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W-H unveils winter school program

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A winter school program is beginning this semester at WHRHS, as an alternative to summer school for some students who are falling behind.

“Winter school is basically the idea of taking summer school and moving it into the winter to head off a student failing midway through the year who has no light at the end of the tunnel, so that at the end of the first semester they know they are pretty much sunk for the year,” Principal Dr. Christopher Jones.

Teachers and departments have selected the most important benchmarks for subject mastery and put them into a computer-based program for curriculum for credit recovery courses. The more specific course helps students move from a failing grade to a 60 — the lowest possible passing grade for a course.

“The whole idea is they get the concepts they need to be able to be successful in the second semester, because if you fail the first half of biology, odds are, you’re not going to pass the second half,” he said. “We are already loaded up and set to go with 44 students and three coordinators.”

It retains the integrity of the grade because students are required to pass the concepts the school requires in a course. Summer school, which can be taken in other school districts may not always achieve that.

Jones said that, while it is not easy, about 92 percent of the students taking winter school in his former district passed for the year and did not have to attend summer school.

The program is done after school, with coordinators required to unlock access to pre-tests and assessments. Secure browsers prevent them from finding answers elsewhere online.

“There is no financial impact,” Jones said. “It’s a self-funding program.”

Each student pays $50 to participate to take winter school, significantly less than summer school, and may take two courses because the fee is for entrance and not levied per course.

“Right now, we’re seeing a profit, which I don’t like,” Jones said. “I’m not looking to make money off of this, I’m looking to self-fund a program that is to help students succeed.”

The three hours per week required for the program must be arranged between the student and the coordinator.

“I like the innovation of it,” Committee member Robert Trotta said. “People are thinking of ways to improve things, especially for our students. … I think this is what education is all about, to look at what you have and to change things, if necessary, for students to enjoy success.”

“The accessibility of this program for the kids is awesome and the innovative nature is very encouraging,” member Chris Scriven agreed.

W-H Regional High School is also working to make summer reading more enjoyable for students with the inauguration of the Summer Reading Smack Down.

Reading madness

Partly an exercise in NCAA March Madness Bracketology, partly the PBS Great American Read, it’s a project that invites all high school students and staff to propose titles for the one book all students will be required to read as part of the summer reading list.

Jones said the idea is to promote summer literacy by offering an opportunity for students to help select a book they may actually read.

Students and faculty are asked to take suggested books out, fill out a 1-to-5 rating on a book mark survey and a committee will select a book in April.

The titles will be placed in a March Madness-type bracket with a panel of mostly students — and some staff — selecting “winners” in each bracket, based on 30-second pitches for each book.

“Everybody votes as to which book moves forward,” Jones said. Interdisciplinary days based on the selected book will kick off the school year in August — for example if the book, “Code Name Verily,” about female British pilots during WW II, is chosen, a math department could talk about codes, history classes could focus on the historical aspects of the book and a science class could focus on flight instruments.

“Isn’t it nice to do something that’s awesome instead of talking about budgets and negativism,” School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes said.

“I love this idea,” member Alexandria Taylor said. “I love to read … [but] summer reading killed me. I hated it. I hate being told to read a book that I’m not interested in, so I love the idea that you’re getting students involved in choosing a book.”

“Reading should not be punitive,” Jones concurred. “We talk about helping our teachers work. This idea was brought up in the English Department.”

Program of studies

Jones also outlined a revised program of studies that shifts 21 courses to keep pace with changed in curriculum programs. For example, Intro to TV and Radio Production has been changed to Video Production as television and radio “becomes outdated,” as well as changes to math programs such as courses that prepare students for AP Calculus. The School Committee approved the changes.

School Choice was also approved for 20 freshmen and 20 sophomore students — and upper classmen whose families have moved out of district and want to stay at W-H through graduation — again for the 2019-20 school year. Approval is an annual requirement for the program to continue. There are now 62 students attending the high school through the school choice option, some from other towns, but most are those whose families moved and they want to stay and graduate from WHRHS, Superintendent Jeffrey Szymaniak said.

Last year 20 freshmen and 20 sophomores were approved.

“We did not hit those numbers,” Szymaniak said. The average school choice student brings $5,000 into the district and those with IEPs can mean from $15,000 to $18,000 to the district’s coffers.

“That doesn’t drain programs, it’s special education services we already provide,” Szymaniak said.

District Business Manager Christine Suckow confirmed that the school choice program has enabled the district to hire six teachers, funded through the program.

The school will also be taking part in a state DESE Youth Risk Behavior Survey at the high school among freshmen and sophomores, referring them to the school adjustment counselors for some further discussions.

“This survey gives us information on substances and different things that students are exposed to,” Jones said.

Information gleaned provides a picture on substance use and frequency and social-emotional issues. At a certain threshold of affirmative answers, the student is referred to an adjustment counselor for further discussion and/or alternative treatment.

“The only hitch with that is that [adjustment counselors] can’t necessarily divulge that information to the parents,” Jones said. “It’s really having the kids in an anonymous or confidential atmosphere.”

  

Survey hints at budget goals

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WHITMAN — After hearing Finance Committee Chairman Richard Anderson say his board is “prepared to make some very difficult decisions about the future of this community,” Selectmen on Tuesday, Feb. 19 heard a sampling of the community’s priorities.

“Without a doubt there needs to be a significant correction here in order to give the taxpayers the confidence that we have a sustainable budget for at least the next five years,” Anderson said.

The 1,062 residents responding — 640 online and 422 via mail-in forms — to the Community Assessment Survey administered by Bridgewater State University’s Political Science Department and Dr. Melinda Tarsi give an indication of residents’ thoughts.

While complete results have not yet been released, and Town Administrator Frank Lynam would like to organize a public meeting similar to the one held last summer to introduce the project, Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski offered an overview of the findings.

“We like our town,” Kowalski suggested was the general conclusion. “People like living in this town. They want to improve the schools and the roads. … In general, I was enthusiastic about this survey, although in general it does present an interesting problem. It looks as if people like the services in our town, however they have some hesitancy to pay for it.”

Tarsi has forwarded the statistical data from the final report to the town and discussed them with Lynam. A more detailed, explanatory report is still being compiled.

“I want to give people a flavor for what it said,” Kowalski said of the data. “Eventually, what I see happening is this becomes the opening of some kind of five-year strategic plan, giving us a picture of what this town wants to be like — where it’s been and where it’s going.”

Of the respondents, 78-percent were 41 or older; 53 percent were male and 43 percent female, with the remainder declining to provide that information. There were 74 percent who have lived in town for at least 11 years; the largest block of those having been residents for between 31 and 50 years. Homeowners made up 47 percent of those completing the survey.

Parents of children attending Whitman schools now or in the past, made up 32 percent of those competing forms and only 28 percent of the 1,062 taking part in the survey have attended town meetings.

