SPS Weekly Newsletter

This week's header photo features the Stoughton High girls hockey team before the start of their game last weekend against Franklin. The Knights traded their black and orange for these special purple jerseys as they participated in a "Hockey Fights Cancer" fundraiser at the Canton Ice House on February 1.

We received good news at the Special Town Meeting on Monday night. Town Meeting representatives voted overwhelmingly, 110-28, to approve the funding of a new elementary school building in Stoughton. With the successful Town Meeting vote, Stoughton voters will now be asked to approve funding the project on April 8, 2025, which coincides with Stoughton’s annual town election. An affirmative vote on April 8th will officially give the green light for a new elementary school to be built. You can learn more about the building project by clicking on the button below:

I also wanted to share some links for you to review this weekend. First, we are expecting more snow on Sunday, so it is always good to review our school cancellation and delayed opening plan, and you can also read about what goes into a Superintendent’s decision making about when to call a snow day (or not):

And, our FY26 budget book has been posted on our website and shared with the Select Board and Finance Committee. We are facing a number of budgetary challenges this year, which have required difficult decisions to ensure we can continue providing essential services to our students.

In the recently released governor's FY26 budget proposal, the state funding estimates, including Chapter 70 funding increases set by the Student Opportunity Act (SOA), exceed our initial budget increase request. Chapter 70 funds are allocated to support the needs of students, in particular the higher needs of certain subgroups of students.

Therefore, we are seeking to incorporate all of the Chapter 70 funding not only to satisfy our minimum spending requirements but also to restore approximately $2.8 million in services and positions that we have had to remove from our initial budget proposal. Not restoring this funding makes it increasingly difficult to meet our requirements and to provide the quality education for all students that Stoughton residents expect and demand. Additionally, incorporating the entirety of the Chapter 70 funding now allows the school department to retain mostly level services from FY25 and allows the district to keep the qualified staff it needs to open schools in September. On January 28, 2025, the School Committee revoted the bottom line to add in the full Chapter 70 funding.

You can click on the image below to look at the FY26 budget book:

Have a great weekend. We are looking forward to celebrating the 100th day of school next week.

Sincerely,

Joseph F. Baeta, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Stoughton Public Schools

The Stoughton High theatre program presented its winter production, The Laramie Project, last weekend. The play deals with the aftermath of the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student at the University of Wyoming. The cast did a remarkable job handling this serious subject matter and it made for a powerful and moving production.

The future of Stoughton basketball was on display Wednesday night in the Stoughton High gymnasium as the O'Donnell Middle School girls and boys basketball teams hosted Randolph. The basketball doubleheader also featured a performance by the OMS dance team.

Mrs. Raeke's first graders at the Hansen School recently learned about cardinals. The students were excited to show the cardinals they made as part of this lesson that are hanging on a bulletin board in their classroom.

First grade students at the Gibbons School are pictured here learning how to play the glockenspiel in music class.

Attention parents of school age children ages 2.9 to 4 years: In compliance with Chapter 766, Stoughton Public Schools will screen preschool-aged children to identify those children with possible special education needs.

The screening will occur at the E.A. Jones Early Childhood Center (137 Walnut St. in Stoughton) on Friday, February 14, 2025. The screening will include the following: Speech and language, education, motor skills, and completion of a parent questionnaire.

If you want to schedule an appointment, please call 781-344-7003 by Wednesday, February 12, 2025. Please note that this screening is not for enrollment for the preschool. Your child must be a Stoughton resident and parents must provide a current physical exam form.

If you have any questions or want additional information, please contact the Jones ECC at 781-344-7003 or email Nicole Velozo at n_velozo@stouhgtonschools.org.

The pre-registration process for preschool is now open. Preschool students must be 3 or 4 years of age by August 31, 2025 and be toilet trained. Please be advised that pre-registration does not guarantee a spot in the preschool program as there are limited spots available. More information and the link to the pre-registration form can be found by clicking here.

The pre-registration process for grades K-12 will start in March. For kindergarten, children must be 5 years old by August 31, 2025. Students only need to register for grades 1-12 if they do not currently attend the Stoughton Public Schools. Stay tuned for more information closer to March.

Sure, it might snow this weekend, but we are already thinking about spring! Registration for the 2025 spring sports season at Stoughton High is now open. Don't wait...sign up today and be ready for the first day of tryouts/practices! Click here to register.

The Stoughton School Committee will be meeting on Tuesday, February 11, 2025 in the conference room at the SPS District Office, 31 Pierce St. The public portion of the meeting starts at 7pm. An agenda for the meeting can be found by clicking here.

Did you know that Stoughton Public Schools has partnered with Care Solace to support the well-being of students, staff, and their family members? Care Solace is a complimentary and confidential care coordination service that can help you quickly find mental health, social services, or substance use treatment options matched to your needs, regardless of circumstance.

• Call: 888-515-0595 (available 24/7/365 with multilingual support)
• Visit: caresolace.com/stoughtonschools to search or click “Book Appointment”.

For updates throughout the week, be sure to follow Stoughton Public Schools on social media: