Rehoboth School Committee Approves $80,000 Fire Panel Warrant After Assembly Controversy

REHOBOTH — April 14, 2026 — Dighton-Rehoboth School Committee approves $80,000 fire panel warrant and hears assembly apology. Superintendent Rooney publicly apologized at the April 14 meeting for a controversial anti-bullying assembly at Beckwith Middle School in which a performer from the Echo Dance Organization announced his personal Instagram account to students without authorization, prompting family outrage after students found objectionable content on the account. Rooney said a simple internet search before the April 7 event would have flagged the vendor's record of complaints and that he has already alerted 13 southeastern Massachusetts superintendents to avoid the company; a formal corrective action plan covering presenter vetting, family notification, and locker room protocols is in progress. The committee also unanimously approved a warrant article requesting $80,000 from the Town of Rehoboth to replace the fire alarm panel at Palmer River Elementary, accepted a $10,000 rescue truck donated by Dine Ambulance for the high school's new criminal justice CTE program, and approved three new CTE instructor job descriptions for culinary arts, medical assisting, and criminal justice — positions funded in the budget the committee approved March 24.