Most — 69 percent — thought Whitman is a good-to-very good place to live, but 71 percent thought entertainment options were very poor-to-poor.

Three-quarters said Whitman is a great place to raise a family, but 69 percent said it was a poor-to-average place to own a business.

“That’s something that we know, too,” Kowalski said.

The most important issues identified were: roads and transportation upkeep (31 percent); property tax rates (36 percent) and schools (36 percent). Fire, police and schools were the three most popular town services.

Only 17 percent thought the town should consider raising property taxes, with 47 percent suggesting the town’s fiscal problems could be solved by raising fees and license costs. Reducing departments by a certain percentage was the most popular method of cutting costs. Layoffs were not considered an option for survey respondents.

Attitudes about overrides were also surveyed, with 62 percent willing to support some kind of override, but only 19 percent would do it for total operations and 43 favoring the option for specific projects — 69 percent for schools, 56 percent for police, 56 percent for fire and 46 percent for DPW, but a new DPW building is not a popular cause.

“In a way, if we create the kind of town that they like living in, some of them will … think they have to move,” Kowalski said of the data. “The other thing we have to think about is how we’re going to get people to come to the polls with a positive frame of mind about overrides and debt exclusions.”

“It’s not about saving people and the dollars [connected to it] it is the service,” agreed Selectman Randy LaMattina, echoing a point made at a School Committee meeting. “We need to sell the service — the service of education, the service of our police and fire, the service of our DPW. I think as long as people realize that they are getting something for the dollar that they are spending, they will be behind this.”

Fields use policies

In other business, Selectmen voted to support new Recreation Commission field use and permit policies.

“A year ago the Recreation Commission directed me to come up with some sort of a policy and procedures [document] regarding field usages and a permit policy,” Recreation Director Oliver Amado told the board. “We’ve had issues with outside groups and the local groups — and these issues were numerous. Some groups thought that they actually owned the fields, kicking people off the fields.”

He and Assistant Town Administrator Lisa Green worked on compiling the new policies and procedures, which had already been unanimously approved by the Recreation Commission.

Green said she adapted policies at work in several other communities.

“Hopefully it will alleviate a lot of problems that Recreation has faced in the past with different Whitman organizations having to do with confusion of who is allowed to use this field or that field,” she said of a new tiered system that will outline expectations and permit procedures.

“Any organization, whether town or outside, that uses our fields or facilities will have to sign this,” Amado said. Those that do not sign, will not receive permits.

  

South Shore Tech budget is certified

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HANOVER  — The South Shore Tech Regional School Committee certified by a 6-0 vote its $13,816,873 fiscal 2020 budget on Wednesday, Feb. 20. The vote satisfied the two-thirds margin required to pass — members John Manning, of Scituate and Robert Mahoney of Rockland were absent.

Hanson would be assessed $1,002,913 for the 76 students it sends to South Shore Tech or $13,196.22 per student.

Whitman’s assessment of $1,605,208 covers the second-highest number of students at the school — 145 — for a cost per student of $11,070.40. Only Rockland, with 159 students, sends more pupils to the school. Rockland’s assessment of $1,929,248 breaks down to $12,133.63 per student.

On the other end of the spectrum, Cohassett, with only three students at the school, would be assessed $56,033 or $18,677.70.

Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey said he has already begun making the rounds of the district’s eight member towns to discuss the budget and assessments.

Overall, the towns are being asked to contribute $92,444 less in the aggregate, than last year, Hickey said.

“Those numbers sound good, something’s less, but it all comes down to what an individual community is being assessed,” he said. “Operationally, the budget did not go up very much, if you’re willing to set aside capital.”

Committee member Dan Salvucci of Whitman lauded the district for providing numbers on sending towns’ per-pupil costs.

“The one important factor that I would point out when looking at a per-pupil assessment is that, because we go to our communities with one number that includes capital and debt — if we were preparing a per-pupil cost to a K-12 district where the per-pupil costs might solely involve operating expenses of the school district — that debt might not normally be counted as part of a per-pupil expense,” Hickey said. “The numbers that Dan is referring to is simply our entire assessment, because we always go to the towns with one number.”

SST is anticipating a 70-percent regional transportation reimbursement rate.

propane buses

Committee members also discussed transportation, specifically a cost of $238,660 per year in leases for the 12 new propane-fueled buses, paid in a lump sum each January, according to Secretary-Treasurer James Coughlin.

Member Robert L. Molla of Norwell asked why the cost was entered under leased equipment rather than transportation. Coughlin explained it was because of the five-year lease on the vehicles.

“The big factor is, when we do the end-of-the-year report for the DOR (Department of Revenue) and for DESE (Department of Elementary and Secondary Education), the leased equipment is part of transportation [for state reimbursement] … but for our purposes, we just segregate our regular transportation costs — our repairs and fuel and everything — into [the transportation] line,” he said.

Coughlin said it gives a clearer picture of the daily operating costs of the buses, separate from the lease costs.

“Seems like a hard way of doing it, but if it works, it works,” Molla said.

Hickey added that the three “newest” diesel buses remaining in the fleet — the three oldest diesel vehicles were a trade-in as part of the lease agreement — are used as spares and expected to last through the life of the lease.

“When the lease is over, we own those [propane] buses, so we’re in a pretty good position in terms of assets, and the ability to flip them into another lease or whatever the best decision at the time is for keeping some and letting some go,” Hickey said.

Farrell Propane fuels the buses on-site about twice a week.

“A couple of times already since January, at 5:15 a.m., Mr. Hickey has texted me being very thankful that we have propane buses because they turn right over,” said Principal Mark Aubrey. “We do not need diesels and we do not need to plug them in, so there is an added benefit, they turn right over and they are nice and warm for the students when they get on the buses, so it’s a win for everybody.”

Coughlin added that the propane buses save the district, which had been spending $90,000 per year on maintenance of the diesel fleet, as maintenance and fuel costs for the propane vehicles are much lower.

White is sworn in at HFD

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Firefighter Thomas White’s mother Susan pins on his new badge Tuesday, Feb. 19 after he was sworn in by Town Clerk Elizabeth Sloan. (Photo courtesy Hanson Fire Department)

HANSON  — New firefighter Thomas White was sworn in at the Tuesday, Feb. 19 Board of Selectmen’s meeting.

Before the ceremony, Selectmen Chairman Kenny Mitchell thanked Fire Chief Jerome Thompson Jr., Deputy Chief Rob O’Brien, Lt. Sherry Mullin and the entire fire department and mutual aid responders who battled the house fire at 45 Milford St., Tuesday, Feb. 12.

“I happened to be a couple of streets over when the fire started, and it was just impressive seeing you guys [work],” Mitchell said to applause from the board and audience. “The conditions weren’t favorable — it was the middle of a storm — I know you guys had issues getting water at times, but it was nice seeing the leadership, the professionalism and teamwork. You guys should be proud of yourselves, so thank you very much.”

