Middleborough adopts new restraint policy, weighs a Sept. 1 or after Labor Day start for 2027-28
The calendar comes back in December for changes or a vote. Bids for the Nichols Middle School roof are scheduled to go out in February, a new bus contract is out to bid, and the superintendent search moves to interview questions Nov. 19.
MIDDLEBOROUGH The Middleborough School Committee on Thursday adopted a new policy that limits when school staff may seclude or physically restrain a student, and got its first look at two calendars for the 2027-28 school year.
Under the first calendar, students in grades 1 to 12 would start Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2027, and the 180th day would fall Thursday, June 15, 2028. The second would start school Tuesday, Sept. 7, the day after Labor Day, and move the 180th day to Tuesday, June 20. Neither was voted Nov. 12, and the committee plans to come back to the choice in December.
The calendar sets the dates families plan work, child care and vacations around, and the new policy governs what staff may do when a student in crisis poses a danger to themselves or others. The committee met at Nichols Middle School and also heard about a new roof for that school, a new school bus contract and the search for a permanent superintendent.
SC360 previewed the meeting Wednesday: Middleborough draft calendar starts school Sept. 1, 2027, with restraint policy vote set for Thursday.
The restraint policy
The committee approved policy JKAA, on time-out, seclusion and physical restraint of students, on its second reading with no changes from the first. Its policy subcommittee had recommended replacing the old policy "as regulations have changed." It was declared unanimous, as was each policy vote that night.
The policy says those methods "shall be used only in emergency situations of last resort" and in line with state education department rules. Seclusion, confining a student alone in a room or area the student is not allowed to leave, is barred except in an emergency when a student poses an imminent threat of assault or serious physical harm. Before it can ever be used, the district must document a history of the student repeatedly causing serious injuries, a licensed physician's finding of no medical reason against it, a licensed mental health professional's justification, a parent or guardian's consent and the principal's written approval, among other safeguards. Physical restraint may never be used as discipline or punishment, and no student's behavior plan or education plan may list it as a standard response.
Two calendars
Interim Superintendent David Thomson walked the committee through both versions. The first starts with two staff training days Aug. 30 and 31, students in grades 1 to 12 on Sept. 1 and kindergarten on Sept. 2, and gives students Friday, Sept. 3, off before the Labor Day weekend. The second holds the staff days Sept. 1 and 2, closes school Sept. 3 and starts students Sept. 7 and 8. When a member asked about the union contract, Thomson said it does not allow school to start before the Monday before Labor Day.
Five snow days would push the second calendar's last day to Tuesday, June 27, 2028, Thomson said. Juneteenth, Monday, June 19, is a holiday. The first calendar makes Good Friday, April 14, 2028, an early release day rather than a day off.
One member said they preferred the later start and asked residents with strong feelings either way to call, email or stop members in the street. The chair asked people to ask around about the different views before the calendar comes back, so the committee is ready then to either make changes or take a vote, and asked the student council for students' views. Thomson said anyone with a concern should call or email the central office.
The Nichols roof and the buses
Thomson said Monday's town meeting approved the Nichols Middle School roof project, which design work puts at about $3.8 million. He said the state will reimburse 58.3%, which he put at about $2.2 million. The town meeting warrant says the Massachusetts School Building Authority's grant cannot exceed 58.37% of eligible costs, and the authority's board voted Oct. 28 to provide $2,049,369, Nemasket Week reported before town meeting.
Bid documents for the roof are scheduled to go out Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2027, with the contract awarded Wednesday, March 31, Thomson said. Work would start as soon as students leave for the summer so the school has its new roof before it reopens in September.
The district is also taking bids for a new school bus contract. A bidders meeting is set for Thursday, Nov. 19, at 11 a.m., bids are due Thursday, Dec. 17, at 11 a.m., and Thomson said the award would come in January to the lowest bidder that meets the district's requirements. The committee's budget subcommittee reported that it discussed transportation, which it called a traditional challenge for Middleborough, along with wages for professional drivers and fuel prices.
Thomson said work on the fiscal 2028 budget has begun, with school budget requests due back in early December. A new director of business and finance starts in early December and a new food service director Nov. 30, he said.
Superintendent search
The committee's screening subcommittee for the superintendent search met Tuesday, Nov. 10, and elected member Kimberly Redlon its chair. Redlon said the job posting was to close Friday, Nov. 13. Each subcommittee member is to send in three interview questions, which she will narrow to 13, and the subcommittee meets Thursday, Nov. 19, to settle the questions in open session before going into executive session to review applications and choose who moves on to the first round of interviews.
