Carver was denied a $24,150 education grant from the state due to the town’s noncompliance with the state’s MBTA Communities Act, according to Carver Public Schools Superintendent Scott Knief.
The denial is the first apparent impact to Carver’s grant funding as the town continues to be noncompliant with the controversial MBTA Communities Act. Earlier this year, Carver was sued by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell for failing to comply with the law.
The denied grant was part of the state’s Innovation Career Pathways program and was meant to support the manufacturing, engineering and technology pathways programs at Carver High School. Knief said the grant would have been for a CNC Router, a device that can be used to manufacture robot components, supplies for the school’s robotics program and money for a field trip.
“It was a little disappointing to not get the grant this time around,” Knief said.
Knief said prior to the grant decision, he knew it was possible the town’s MBTA law noncompliance could impact Carver’s school grant money. Carver Middle High School has historically received Pathways grant funding: in 2023, the school got $75,000 for an environmental and life science/manufacturing program.
The MBTA law requires towns adjacent to or containing commuter rail stops to zone for multifamily housing. Since Carver is located near Middleboro, Kingston and Halifax — all of which have commuter rail stops — it is required to zone for 235 multifamily units suitable for families with children. Carver is one of less than a dozen holdouts after the town overwhelmingly rejected a proposed zoning plan designed to meet the state’s requirements last October.
The town has avoided applying to grants that it would likely be rejected from due to being noncompliant, Town Administrator Glenn Cannon said. However, he added that no projects have been held back because of this decision.
Cannon called grants a “supplement” to the budget, rather than funding that the town relies on.
Meanwhile, the state has made MBTA compliance an explicit requirement for several DESE grants. A spokesperson for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education referred the Carver Journal to grant guidance posted to the department’s website.
Guidance from the education department for fiscal year 2027 states that the receipt of Pathways grant funds is contingent on towns complying with Massachusetts General Laws — including the MBTA Communities Act.
On Tuesday, Oct. 21, the Carver Select Board unanimously voted to place a 40R Smart Growth zoning plan on the warrant for a Special Town Meeting scheduled on Tuesday, Dec. 1. Cannon said the plan was pre-approved by the state as compliant with the MBTA law.
Should the 40R plan pass at the Special Town Meeting in December, Carver may then be reeligible for the Pathways grant it missed out on this year. However, Knief said since the grants are offered on an annual basis, Carver will have to reapply next year.
Contact Editor-in-Chief Nick Mossman at nick@carverjournal.com.