Thompson also lauded his department for a job well done and added this thanks for the other departments lending mutual aid, especially Hanson’s Highway, Police and Water departments.

“Their assistance that night was invaluable,” Thompson said. “I’ve always said, ever since I got a job in town on the Water Department several years ago, it’s so nice to live and work in a town where the departments get along so well and work together.”

He then talked about his newest firefighter.

White is a lifelong resident of Hanson and 2008 graduate of  WHRHS. He is currently a firefighter in the Army Reserve, serving on active duty several times. He applied to be a call firefighter in June 2015, serving Hanson in that capacity for three years before receiving a conditional offer on employment in January 2018, filling a vacancy created by promotions.

“He had a busy 2018,” Thompson said, noting EMT White had to obtain paramedic training and pass national exams as well as attending the Mass. Fire Academy, graduating in December, and completing his year’s probation last month.

“He’s been a great addition to our department,” Thompson said of White. “Some of the skills he has obtained, and is still obtaining, in the Army help us out greatly and he has just been another great member for our department.”

White’s mother Susan pinned on his badge after Town Clerk Elizabeth Sloan administered his oath of office.

In other business, Selectmen voted to approve a Senior Center consulting proposal.

“The more we can get a vision for each group, the better off we’ll be,” said Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett.

“I keep thinking of what [Selectman] Wes [Blauss] said a couple weeks ago with 40 percent of [Hanson’s] population being over 50, that it seems this is just pulling everything together,” Selectman Jim Hickey said, referring to similar studies already underway for other town departments such as the library.

Hickey also questioned the current process for interviewing Recreation Directors, as the last two hires haven’t worked out.

“What if we changed up so we’re not falling into this trap again?” FitzGerald-Kemmett agreed, asking if the job description has been tightened up or has a better support system been developed. “How do we set this person up for success and make sure, first of all, that we’re picking the absolute right person and that we’re setting them up for success.”

Town Administrator Michael McCue said more discussions will be conducted with candidates — particularly the one on which they reach consensus — to give them an idea of where the past shortcomings may have been and where strengths need to be.

“I don’t think we feel there’s a necessity to fill the position just to fill the position,” McCue said.

In the past, only one or two Recreation Committee members spoke to all the candidates before the finalists were brought to the whole board, and that will change this time around, said Selectman Matt Dyer, who is the board liaison to Recreation.

“We need to make a business plan up there,” Dyer added. “I don’t think it needs to be a finalized plan, but I think we really need to define the hierarchy of what Camp Kiwanee is, who’s reporting to who, who’s responsible for what, and I think that is really going to help the next person, as well as making sure the goals are crystal clear, right from the beginning.”

FitzGerald-Kemmett  noted that Selectmen had not put forth a clear expectation, either.

“I think having Matt as a  iaison over there is huge,” Mitchell said.

Milestone for Hanson PD

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Hanson Police Sgt. Elisha (Sullivan) Durgin has her badge pinned by her husband, Bryan, as their daughter Ellie looks on. (Photo courtesy Hanson Police Department)

HANSON  — Little Ellie Durgin was likely the only one in the room unimpressed with her mother’s résumé.

As the toddler in pink skirt and flowered shirt played with a cell phone, Police Chief Michael Miksch listed the credentials and accomplishments that earned her mother, Sgt. Elisha (Sullivan) Durgin, that rank.

Durgin is the first woman to be promoted to sergeant in the Hanson Police Department and was sworn in by Town Clerk Elizabeth Sloan during the Tuesday, Feb. 26 Selectmen’s meeting.

She has been a Hanson Police Officer since 2013, serving with departments in Plympton, Scituate and within the Boston Housing Authority before that — an officer with more than 11 years’ experience. Durgin has extensive training in sexual assault investigations and drug overdose prevention, and is one of the Hanson Police Department’s coordinators with the Plymouth County Outreach program on overdose follow-ups and intervention.

Durgin holds a bachelor of science degree in biology from Simmons College.

“We have the swearing in of one of the toughest cops that I know — patrolman Elisha Sullivan to the rank of sergeant,” said Selectmen Chairman Kenny Mitchell in introducing the ceremony.

A combination of a written exam and assessment center, in which Durgin earned the highest score, saw all five officers who applied receive passing grades, according to Miksch, who expressed pride in all the officers. Assessment centers evaluate candidates’ knowledge and abilities based on how they would handle real-life scenarios.

“One of the most important jobs in a police department is a sergeant,” Miksch said. “They are a first-line supervisor. … We depend on them and they fill that gap [getting] done what we need done, making sure everybody’s safe. … They’re teachers, they’re mentors and leaders and to test that is very difficult.”

Miksch said he still scratches his head about why she is not a teacher.

“That’s OK, we’re happy she decided to come to us,” he said. “I’m proud to say she is our newest sergeant and I’m looking forward to having her in that leadership role.”

She fills a vacancy created when Lt. Michael Casey was promoted within the past year.

Durgin’s parents watched as she was sworn in before her husband Bryan and their daughter Ellie pinned on her new badge.

“Ellie’s busy right now. What’s she got, an electronic device?” Miksch said as she sat on her mom’s lap playing with a phone. “I think Ellie was going to try and pin Sgt. Sullivan, I’m not so sure that’s the smartest move,” he joked.

Mitchell joked that Sgt. Durgin passed the exam on a Monday and she and Bryan were married the following weekend.

Recreation fees

The Board of Selectmen tabled a recommendation by the Recreation Commission to increase fees for weddings at Camp Kiwanee, pending more information on conditions of the facility and market pricing, but approved increases in fees for swim passes at Cranberry Cove — so long as two family passes are made available for check-out at Hanson Public Library for residents who cannot afford the fees.

The latter was passed by a 4-0-1 vote with Selectman Jim Hickey abstaining.

Recreation Commission Chairman Diane Cohen and member John Zucco presented the fee increase proposals.

The proposed wedding price increases are $500 — up to $4,000 from $3,500 for Friday evening or Sunday day/evening weddings — and to $5,500 from $5,000 for Saturday weddings — during the peak season between May 1 and Oct. 31. Additional fees are charged for extra reception or set up hours, security deposits and other non-wedding events. The rates are available online at hanson.ma.gov.

Daily swim passes will remain at $5 per person, but a new single-person season pass has been introduced at $40 for residents, $55 for non-residents and a 10-percent discount for seniors and military/veterans with proof of service. Other current season passes have increased $5 — to $90 for resident families, $165 for non-resident families and a 10-percent discount for military/veterans with proof of service. Non-resident season passes with swim lessons are $115 with guests required to pay $5 each and swim lessons at $125 for the first child, $75 for the second, $65 for the third and the fourth free. Swim team fees are $65 each.

Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett was assured by Cohen and Zucco that a competitive analysis had been done.

