Fall River School Committee Approves Nurses, Deputy Superintendent Authority

School Committee · Meeting of August 19, 2026

Fall River School Committee clashes with mayor over critical state review, still approves nurse hires and a $30 million energy deal. Vice Chair Kevin Aguiar said a Department of Elementary and Secondary Education report costing $35,000 unfairly branded the committee "adversarial," telling members "it's not illegal" that Fall River requires more financial oversight than the state association recommends. Mayor Paul Coogan countered that "it's way too negative" to keep relitigating past failures.

The committee voted 6-0 to hire two of three certified school nurse candidates after one rescinded an offer the night before, and approved an Ameresco-managed energy retrofit at Green Elementary, one of 18 statewide grant winners, projected to cut energy costs 60 percent at no cost to taxpayers. Enrollment has fallen to 10,924 students, roughly 350 below last year, a decline officials said could cost the district $2.2 million in state funding.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 3,888 words

Source: the School Committee meeting of August 19, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.