Sometimes, it seems, one makes the best decisions when there’s not much time to think about it.
That was certainly true for Matt Wood, who found himself losing an automotive job about seven years ago – one that he held for 16 years.
“My wife’s like, ‘do something else,’” he recalled last week, “I said, OK, I want to open a coffee shop, so I just started that.”
It’s a people-centered business, whose founder used to love working behind the counter and hearing customers greet him by name.
That is reflected in the people he hires – happy people – because those are the people skills he feels one can’t be taught and is just as welcoming to people who like to work or hold meetings in his shops. So far, the business is making fixtures of some of his regulars.
“We have a lot of people who come in every single day,” Wood said. “We have a guy who’s writing a book who comes in every and just sits at the counter and does his research and writing. That’s what [the shop] is here for.”
It’s a can-do attitude that rhymes with how this small business chain was born and was among those few businesses that enjoyed expansion during the COVID pandemic.
“We opened two shops during the pandemic, in Whitman and Bridgewater,” he said.
Some of that was luck of location as the Better Bean in Bridgewater center had closed, during COVID and never reopened, since Wood had already rented space for his photography studio from the same landlord, on the third floor of the same building, and he called as soon as he heard the Bean was not reopening.
“I told him we need to take the space,” he said. The place needed a lot of work, but he got it done and finds the shop is something of a magnet for the Bridgewater State University community, especially.
He opened his first Restoration Coffee business as a corner counter in the Bostonian Barbershop in Whitman in 2017 and recently opened his latest shop in a new mixed-use apartments and commercial property at 999 Main St., in Hanson. He left the Bostonian during COVID when occupancy regulations would not allow the coffee counter to stay and Hanson embodies the most recent growth.
“I’ve been waiting for a while for this, but I’m glad it’s all done,” he said of the property investment. “Once we got the OK to start putting stuff in here, we were open about two weeks later.”
He had already been accumulating the equipment he needed.
“My whole basement was full of everything,” he said.
The Steve Eagan development replaced the burned-out remains of a former dress shop torched during a string of South Shore arson cases about a decade ago, an abandoned, building where a construction firm used to be and the vacant house where “The Whole Scoop” ice cream parlor had also been located at 965 Main St..
The coffee shop business is not Wood’s first career change.
He had also been a wedding photographer for six years and one point.
“I was always meeting with customers in coffee shops,” he said. “I always like that whole vibe. It’s kind of like that ‘Cheers’ thing with ‘everybody knows your name,’ and they come in every day.”
Wood still owns locations on Route 18 in East Bridgewater, the Bridgewater common area and Whitman center.
East Bridgewater was his first stand-alone location, which he had converted from a garage of a house where a beauty shop is located.
It took a little while to get the Whitman location, he said.
“The owner of that, who also owns this, would come into the East Bridgewater shop during COVID, telling me ‘I’ve got a spot for you, I’ve got a spot for you.’” Wood recalled. But at the time, he wasn’t ready for that leap and he had been trying to get a spot in Hanson in the plaza where Shaw’s is located. A non-competition clause in the plaza owner’s agreement with Shaw’s, which also sells baked goods, ended that quest.
“I called Steve and said, ‘Let’s just do it,’” he said.
It was the first location he’s moved into that didn’t require work on an older building, such as straightening walls, and the apartments on the upper floors were already rented out.
Egan is building another similar business at 965 Main St.
“I’m glad that Steve built this,” Wood said. “The place looks beautiful and he did such a good job.”
Wood said there were Hanson residents who were upset about losing the house where The Whole Scoop had been, but noted there were no takers even after Eagan offered the house free of cost to anyone who wanted to move it.
“The people that owned the house were going to do something like this,” he added. “They were going to knock it down.”
Eagan has built a similar project in Whitman center, where Supreme Pizza, Whitman Wellness Center and John Russell Studio have moved to.
When Wood started his business, it was just coffee, and finding a name was the first order of business.
“It’s wild, trying to figure out business names,” he said. “Every single name’s been taken.”
He hit on Restoration Coffee because it’s a beverage that restores you.
“Coffee brings you back to life, but also both the Whitman and Bridgewater shops both needed full rehabs before you could do anything – like a full restoration.”
When they added a menu, they started out easy with toasts and simple fare, and chicken salad sandwiches adding what they’ve wanted to the menu as they go along.
Much of that took place during the pandemic when business was slow.