“There really isn’t a whole lot that’s like Camp Kiwanee,” Cohen said. “But there are a few facilities … and it’s in that range.”

Selectmen were also concerned about the number of weddings booked, noting a decline for the coming June before the price increases were proposed.

“A lot of weddings recently … over the past few years I’ve seen a lot of last-minute [bookings],” said Zucco, who works as a DJ. “I just booked a wedding for June 21.”

He said people have just started booking for 2020.

“We don’t have a full-time wedding or event sales person and a lot of venues do,” he added. FitzGerald-Kemmett suggested the addition of a virtual wedding video on the website to give couples an idea of what a wedding at Camp Kiwanne would look like.

Hickey and Selectman Matt Dyer, the board’s liaison to the Recreation Commission, were concerned about the effect of a price increase on wedding bookings, however.

Hickey also took issue with the claim of bookings being last-minute, noting his own daughter has been planning her wedding for nearly a year already.

“The weddings have been on a decline since 2016, yet you want to raise the rates,” Hickey said. “The supply isn’t equal to the rates.”

Cohen said the Camp’s costs are also going up, noting several recent repairs, including an electrician called in to look at a light in the freezer, said it was “one flick of the switch away from setting this whole place in flames.”

“You want to make money like a private business, but you want to run it under a municipality system,” Cohen said of Camp Kiwanee. “The whole thing just flies in the face of each other. At some point we have to figure out what is the long-range plan.”

Dyer said he has friends who grew up in town and want to get married at Kiwanee, but say $5,000 is just too much for them to afford.

“They don’t even bother to look at the Camp because they know it’s out of their range,” Dyer said. “We’re walking out of school owing $50,000, $60,000, $70,000 in debt — we’re living in our parents’ basements. Do you think we’re going to go out and spend $10,000 on a wedding?”

Hickey suggested a review of conditions at Kiwanee before a decision is made on the lodge rates.

“Maybe Camp Kiwanee was a fad in 2014 when we peaked at weddings,” he said.

Cohen agreed rustic weddings were a trend earlier this decade, and Zucco said they still are, but offering a wedding showcase event to bring in wedding vendors who can market the venue can help.

Hickey and Dyer were also concerned about the cove swim pass fee increase, with Hickey arguing a 8-percent fee hike for town employees who receive a 2-percent raise is not fair. Dyer suggested the availability of free family passes at the library for struggling families could help.

Cohen said minimum wage also went up, meaning lifeguard costs are increasing as well.

Compared to anywhere else offering swim lessons, Camp Kiwanee, where swim lessons are scheduled every day, offers a better value, she argued.

Schools await towns’ numbers

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Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak has pledged that he will “look at district-wide administration … anything that will keep teachers in their positions,” first if budget cuts must be made, he told the School Committee at its Wednesday, Feb. 13 meeting.

There is little he can do about the 2-percent increase in special education costs, he cautioned.

“I’d like for this committee to hear from the towns before I tell my staff or we’re looking at cuts first because I think that Whitman and Hanson are spots,” he said.

Whitman town employee unions have been asked to consider wage freeze in light of that towns’ budget crisis, according to Szymaniak, who attended a department head meeting there on Monday, Feb. 11. District Business Manager Christine Suckow and Facilities Director Ernest Sandland also attended that meeting chaired by Town Administrator Frank Lynam.

“Frank has met with all of the union reps in Whitman except one, and I don’t know which union — he didn’t say which one he did not meet with — about taking a zero-percent [increase], or a wage freeze for two years,” Szymaniak. “I know he had a conversation with WHEA about that.”

Szymaniak said the meeting with teachers’ union representatives, which was criticized by Hanson School Committee member Michael Jones, was not arranged through his office.

“We voted for you for this position — you work for us,” Jones said. “What you say we need, that’s how we vote. Frank Lynam doesn’t tell you, us, anything [about] what we do. I just want to be clear on that.”

Jones asked if Lynam was meeting with district department heads and Szymaniak outlined that the Feb. 11 meeting was a town department head session but that Lynam had met with the teachers’ association without his knowledge.

Jones and School Committee member Dan Cullity agreed that was wrong.

School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes said the committee would be “wreckless” to discuss beginning cuts to the budget before they receive numbers from the towns, stressing that their job is to advocate for students. He said he didn’t think anyone in either town is hiding numbers at this point.

While he came into the meeting prepared to discuss a transfer from excess and deficiency to help trim the budget deficit, Hayes said at the conclusion of the meeting he would rather the committee wait until they see where they are at when town budget numbers come in. School Committee members agreed.

“It’s just something that is kind of out there with our teachers, we haven’t had a conversation at all about taking any type of wage freeze,” Szymaniak said of the wage freeze discussed at the Whitman department heads meeting. “We haven’t had a conversation about anything about our contract yet as we don’t have any numbers from either town. … I already have some teachers that are concerned.”

Another Whitman department head meeting was scheduled for 10 a.m., Tuesday, Feb. 19. Szymaniak said he would bring back any further information to the School Committee at its next meeting at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 27.

“This is a level-service budget to provide the services we have in place, and I think we’ve been very creative in restructuring some of our units to make sure we can provide services to our kids in a different way than we provided last year,” Szymaniak said.

He said that police and fire personnel work very hard at high-risk jobs, but teachers also face difficult situations managing classrooms of 25 children while responding to parent concerns and directives from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).

Szymaniak also offered School Committee members a line item-by-line item look at increases and decreases from the current budget to the fiscal 2018, ’19 and ’20 as requested by the committee.

Overall, the budget’s facilities, insurance costs and salaries, are up 3.6 percent, with special education costs up 2 percent, Szymaniak said.

“The bottom line at the end, stays the same, but as far as percentages, if you look at it … if you look at those numbers last week, it’s close to $1 million,” he said.

Some of the increases are; paraprofessional and special education salaries, the latter to increase some staffing to bring the district back into state and federal compliance; substitute salaries for an increase in the numbers of substitutes; cost of living for clerical salaries; school psychologist salaries; charter school and school choice costs and legal costs.

“When we talk about social-emotional pieces, the [number of] students that are coming in who need more than the average classroom teacher is growing at a need that is out-pacing what a school can do and that’s not just here — that’s everywhere,” Szymaniak said of special education, including $884,000 in out-of-district placements, and psychological services costs. “That last option is out-of-district and when I’m looking at an $800,000 cost, know that out-of-district placement can go anywhere from between $50,000 to $363,000 depending on if it’s residential or not.”

He said the school district’s legal firm can challenge a DESE recommendation for out-of-district placement, but must be relatively certain of success, because the district can be liable for legal fees for both sides as well as the placement if it is overruled.

A change in curriculum coordination represents a shift of focus to the elementary schools.

“If we feel we have a good case and we go to hearing, [I’m] all for it, but that’s still an attorney fee,” Szymaniak said. “We want to make sure we do the right things for our students and our staff and also [legal representation] keeps us away from litigation.”

