The Town of Southborough Scholarship Committee agreed at a recent meeting to set an application deadline of 4 p.m. on May 9, 2025, and to remove language about the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and Expected Family Contribution from its application until staff can confirm what now replaces FAFSA-based need reporting.

Committee members said the change is necessary because the FAFSA and the federal EFC calculation have been updated and no longer produce the same information the committee previously used to assess financial need. Isabelle said she would "take it on as a to do to get in touch with guidance when I get back" to determine how schools now document student financial need, and the committee agreed to delay finalizing evaluation-weighting until that information is available.

Committee members asked staff to revise the application to remove the FAFSA/EFC paragraph and to consider how the committee will weight need if a comparable report is not available. Members agreed to reconvene the following week to finalize criteria and to give applicants at least 30–45 days' notice. The committee also asked Katie, the town staff member who manages the application process, to confirm availability and to streamline application materials so reviewers do not need to print unnecessary pages.

Members discussed fundraising and a possible new memorial scholarship the family of a recently deceased resident may establish; the family has not yet authorized moving forward. The committee reviewed account balances reported by town staff and said the scholarship program currently holds roughly $500 in a general account and "a couple thousand" each in two memorial funds (Linda Hovland and Carol Harris memorial scholarships), with last year’s $5,000 town allocation coming from ARPA funds that were required to be spent by the end of last year and are therefore not available this year. The committee chair said she would forward the town staff email with exact balances to the group.

The committee also discussed publicity options, including a three-minute public service announcement produced by Southborough Access Media and sharing recipient stories from prior years. Members suggested contacting prior recipients to ask how scholarship funds were used for inclusion in outreach materials.

Before adjourning, the committee approved minutes for the June 4, 2024 meeting by roll-call vote (all in favor) and later approved a motion to adjourn (all in favor).