“We were all very tight and [at times] were just hanging around for hours, waiting for people to come in,” Wood said. “It was so slow, so that was when we ended up kind of experimenting with things, going with cravings and stuff like that.”
One of those sandwiches, the Marley, leads some customers to wonder if there’s “something different” in it, he said with a laugh.
“It’s got [tomato] jam,” he said. “We have a food team now, that makes all the sauces, the tomato jam and things like that.” Most of that, as well as the bean roasting is done out of the Whitman shop at the corner of Washington and Temple streets and distributed to the other locations. The muffins are baked on-premises in each shop.
They buy green coffee beans from Colombia, Ethiopia and Guatemala through a supplier in Rhode Island who, in turn, deals directly with the farmers. Then Restoration roasts their own beans.
At the very beginning we used another roasting company, but before long Wood started roasting his own coffee.
“I watched every YouTube video [on coffee roasting] I could possibly find and read every book I could on roasting,” he said.
The décor is practically identical in each shop, bowing only to differences in the lay of the floor plan. The tables and chairs are something of a logo and he builds all the main counter tops and even paints the sign affixed to the front counter in each shop.
“I’d like to have 10, but that makes it that much more of a headache,” he said of his ultimate goal for the business, he said, adding it is “just a number at this point.
Stay tuned.
About Larisa Hart, Media Editor
O’Brien contests firing
Shannon O’Brien plans to appeal her firing as the chair of the Cannabis Control Commission directly to the Supreme Judicial Court, her lawyer has said, according to published reports. In the meantime, one of her former CCC colleagues will take over as acting chair.
O’Brien was officially removed from the post by state Treasurer Deborah Goldberg after O’Brien had been suspended for months, according to published reports on Monday, Sept. 9.
State law [CH249 Sec. 4] provides the option for O’Brien to either take her case to Superior Court or the SJC as a method of correcting “errors in proceedings which are not according to the course of the common law and are not otherwise reviewable by motion or appeal.”
Often used in connection with zoning or similar issues in land court (or district court if a case involves fence viewers), such actions have 60 days to proceed following the procedure in question.
William Gildea, one of O’Brien’s lawyers from Todd & Weld, said O’Brien is considering such action, according to the State House News Service. That is based on “prior cases with generally similar facts about removing high-level official” that went directly to the SJC — like the case of the fired Turnpike Authority Board members in the early 2000s — “that would be the plan,” he was quoted as saying.
A Whitman native, O’Brien and the Healey administration have been at loggerheads since Gov. Maura Healey suspended her on Sep. 16, 2023. O’Brien had been on the job for exactly one year – the suspension coming on the anniversary of her being appointed to the role.
The CCC oversees the state’s $7 billion cannabis business within Massachusetts.
WCVB-TV reported that included a letter from Goldberg to O’Brien, which indicates O’Brien had been accused by state treasurer of making “racially, ethnically and culturally insensitive statements.” O’Brien has denied those claims and had sued to fight the attempt to keep her job.
“The Chair committed gross misconduct and demonstrated she is unable to discharge the powers and duties of a CCC commissioner,” O’Brien’s lawyer, Max Goldberg said in his statement Monday. “I do so with deep regret because she has a long history of public service, and when appointed, I anticipated she would lead the Commission capably and in an appropriate manner. I expect my appointee’s actions to be reflective of the important mission of the CCC and performed in a manner that incorporates the standards of professionalism required in today’s work environment.”
O’Brien fired back that a “toxic work environment” had existed at the CCC for some time and had, in part, been fallout from her suggesting former Executive Director Shawn Collins might have to be let go.
Stern issued a statement denying the existence of any grounds for his client’s removal, charging that state officials
While Goldberg aims to appoint another chair to the CCC soon, Goldberg’s office said in a statement released to the press. O’Brien was still receiving checks for her $196,551 salary.
According to NPR, O’Brien Had spent more than $616,000 on proceeding with the attempt to oust O’Brien.
(Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct a headline error and update information published in last week’s Whitman-Hanson Express. The Express apologizes for the error.)
Choosing new school panel members
The School Committee and Whitman Select Board face an embarrassment of riches in guise of the 13 applicants expressing interest in the two vacancies on the committee.
“That’s more than I expected,” said Hanson member Glen DiGravio of the 13 applicants to fill vacancies left by the death of Fred Small and the resignation of David Forth over the past two months..