Some of the decreases are: instructional materials and general supply costs; superintendent salary; contracted services transferred to facilities costs; and salaries in district transportation after a restructuring.

“Our teachers are busting their butts with not a lot of supply,” Szymaniak said. “We were shocked coming into this office at what little we give our teachers to teach with.”

School Committee member Fred Small said the current budget situation is similar to that of four years ago when Whitman voters were presented with two budgets on which to vote — one reflecting an override and one without, which would have created the need for the committee to vote on a reassessment.

“Knowing at least on the Whitman side where they’re at … do you envision taking a pencil sharpener, seeing whatever you can do to this budget that you’ve presented and having level services or close to level services …

“This is level right now,” Szymaniak said. “What I’d like the committee to do is look at what we need for our schools, listen to both town administrators about numbers of what they’re looking at in their towns … I’m not trying to disrespect the town administrators, but nothing has been presented to this committee in terms of where they’re at. I’ve heard override. I haven’t heard a number on a specific override.”

Assistant Superintendent George Ferro said in the last 10 years the budget has always be presented knowing there would be cuts before the towns’ numbers were presented.

“This time we decided to come out of the gate and say where we’re at,” he said. “We need the guidance to see what we need to come up with so we can end up there.”

School Committee member Robert Trotta said that, with the Town Meetings on May 6, time is growing short for hearing budget structures from the towns.

“There doesn’t seem to be a plan,” he said, noting his priority is maintaining class sizes and extra-curricular activities. “It seems like we’re trying to hang on as best we can.”

Cullity argued the school budget is more a same-services plan than a level services one.

“We should be at a better point for our kids,” he said.

“We need to look [voters] in the eye and tell them what we need,” Small said.

Szymaniak said he and Suckow met with a Collins Center representative on the creation of a capital plan in Whitman, saying he plans to come back on Feb. 27 about a new Whitman Middle School “down the road.” He said the Collins Center representative had commented on the district’s recent habit of kicking capital issues down the road.

“That doesn’t mean we’re going to do a statement of interest, it has to move forward, but we have more and more facilities issues at Whitman Middle and it’s something we’ve talked about, so I’m going to leave it to the committee to see where we’re at,” he said. “I do have growing concerns about the state of Whitman Middle School.

‘ No magic bullet here’

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WHITMAN — Arguing the necessity to “reset” the town’s financial process, Town Administrator Frank Lynam on Tuesday, Feb. 19 presented a budget analysis, including a proposed two-year wage freeze for town employees that — coupled with an override and a debt exclusion to take the police station out of the levy limit — could help create a sustainable financial future.

“It really comes down to a decision on what kind of community we want to be and where we want to put our resources, but there is no magic bullet here,” Lynam said. “If these ideas don’t work, then we’re going to have to downsize the municipal operations. There’s no other way to do it.”

Selectmen voted 5-0 during a joint session with the Finance Committee to authorize Lynam, along with Selectmen Scott Lambiase and Randy LaMattina, to begin wage freeze discussions with union representatives.

Lynam said he would invite a coalition of bargaining unit representatives — as well as the department heads for the first meeting — to begin a transparent conversation. When “brass tacks” bargaining gets underway, the confidentiality of negotiations would be respected.

“Growth is the key measurement [for that reset],” Lynam said. “We cannot fund multi-million dollar increases when growth is limited to $970,000 per year.”

The fiscal 2020 budget increased by $2.7 million over 2019. If the wage freeze, override and debt exclusion go into effect, it would mean a levy availability of $1,292,000 — $600,000 of which from free cash could be used for capital expenses and the remainder would be earmarked for the stabilization account.

Currently, the town raises $25,343,000 in revenue, with 89.2 percent of that coming from residential taxpayers, 5.3 percent is commercial, 1.25 percent is industrial and 4.13 percent is personal property.

In order to raise $2.5 million, to make the town financially stable, the tax rate would have to increase from $15.38 to $16.90, increasing the median family household tax bill by $467.40.

“The challenge here is still one of making these budgets work,” Lynam said. “We have to contain our growth. We have to find a way for the larger departments to work within the limits that we’ve discussed.”

He argued the town needed a comprehensive budget plan that limits increases to revenue raised from each year, and said the task requires cooperation from all town departments in conjunction with the town’s financial team.

Conversations

Lynam also defended recent informal conversations he has held with representatives of the teacher’s union —with prior knowledge of both the superintendent and School Committee members [see related story page one] — as a talk about his concerns ahead of seeking Selectmen’s permission to start the dialogue on a wage freeze.

“I had said a couple weeks ago that I wanted to look into that, when I had a conversation … with the superintendent and assistant, [Selectmen] Chairman [Carl] Kowalski and the Finance Committee Chair [Richard Anderson], we talked about a couple of issues, one of them being kindergarten and another being the elephant in the room — our budget,” Lynam said. “I mentioned to them at that point that I believe we would be looking for wage concessions this year so it should not have been a surprise.”

He described the talks as casual conversations, in some cases, with people he has known for years.

“I have not met for bargaining purposes with any member of any union,” he said.

During those conversations, Lynam said he outlined the budget situation and his plan to seek approval for negotiating a wage freeze and that he would certainly reach out to the School Committee.

“If the School Committee took that as end run around them, they shouldn’t be,” he said, stressing there was no intention to do more than have a simple conversation about the town budget.

aiming to save

The proposed wage freeze is estimated to save $396,580.47 in town departments — including $2,538.49 from Lynam’s salary and $1,756.49 from Assistant Town Administrator Lisa Green’s salary. The School District wage freeze could add up to $780,000, based on Whitman’s share of the present assessment and this year’s wage and salary increases.

“Without making adjustments, we’ll be short $3 million … so, clearly, we need to do all this,” he said.

Kowalski agreed with Lynam’s account of the meeting, called by Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak to discuss a petition circulated about full-day kindergarten. Kowalski also said he was the person to bring up the question of whether the School District would be interested in a dialogue about wage freezes.

Anderson added that the Finance Committee agreed not to discuss the specific plan for wage freezes until the unions were informed that that was the direction town officials were thinking about. He said the second round of discussions with department heads would begin soon as they begin the work of mapping out a budget strategy, with an eye to meeting again with Selectmen on March 13.

“I think I speak for the entire board when I say that we’re prepared to make some very difficult decisions about the future of this community,” Anderson said, noting a “significant correction” would be needed to give taxpayers the confidence that the town has a sustainable budget for at least the next five years.

Town Accountant Kenneth Lidell explained that the budget analysis was based on annual town reports from fiscal 2015 through 2019, particularly the general funds expenditures lines, to reflect budget trends.

Lynam noted that increases such as 14 percent for police, 31 percent for fire services, 22 percent for public safety as a whole, 23.8 percent for general government and 34 for schools [34.7 percent for the W-H district, 32 percent South Shore Tech and 15 for Norfolk Agricultural] are unsustainable.

