in students requiring urgent intervention in grades K-3, faces an uncertain future after both the House and Senate budget proposals zeroed out the literacy launch line that funds the program; state Senators Kennedy and Lewis have joined a committee effort to restore the funding before the July budget vote. A time-sensitive policy on physical restraint and seclusion of students must be updated by August 17 to comply with a June 2025 DESE regulatory amendment.