School Committee delays $44,231 van vote to Oct. 21

School Committee · Meeting of October 7, 2026

Taunton School Committee delayed a $44,231.25 van purchase and moved to require competing bids for overnight trips. The committee voted without objection to hear Taunton Alternative High School Principal Kevin Avitable's three-year plan on Oct. 21 before deciding on the seven-student van, which Superintendent John Cabral said came from three quotes of roughly $85,000, $64,000 and $44,000. After a member called a roughly $4,000 Ireland trip "unbelievable," the committee referred a rule requiring at least two bids, preferably three, to Special Programs, with six yes votes recorded.

It then approved the April 2027 trip 7-0. Cabral also reported the city committed $600,000 to repave nearly a third of the high school campus, with work starting Friday.

In the full story:

• Finance and Law Subcommittee, earlier on Oct. 7
• Opening business and wellness presentation
• Superintendent's report
• Student information system and field trips
• Subcommittee reports
• New business
• Executive session and outcomes
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,188 words

Source: the School Committee meeting of October 7, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.