“Each of those budgets exceeds our ability to generally raise money,” Lynam said. “It doesn’t take a MENSA candidate to figure out that we have to make a number of adjustments in order to make this system work.”

He advocated talking to other towns in the South Shore region to seek budget controls.

Selectman Dan Salvucci, Whitman’s representative to the South Shore Tech School Committee countered that it would be very difficult for that district to hold on an increase for eight towns.

“I don’t know what the other communities are going through, but when you look at these numbers — education is expensive, I’ll grant that, but we have to pay for it from within our revenue stream and we’re not doing that right now,” Lynam said. “South Shore’s five-year increase is 32 percent. … The problem with these comparisons is, when the numbers are small, they don’t stand out as much.”

He said Chapter 70 money goes directly to the schools, which in towns like Abington goes into the town’s general fund for school use, but goes straight to regional districts. Lynam said it’s not as if the town wouldn’t contribute to the schools, but when the funds go directly to the regional schools it can look like the town doesn’t contribute — and they do.

pre-town meeting

Selectman Brian Bezanson suggested a pre-town meeting forum, perhaps at which town departments could staff informational booths on how the budget would affect them. A member of the Finance Committee suggested an idea that the board liked better — giving each department a chance to make a presentation to such a meeting.

Kowalski agreed, suggesting that — as Lynam had to him — that Article 2 is not always considered a budget document because it is generally seen first on the night of Town Meeting.

“There’s not enough time to digest it,” he said. “It becomes more real if there’s more time.”

Selectmen also voted, in the first of two required votes, to refinance some outstanding municipal bonds — for the police station — representing about $275,000 over the 11-year life of the refunding bond, in financial benefit to the town after issuance costs are paid.

$53.5M school budget rolled out

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School Committee, officials taking another look at level-service plan

The Whitman-Hanson Regional School District rolled out its level-service budget for fiscal 2020 during a public hearing on Wednesday, Feb. 6 — a $53,562,534 spending plan that increases costs by 5.6 percent without adding new programs or staff. Revenues are expected to come to $49,926,186. The current budget deficit is $3,636,348.

“Although it pains me to present a level-service budget tonight, we will always continue to move toward the greater for our students and for both Whitman and Hanson,” Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak said. “This budget does not include new programs or positions.”

Instead, Szymaniak and Assistant Superintendent George Ferro have made adjustments for new curriculum materials, including a new math program and a continuation of the new technology program initiated last year. They have also restructured some positions and responsibilities to “maximize efficiency and create equity for all of our students.”

That could include, if the budget is fully funded, providing counselors at the elementary grade level.

Szymaniak reported that rising health insurance rates, contractual agreements for staff, transportation and custodial services as well as higher utility costs make up the $3,039,353 increase.

Unfunded or underfunded state and federal mandates cost the district $5,067,542. The strategic plan and fiscal 2020 budget are available online at whrsd.org.

The district has $961,237 in its excess and deficiency fund, and is required by law to keep 5 percent of the operating budget in reserve to fund unexpected expenses such as special education services.

The School Committee was scheduled to meet again at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 13 to further discuss the fiscal 2020 budget.

Szymaniak outlined the district’s educational and student social-emotional and staff development goals.

He also noted that 85 positions in the school system are funded outside the operating budget by federal grants.

“Some of those grants, I’m cautious, might go away when Washington decides to make changes in education,” Szymaniak said, noting programs such as Title I, Title IIA and IDEA (a special education program. Grants totaling $1,747,524 in Fiscal 2017 and were down to $1,646,256 by fiscal 2019.

Revolving funds involving full-day kindergarten tuition, pre-school, athletics user fees and the food services program also help fund the district.

Szymaniak said he has heard “buzz” that dyslexia testing is likely to be the next unfunded mandate to come.

“I think it’s actually a good thing to do, but I don’t know where the expenses are going to come from on some of the new testing that we may have to do,” he said.

State budget trends

State representatives Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, Alysa Sullivan, R-Abington, and state Sen. Michael Brady, D-Brockton, attended the meeting, with Cutler presenting a PowerPoint update of the state budget.

Overall, state revenues are expected to see “moderate growth” for fiscal 2020, according to economic forecasts, with December and January revenue data at 2.7 percent below becnhmarks, Cutler reported.

“That’s a bit of a concern,” he said.

Gov. Baker’s budget, while up by $42.7 billion, or 1.5 percent, level funds regional school transportation at $68.9 million and McKinney-Vento homeless transportation at $9.1 million. Chapter 70 is seeing an overall increase to $5.1 billion — up 4.2 percent, but sets minimum per-pupil funding at $20.

Cutler said the minimum per-pupil increment will be one of the areas of the local legislative team’s focus this term.

“We want to make changes to the state budget that are going to most directly impact our districts [and] our schools that we represent,” Cutler said. “We’ve led the charge to try to do this increase minimum per-pupil increment) on a statewide basis …  This is the key driver for our foundation budget.”

W-H’s Chapter 70 trends have increased less than 1 percent per year for the past four years and is expected to go up only .3 percent — to $24,739,620 — in fiscal 2020, due, in large part, Cutler said, to the fact that the aid is based on enrollment.

“Even though we’re adding to the big pie, we’re not necessarily seeing that translate to the local school districts like W-H,” he said of a trend that is affecting suburban districts all across the state. “It really is tied to enrollment.”

Special education Circuit Breaker funding is up by 1.4 percent to $4.5 million in the governor’s budget. Special education transportation, which costs the district close to $1 million is not reimbursable under the federal formula, Szymaniak said.

“Legislators are working to make changes on those line items,” Cutler said, noting the Chapter 70 formula is also being looked to as well as a task force on educational mandates.

Community concerns

“Thank you for presenting a level-service budget,” said Whitman resident Dawn Byers of 20 Russell Road, noting the loss of certified librarians at the elementary schools four years ago. “It’s so important not to lose any programs.”

She stressed that there are still no gifted and talented programs available in elementary and middle school grades and too few language classes at both the middle and high school level.

“I know of area high schools that provide Mandarin [Chinese] and Arabic foreign languages,” she said. “That’s not in our budget right now but it would be wonderful in the future if that would be something that we could add.”

She also said rolling the high school start time closer to 7:30 a.m. would be preferable and asked for clarification of the kindergarten revolving fund so “people don’t read that and interpret it as something that is being put on top of this budget.”

Szymaniak explained that universal full-day kindergarten has been a district priority for six years, but that tuition is charged for families who can afford it in the meantime, bringing $452,289 into a revolving fund, which pays for four teachers and seven paraprofessionals. Within the operating budget $462,775 funds five teachers and two paraprofessionals.

To go to a district-wide full-day kindergarten, the budget would have to increase by $631,732 covering three new teachers and three paraprofessionals as well as eliminating the $452,289 revolving fund, Szymaniak said. It would cost almost $1 million in the operating budget if that were done next year. He did not include it in the fiscal 2020 budget because he knew the towns were facing financial challenges.