“It’s more than we all did,” said Chair Beth Stafford. “Which is wonderful, but …”
The School Committee must have their homework done by the Oct. 1 joint meeting with the Whitman Select Board when the applicants will be interviewed and selected.
“Because of the number, and we have been working with town counsel – it had to be town counsel because this is a town election, town process.” Stafford said. Whitman’s town counsel has said the joint boards must interview all 13, but suggested a couple different ways to do it.
“We cannot do it over two days, because that is inappropriate, according to Town Counsel,” she said.
It was decided the applicants would receive a letter mailed out on Sept. 11, explaining the process and they will be given 10 minutes to speak to the two boards.
“You have a resume to know what they have to offer,” Stafford said. “We really don’t need to hear that again.” She echoed Select Board Chair Dr. Carl Kowalski’s view that the applicants should address what they would do to benefit the School Committee, the students and the region.
“There will be no questions by us,” she said [as of the Wednesday, Sept. 11 meeting date]. “Right now, Carl and I are still discussing this because we both kind of agree, but counsel suggested other.” Kowalski said the members of the two boards would take their turns casting a vote, Stafford suggested everyone be put into nomination and then giving the post to the first two candidates garnering five votes.
“Their position is only good for eight months,” she said, noting they would have to run in May if they want to stay on the committee.
“This is the best way we could do this with that many applicants,” Stafford said.
The Committee unanimously voted to present a list of 10 high-priority capital projects totaling $434,760.55 approved by the Facilities Subcommittee, for consideration by town meetings. The list had to be submitted to Whitman by Oct. 1 for their spring annual Town Meeting. Whitman’s share is $248,330.05 and Hanson’s would be $186,430.
Hanson capital items have already been sent to Hanson because they were due in July for the October special Town Meeting. The capital items include 10 items the district is moving forward from the schools’ capital improvement committee for the towns.
“Nine of them are the exact same ones that were last year,” Assistant Superintendent George Ferro said. “There is one new one and that is the boiler replacement is not a full replacement of the boiler at the Hanson Middle School, it is simply making the boiler more sufficient … and that is equitable for rebates.”
The Facilities Subcommitttee also went through all the cost breakdowns.
Among the items on the list are the high school’s 20-year-old chiller component of the HVAC system; the high school fire panel is end-of-life/end-of-support and has been on the repair matrix for the last few years.
If the high school alarm panel is not repaired, the school must have a fire watch, a firefighter would have to maintain watch on the building, which runs into overtime, Ferro noted.
“We try to do our best to just say, ‘What is the most critical that we think we can either put off or move forward?’” he said. “In a perfect world we would be able to work something out, hopefully through a Regional Agreement that says X-amount, based on percentage, based on inflation is put aside for the schools and then the proper diligence, respect and needs of the schools would be taken into account so we would know what’s coming in and what could be earmarked in normal years.”
After that the schools would be able to prioritize that on their own.
Committee member Dawn Byers said she has asked Szymaniak if he would submit the entire capital matrix to the towns.
“These are not the only 10 needs of the district,” she said.
DiGravio asked if there was a reason the towns couldn’t synch up their budgeting processes, since waiting between town meetings often leads to increased costs.
In other business, the School Committee took a look at the state of class sizes in the district.
“I tried to be as efficient as possible with class sizes in the district,” said Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak. “We’ll see some changes at the high school with some numbers that are a little bit more than what we’re used to.”
That resulted from the combination of a few staff positions reduced and a change to an eight-period day on the schedule.
“Every student picked up a seventh class,” he said. As a result, elective classes are “really, really full, but some of our core classes [have] a little bit more than I’d like.”
Szymaniak suggested that might be something to be addressed next year.
“I know we’ve had diminishing enrollment, but I’m not super-comfortable having 28 kids in a class,” he said.
All high school students have a study hall as well, he noted.
Committee member Kara Moser said, thinking through the lens of a parent as well, she is always mindful that the cohorts of kids going through the high school are the same kids who had oversized elementary classes and reductions in services.
The intangibles involved in predicting enrollment include declining birth rate, student transitions in and out of the district and the amount on developable land in the towns, especially Hanson – and “Indian Head is full and Hanson Middle could be full,” Szymaniak noted.
“This high school can handle more kids,” he said. “But our elementaries going to be more challenged, especially on the Hanson side.”
Right now, class averages are in the 20s for kindergarten to grade five; middle school in the “23s-ish” and about 25 in the high school Szymaniak said.
