South Coast schools line up $3.1 million in state earmarks for bleachers, a boiler and door locks

SOUTH COAST Nineteen school districts serving South Coast communities are in line for $3.14 million in one-time state money, earmarked for projects from new gym bleachers at Old Rochester Regional High School to a boiler at Somerset's South Elementary School.

The earmarks were written into Chapter 101 of the Acts of 2026, a supplemental state budget for fiscal 2026 that was approved June 12, under an item "for local one-time education projects." The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is handing the money out as what it calls Fair Share Earmarks, about $30.4 million for public schools statewide. The $3.14 million South Coast figure is our own sum of the department's list of eligible districts.

The education department's award notice to Middleborough, dated Nov. 10, grants the district $75,000 for a grant period that runs Oct. 15, 2026, to June 30, 2029. The Middleborough and Rochester school committees both list their earmarks for a vote on Thursday, Nov. 12.

Where the money goes

State earmarks for South Coast area school districts (Chapter 101 of the Acts of 2026, item 1596-2517, as listed by the state education department)

District	Amount	What the law says it is for
Acushnet	$100,000	Renovations to the Albert F. Ford Middle School library
Berkley	$75,000	$25,000 for a reading curriculum; $50,000 for educational support, capital projects and related needs
Bridgewater-Raynham Regional	$320,000	$250,000 for water filtration and other capital improvements at the two Bridgewater middle schools; $70,000 for districtwide security, technology, lighting and capital projects
Dartmouth	$170,000	A new school bus, musical instruments and athletic equipment
Fairhaven	$25,000	Local history lessons with the Millicent Library
Fall River	$170,000	$120,000 for special education and after-school transportation; $50,000 for field trips
Freetown-Lakeville Regional	$175,000	$150,000 for the George R. Austin Intermediate School pool; $25,000 to support students
Marion	$25,000	Capital needs and safety improvements at school buildings
Middleborough	$75,000	$50,000 for capital needs and safety improvements; $25,000 to support students
New Bedford	$350,000	Taylor Elementary playground, New Bedford High gym bleachers, and athletic equipment, musical instruments and career technical education items for Trinity Day Academy and Whaling City Junior/Senior High students
Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical	$250,000	Communications and security system upgrades
Old Rochester Regional	$180,000	$125,000 for gym bleachers; $55,000 for gym floor repairs, electrical upgrades and flags
Plymouth	$150,000	Capital improvements, security cameras and safety bollards
Rochester	$200,000	Special education costs at Rochester Memorial School
Seekonk	$50,000	Emergency locking systems for middle school classroom doors and large gathering spaces
Somerset	$200,000	Boiler equipment replacement at South Elementary School
Swansea	$250,000	Upgraded auditorium seating at Joseph Case High School
Taunton	$125,000	$100,000 for groundskeeping and snow removal trucks; $25,000 to support students
Wareham	$250,000	The student laptop lease program and laptop upgrades for about a third of teachers

Buildings, gyms and safety

Three South Coast districts get $250,000 each, and two of those earmarks go to buildings and building systems. Swansea's $250,000 is for "costs associated with upgrading auditorium seating" at Joseph Case High School, in the words of the law, and Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School in Rochester gets $250,000 for communications and security system upgrades. Somerset's $200,000 is for "boiler equipment replacement at the South elementary school." South Coast 360 asked Swansea Superintendent Scott Holcomb when the district expects to replace the Case High auditorium seats and will add his answer.

Old Rochester Regional High School gets $125,000 to replace gym bleachers the law describes as "beyond their useful life and no longer serviceable," plus $55,000 for gym floor repairs, electrical upgrades and new flags. New Bedford High School's gym gets $100,000 for bleachers of its own.

Freetown-Lakeville Regional's $150,000 goes to renovations of the swimming pool at the George R. Austin Intermediate School. Acushnet gets $100,000 to renovate the Ford Middle School library, and Seekonk gets $50,000 for emergency locks on middle school classroom doors and in large gathering spaces across the district. Marion and Middleborough each get money for capital needs and safety work at their schools.

Classrooms, buses and special education

Rochester's $200,000 is set aside "to offset special education costs at the Rochester Memorial school." Fall River gets $120,000 to cover special education and after-school transportation and $50,000 for field trips.

Wareham's $250,000 goes to its student laptop lease program and laptop upgrades for about a third of its teachers. Dartmouth's $170,000 buys a new school bus, musical instruments and athletic equipment. Berkley gets $25,000 for a reading curriculum, and Taunton gets $100,000 for trucks its schools use for groundskeeping and snow removal.

In Fairhaven, $25,000 pays for students to study local history with the Millicent Library, using collections the law says feature Mark Twain, Helen Keller, Nakahama Manjiro and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In New Bedford, besides the bleachers, $100,000 goes to playground work at Taylor Elementary School and $150,000 buys athletic equipment, musical instruments and career and technical education items for students at Trinity Day Academy and Whaling City Junior/Senior High School.

Of Bridgewater-Raynham's $320,000, $250,000 is for water filtration and other capital work at two middle schools in Bridgewater, and $70,000 is for security, technology, lighting and capital projects across the regional district.

The same item of the law also sets aside $25,000 for capital needs and safety improvements to public school facilities in Dighton and $50,000 for the same work in Rehoboth, though neither line is on the education department's list of districts, so neither is counted in the $3.14 million. Westport, Somerset Berkley Regional, Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech, Bristol County Agricultural and Diman have no school earmark in the item.

How the money moves

The law draws this part of the spending package from the state's Education and Transportation Innovation and Capital Fund or its Transitional Escrow Fund, and lets the money be spent through June 30, 2029. Each earmark is written as a floor, "not less than" the listed amount, and names what the money is for.

The education department says districts had to apply through its online grants system by Friday, Oct. 23, cannot draw the money down before an approvable application, and should try to spend it by June 30, 2027. Middleborough's award notice adds that costs cannot be charged to the grant before its start date and that reimbursement requests must be in before Aug. 16, 2029.

What happens next

The Middleborough School Committee meets Thursday, Nov. 12, at 6:30 p.m. in the John T. Nichols Middle School auditorium, 112 Tiger Drive, with its $75,000 earmark on the consent agenda. The Rochester School Committee meets the same night at 6 p.m. at Rochester Memorial School, 16 Pine St., and on Google Meet, with a vote on its $200,000 earmark, which the agenda credits to state Sen. Michael Rodrigues, alongside its federal special education and Title grants. Both agendas include a public comment period.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.