Stoughton School Committee Extends Naming Deadline, Invites Student Input on New School

STOUGHTON — April 28, 2026 — Stoughton School Committee holds special meeting on new elementary school naming, receives 28 community submissions. The committee, meeting April 28 at Stoughton High School Auditorium, agreed to extend its May 5 submission deadline and explore a parallel process to incorporate student input after 10th grade history teachers submitted a letter requesting the age-18 petition requirement be waived and the deadline pushed to May 19 so students could participate as part of a state-required civics project. Superintendent Dr. Joseph Baeta said the committee could run student engagement alongside the existing petition process without formally amending Policy FF, telling members, "We haven't even received one petition yet." Building Committee Chair TJ Recupiro urged the committee to leave the building unnamed after any individual, arguing the school's wooded site and timber-framing design constituted a stronger identity than any historical name — though he added the pinwheel wing layout could eventually accommodate multiple honorific names. The committee voted 5-0 to adjourn, with the facilities subcommittee directed to produce a revised naming calendar for the May 12 regular meeting.