“I don’t think there is a person on this committee that doesn’t support all-day kindergarten,” Chairman Bob Hayes said. “It’s how do you fund it when you’re in a difficult funding cycle as we are.”

Szymaniak also noted a push at the state level to require no-cost all-day kindergarten, but as an unfunded mandate unless the state opts to finance it.

“We’re getting buried by unfunded and underfunded mandates,” he said. “[DESE is] not adding things to add things, it’s for the good of the kids … and for the educational process, but some of the stuff that comes out and we put in there’s a definite cost and it’s pulling away from the education of our students.”

“It’s not an equitable situation for all the students of Whitman and Hanson at this point,” Ferro added, noting the issues that Dyers had mentioned earlier.

 

Whitman: ‘In override position’ in face of FY 2020 budget challenges

Whitman Town Administrator Frank Lynam advised the School Committee at it’s Wednesday, Feb. 6 budget roll-out meeting that a level-funded school budget will place Whitman in an override position.

“My guess is we’re going to see a combination of things this year in what we present ultimately for a budget,” Lynam said. “It will involve a request for an override. It will involve cutting some services. Ultimately, unless we find the voters very responsive and very supportive, those cuts will be system-wide.”

That means cuts to town departments as well as the schools. Identifying the needs of the district and towns and creating a sustainable way to address them is needed now, he advocated.

The level-service $53,562,534 fiscal 2020 school budget now carries a deficit of $3,636,348.

School Chairman Bob Hayes noted that the panel has tapped excess and deficiency for anywhere from $500,000 to $750,000 in past years to help close the budget gap, and did not recommend the latter amount for fiscal 2020 as it would leave little for fiscal emergencies.

The district has $961,237 in its excess and deficiency fund, and is required by law to keep 5 percent of the operating budget in reserve to fund unexpected expenses such as special education services.

“We have one bite at the apple with both towns,” Hayes said. “We know that both towns are rather close and tight dollars and cents-wise.”

Each percent in the assessment is equal to about $221,835 Hayes noted, with a 16.4-percent assessment required to balance the budget without making cuts, tapping into excess and deficiency or considering an override.

“Everyone is keenly aware of where the two towns are right now,” Lynam said, advising the committee that 16 percent isn’t going to happen.

“You’re going to have to assess what your minimum abilities are,” he said. “It is extraordinarily unlikely [16 percent] will happen. It would be great to see it, but I don’t think it’s going to happen.”

School Committee member Fred Small said it therefore falls to the board to ask for only what they need and pointed out it is likely that universal free all-day kindergarten is not something that can happen this year.

“The only way we’re going to implement this is you’re going to have to cut,” School Committee member Dan Cullity said of the prospect of adding all-day kindergarten to the school budget. “We’re not going to see that from taxpayers because of the way that override went the last time … there’s no way the towns want to pay for this.”

School Committee member Steve Bois recalled past information that parents make the school choice decision based on where they can attend all-day kindergarten and never return to the WHRSD.

“We are losing students that will never come back to our district because we are charging $3,200 for a family to come to school here,” Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak confirmed.

“Short of an override, which isn’t going to happen, for just pre-k/k, we’re going to have to seek help otherwise,” Cullity said. “We’d love to jam this in there just to get it going, but when you’re looking at a $3.6 million deficit it’s hard to sell to the folks because it’s not just parents [making the decision].”

Whitman resident Marshall Ottina of 100 Lazel St., reminded the committee that of 438 districts in the state, W-H is one of only 47 not presently offering all-day kindergarten, and asked if any districts that had implemented the program, had to pull it back for lack of funds in subsequent years.

“It’s like jumping off the bridge, you can’t get back up,” Small said to illustrate his belief that once, implemented, such a program could not be withdrawn.

Lynam argued that the towns will have to decide community-wide what is important and how they get there.

“I’m not an advocate for overrides, but I am a realist,” he said, “I’m really frustrated when I hear people say, ‘No, we’ll never do an override,’ because that’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

He noted that, six years ago when then-Superintendent Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner posed the question of about how to close that budget gap and, when an override was advised, asked how much to seek.

“I said, if you’re going for an override, go for all of it,” Lynam said of what would have been a 14.5-percent override question. The committee went with a 6-percent override that “flew through” instead.

“My response then was, ‘fix the problem while we have the opportunity,’ but we didn’t,” Lynam said. “We took a short-cut because we were worried about whether a 14.5-percent override would pass. I honestly believe whatever we presented would have passed … because people were aware of the need.”

School Committee member Robert Trotta said the panel always finds themselves trying to close gaps at the last minute.

“How do we improve? I don’t know,” he said. “The funding system in Massachusetts doesn’t work, the federal government impacts us with their mandates and we have state testing that impacts us.”

Committee members were also cognizant of the needs of other departments.

“We’ve got policemen handling guys with guns out there,” Small said. “God bless those guys. You’ve got firefighters running into burning buildings, you’ve got the DPW out there on the roads with the ice.”

Lynam said the problem is that, while the state is going through the same budget process, they have more revenue to spread around. The towns of Whitman and Hanson have fewer avenues through which to collect revenue.

Film tells story of ‘A Father’s Fight’

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Will he or won’t he?

Whitman native Mark Chauppetta, who used to participate in mixed martial arts bouts to raise funds for muscular dystrophy research — after his twin sons Troy and Andrew Chauppetta, now 23, were diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy — has been toying with a return to the ring for another fundraising fight for some time now.

The question has been, will he?

Chauppetta says his family and friends have been divided on the issue and his doctor had advised against a return to the MMA ring.

“You’re going to have to wait and see if I get in there,” he said. “But I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.”

The resulting film, “A Father’s Fight,” will premier at 6 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 23 in Brockton’s War Memorial Hall, 156 West Elm St. Tickets for the event are available at wheelchairstrong.com.

“The film is a docu-drama, I guess you’d call it, a kind of remake of a documentary I did in 2009,” Chauppetta said. That film, also titled “A Father’s Fight,” on which he worked with Ron Van Damme who worked with WHCA-TV’s late Executive Director Steve Roy. That film, done with “no budget” when Chauppetta was turning 40 and getting into mixed martial arts fighting to raise funds.

“It was really grass-roots,” Chauppetta says. “But I felt like my vision was 10 years too soon. At the time Troy and Andrew were young so they didn’t have a voice and they were seen in the film, but it was kind of in the background.”

He said that latest film focused on his getting into the ring and “didn’t have much substance to it.”

The new film looks at that focus from a different angle and Chauppetta didn’t want to pull at the heart-strings. While Duchenne is terminal, the film shows ability and over disability, he said.