The committee had chosen Thomson as interim superintendent in a unanimous vote, with his term set to begin July 1, 2026, the district announced. A student council officer chosen by the student representatives also serves on the search group.
Public comment rules
The committee spent about half an hour on a rewrite of its public comment policy, which was up for discussion only. The draft sets no fixed time limit for each speaker and no overall cap on public comment, keeps a 3-minute limit for people who neither live in Middleborough nor have students in the district, and lets the chair move a recurring topic to a community forum before the next meeting.
Member Christopher Benson called any time limit a nonstarter, and said he ran, and believes he was elected, because stakeholders felt they had no voice. He asked that district staff be exempt from the 3-minute limit, which another member said was never meant for staff, and that any future change to the policy require a roll call vote. If future committee members restrict public comment, Benson said, the public should have on record who they are so it can hold them accountable.
Other members spoke of balancing open comment with getting votes taken, including holding a long topic until later in the meeting or putting it on a coming agenda. A parent who spoke asked that the 3-minute rule be written so it cannot be used against parents who live outside town but have children in the schools. The draft goes back to the policy subcommittee.
Other votes
The committee also approved a rewritten policy on filling a vacancy on the committee. Within one week of a vacancy, the remaining members notify the Select Board, and the two boards then have 14 days to decide together whether to fill the seat at an election or appoint someone for the rest of the term, with any appointment made by roll call vote. Other votes updated the committee's powers and duties, member qualifications, member authority, its organizational meeting and school councils, and retired two policies covered elsewhere.
Members approved two goals for the public, municipality and student relations subcommittee: at least one member at two or more school or community events a month, and a monthly financial dashboard comparing this year's school spending with last year's. The consent agenda accepted a $75,000 state Fair Share earmark, a $1,000 Cooler Communities grant for Nichols and two donations to the high school.
What happens next
The superintendent search subcommittee meets Nov. 19. The 2027-28 calendar is expected back in December, and the public, municipality and student relations subcommittee meets online Tuesday, Dec. 15, at 6:30 p.m. Meeting recordings are on Middleborough Educational Television at MiddleboroughTV.com. The district's central office, 6 School St., can be reached at 508-946-2000.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
Notes
Every fact comes from the Middleborough School Committee's own recording of its Nov. 12 meeting on Middleborough Educational Television, read in full from its captions, and from the committee's posted agenda, policy packet and draft calendar, the district's member list and news page, and the town meeting warrant. The state board's $2,049,369 roof figure is Nemasket Week's report and is credited to it. We read them on Nov. 11 and Nov. 14, 2026. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar, and no student is named. Not heard: Interim Superintendent David Thomson, asked Nov. 11 about the superintendent search timeline and the calendar options; we will update the story when he answers.
Corrections
No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.
Sources (8)
- Middleborough Public Schools: School Committee Meeting, November 12, 2026Middleborough Educational Television, YouTube, 3 hours 2 minutes; the full meeting, every vote, the calendar presentation, the superintendent report, the subcommittee reports and the public comment policy discussion. Read in full from the video's automatic captions Nov. 14, 2026.
- Middleborough School Committee agenda, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026 (Rev A)Posted by the town clerk Nov. 10, 2026, 1:41 p.m. Read Nov. 11 and Nov. 14, 2026.
- Proposed Policy Revisions and Recommendations, Nov. 12, 2026, with the draft JKAA and BEDH policiesIn the committee materials for Nov. 12. Read Nov. 11 and Nov. 14, 2026.
- Middleborough Public Schools 2027-2028 School Calendar, Draft Option 1In the committee materials for Nov. 12, scanned Nov. 6, 2026. Read Nov. 11, 2026.
- Middleborough School Committee Superintendent Search Subcommittee agenda, Nov. 10, 2026Posted by the town clerk Nov. 4, 2026. Read Nov. 11, 2026.
- Meet the School Committee, Middleborough Public SchoolsMember names; district central office address and phone, 6 School St., 508-946-2000. Read Nov. 14, 2026.
- Middleborough Public Schools district news: Dr. David Thomson selected as interim superintendentRead Nov. 14, 2026.
- Town of Middleborough, Fall 2026 Special Town Meeting warrant, Article 21 (Nichols Middle School roof), legal advertisement in Nemasket Week, Oct. 22, 2026The warrant says the state grant cannot exceed 58.37% of eligible costs. The $2,049,369 state board figure is Nemasket Week's report. Read Nov. 1, 2026.