After almost three years of organizing, members of the Planning Board signed the Greater Fall River Vocational School District regional agreement on July 30, 1963. This document transformed Diman Vocational High School (a school that served only Fall River students) into Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School (a school that would serve students from Fall River, Somerset, Swansea and Westport).
In 1960 Diman Principal John Harrington started a study committee to review the potential of starting a regional school district. After this group gathered favorable evidence concerning this school option, a Planning Board was formed to write a regional school agreement, gain formal support from the four communities, identify state/federal funding and locate a future site for a new school facility.
Within three years, the Planning Board members were able to accomplish all these goals. Once the regional agreement was signed, the first school committee was formed, Harrington was appointed superintendent-director, government funding was secured and land was purchased on Stonehaven Road for the new school that would be constructed and opened by September 1968.
Diman Regional is completing 50 years (1968-2018) of serving students this year. All involved with the school over this period of time should say thank you to these nine individuals. They were all civic leaders from the four communities that would be served by Diman Regional. Within a short period of time they accomplished many tasks that have allowed Diman to graduate so many outstanding students in this region over a half century.
The Planning Board members were Paul Buffington, Wendall Sherman, Howard Church, Ernest Olson, William Gaw, William Manning, Mary Harrington, F. Robert Laing and Ernest Wheeler.
Edward Hill
Swansea