“It shows my sons driving and living life and going to the mall and fighting and bickering with me — being a family,” he said. “It shows the concern my wife has for me, coping with this disease. It’s very raw, it’s very honest, it’s very real.”

His sons, who can now advocate for themselves and have a voice, enables the film to focus more on them than their dad. Chauppetta hired a local Brockton production company, Anaone Street Productions and filming began in in September 2017, finishing in June 2018.

“I’m not giving it away,” Chauppetta said, but some of the narrative of the original film is repeated in the new one, he said.

Chauppetta, now going on 50, was a wrestler on the WHRHS team and describes that experience as a brotherhood that gets into one’s blood.

“I still compete and wrestle and grapple,” he said. “It’s something that I dabbled with in my 20s and 30s and then when I was turning 40, a local promoter asked me if I would be interested in training and having a cage fight and he’d give $5,000 to my charity, So I was, like, sure!”

The documentary, while well-received, didn’t reach the type of audience Chauppetta wanted.

Fast-forward 10 years, and a busy life filled with caring for his boys, directing the Wheelchair Strong Foundation while running a private investigation business, he said he finds himself getting into ruts.

“Caring for disabled boys is physically and emotionally very strenuous,” Chauppetta said. “Lots of times, you slip into funks.”

Working out helps, especially since Chaupetta is a person whose wellbeing on all levels depends on physical fitnesss.

“I always find myself going back to the one thing that cures my anxiety, my depression over this disease, had been martial arts — Brazilian ju jistu, it’s been wrestling,” he said.

The film has been quite a journey, he said. Chauppetta started out story-boarding it, but it also took the necessary detours as life unfolded during the year and a half of shooting.

“I directed the film and I produced the film — and I micro-managed it,” he admits, as he used his past experience in film work to best advantage.

Appearing in the film, along with members of the Chauppetta family are Lenny Clarke, Patrick Renna — best known as Smalls in “The Sandlot” — Joe Lauzon from the UFC circuit plays Chauppetta’s trainer. Hip-hop violinist Damien Escobar and Five for Fighting worked on the film score.

Chauppetta’s goal is to negotiate a distribution deal with a Hollywood-based company such as Netflix, Hulu or Amazon for streaming. It is not yet available on DVD.

If that effort is successful, he would like to transform it into a scripted film, and perhaps a goal closer to home.

“One of my passions has always been television and television production,” he said, noting he has had pre-production meetings on a second documentary project on the wheelchair power soccer program in which his sons are involved.

His suppressed desire to be named to the W-H Wall of Fame has also become something of a running joke in his family.

“Maybe if I can get an Emmy for best documentary, then maybe I can finally get my picture on that wall,” he laughed.

Growing Food for Thought

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HANSON — When Troop 68 Life Scout Liam Keane began planning his Eagle Badge project, he was also looking for a way to make a difference in the world. His mom Patricia showed him the USA for Africa video of the Michael Jackson/Lionel Ritchie song “We Are the World” for some inspiration.

Dozens of music industry giants had left the Grammy Awards ceremony Jan. 21, 1985 and entered a recording studio to record the song — seven weeks after the Christmas 1984 record of UK Band Aid anthem “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” produced by Bob Geldof raised funds for African famine relief. The American recording, released in March 1985, also set aside funds for combatting hunger at home.

Fighting hunger at home was a concept that resonated with Keane, a junior at Whitman-Hanson Regional High School. WHRHS Guidance Counselor Courtney Selig thought a community garden at the school would be a good way to achieve both his goals.

“I wanted to change the world and help people,” Keane said. “Since we’ve been doing it, I realized so much about kids who you wouldn’t even think of going to the food pantry getting food or on free and reduced lunch.”

In some district elementary schools, nearly a quarter of students depend on free and reduced lunch programs, principals have reported at past School Committee meetings.

Keane’s idea was the beginning of what became Food for Thought, a school activity club of about 20 charter members working with Keane to bring awareness within the school about childhood hunger.

“School, community, home — we’re always looking for different ways to make that partnership and connection,” Selig said. “I think this was one great way to do that.”

The first project of the club was to build a garden out behind the school with produce going to the school’s culinary program as well as the pantries.

“We built it Memorial Day weekend, and club members have taken turns maintaining it, watering it, and harvesting it throughout the summer,” Keane said. “We have donated over 100 pounds of food to both Whitman and Hanson Food Pantries.”

He hopes the club keeps going long after he graduates and so long as there is a need in both communities. Members of Food for Thought have signed a meeting table they painted in hopes future members of the club will add their names for years to come.

“This project has become very personal for me and it has gone above and beyond my expectations,” he said.

Selig joked that the group thought they would be lucky to harvest a single tomato and it yielded 200 pounds of vegetables divided between both food pantries as well as tomatoes for the culinary program and salad fixings for the cafeteria. The carrot harvest was also impressive, Keane said.

“I wanted to do something different,” he said.

Bottle and can drive

To help fund his Eagle project, Keane is conducting a bottle and can drive from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 9 at the Nathaniel Thomas Mill on Route 58/Liberty Street in Hanson. [See page 4]

“There’s a lot of beer bottles, beer cans — especially after the Super Bowl,” he said. His drive will not only recycle the containers but continue to help feed neighbors in need.

Throughout this school year, we have also held other events to help support these food pantries as well as letting people know the importance of ending hunger within our communities.

One event was World Food Day, on Oct. 16. The club sold bracelets and hung posters around the school stating facts about childhood hunger.

“We raised $300 which was split and donated to the food pantries,” Keane said. “We also have also started an indoor garden in the green house at Whitman-Hanson High School where we will begin our seedlings for the outdoor garden, but also develop it so that we can continue to grow fresh “salad” vegetables all year long for the food pantries.”

Hanson Food Pantry Director Christine Cameron said donations of fresh produce from the Greater Boston Food Bank, area farms such as Lipinski’s in Hanson and projects like Keane’s are vital for clients.

“Or goal is to have people eat healthy,” Cameron said. “We have great farmers in our communities that help us that are very generous. …  Anything we can get that’s fresh, we consider that much better.”

Youth involvement at the pantry has also included Hanson Girl Scout troops and the National Honor Society as well as the Boy Scouts.

“It’s great to see them involved because they are our future volunteers and they see what happens in their community,” she said. “We have some wonderful kids that come through and help.”

Last year the Hanson Food Pantry gave out more than 100,000 pounds of food last year, helping an average of 200 to 300 clients on a monthly basis.

“It is unfortunate, but we will always have people that need our help, and so we’re there,” Cameron said.

Two upcoming projects Food for Thought students are currently working on are a “Bagged Lunch” program for which they will be making 200 bagged lunches over February vacation and donating them to Main Spring House in Brockton and raising funds to enter a team into the Project Bread Walk for Hunger 5K in Boston which will take place in May.

To sponsor the group, contact Keane at lt.keane@icloud.com.

A Souper Bowl fundraiser also raised canned goods donations for the pantries.