“It’s nice to see these numbers,” Stafford said. “I was with [Ferro] when the numbers were huge and we had everyone… I did have the classes if 28-29 students while I was teaching.”
Member Rosemary Connolly suggested a study of what types of construction produces what percent of new students, such as occupancy permits.
“We’re using historical numbers as we’re shifting,” she said,
He is really happy with the focus on elementary as a straw poll he conducted showed class sizes at that level are “better than our neighbors.”
The bubble class is Conley’s grade five, the district’s biggest elementary class, and the anomaly seems to be Duval’s second grade, which is one of the smallest classes the district has ever had, he said, but otherwise class sizes are relatively consistent.
“What we’re doing is working,” he said.
“Even though – and I am by no means begrudging these class sizes at the elementary schools, I think those are good class sizes, although I think the smaller the better – I do worry about these high school numbers because these are kids who, as they’ve moved through, have unfortunately gotten the short end of the stick every time,” Moser said, noting the cumulative effect of that is food for thought.
“That’s good feedback,” Szymaniak said.
The high school freshman class, at 225, is the “smallest we’ve ever had,” he added.
“That’s why I see the kindergarten numbers coming back up, that’s a good thing,” he said. “We have to remember, though, we lose about 60 kids a year to vocational schools from eighth grade.”
Members Hillary Kniffen and Dawn Byers also called attention to the different levels and need for English language instruction for students in the district’s middle schools, which are also affected by class size.
The district had 398 students enroll between May and September, including kindergarten, 20 school choice students and 41 English learners. Righ now, school choice students entering the district are offsetting those going out.
In other business, Director of Equity and MTSS, Dr. Nicole Semas-Schneeweis presented a slide show on summer programs in the district.
“We wanted to give you the opportunity to see and enjoy some of the experiences out students have,” she said.
“We’re busy all summer,” Szymaniak said. “We never, ever close – and I think that gets lost sometimes because, trying to get the building ready for opening when your last program ends two weeks before … our maintenance teams really work hard to get things ready for the school year.”
Semas-Schneeweis touched on the district’s unique free summer enrichment program supporting the two middle schools and the high school – this summer it included 141 students; sports clinics; science camp for grades two through eight; a four-week robotics camp for rising seventh through ninth graders; 3-D printing camp; Camp Conley’’s academic reinforcement, arts and cratfs and physical education activities.
“We’re keeping our buildings open for our communities,” Semas-Schneeweis said as the YMCA summer programs and enricment are offered at Duval.
The enrichment program includes a paid internship for seniors. Science, robotics and 3-D printer camps have to limit numbers of participants due to the cost of materials.
“The programs we have at the high school, its important to know that because we have such different age ranges … you get students familiar with what the high school looks like,” said Assistant Superintendent George Ferro. “It keeps our students here and wanting to go here as they continue their education.”
SST narrows design options
HANOVER – The Building Committee is advocating new construction, instead of renovating and adding on to South Shore Tech, the panel decided at its meeting on Thursday, Feb. 15. The Committee voted to remove the so-called add/reno option from consideration.
The new construction option the Committee favors is known as Option 2.0 –the district’s share would be $174 million if designed for 805 students or $176 million for 900 students – with the enrollment capacity to be further discussed at the Thursday, Feb, 22 meeting.
Broken down by towns for preliminary comparison only, Whitman taxpayers by Fiscal 2029 would see a cost of $559.53 on the average home each year for an 805-student school and $564.23 on a 900-student school. The monthy impact could be either $46.63 or $47.02. In Hanson, the fiscal 2029 taxpayer impact could be $399.90 or $404.90 per $1,000 depending on the building size – or between $33.33 and $33.74. The MSBA official reimbursement won’t be available until this August.
The estimates are based on a level principal payment (which is more costly up front) using 3.75 percent interest and do not include the share of the debt that Marshfield, which begins contributing in 2026, will take on over the life of the note.
The school committee is developing a regional agreement amendment for Fall town meeting consideration that would make debt share adjustable over a four-year rolling average to reflect changes in student enrollment over time.
Option 2.0 would look no different than the current school building, but would be built behind it so instruction would not be interrupted.
Owner Project Manager Jen Carlson of Left Field attended remotely to update the committee on costs of the various design options.
“We were going to take a little closer look at the risk of the add/reno option and try to put a cost on two of the major factors that we think are a concern,” Carlson said of underslab plumbing and for modular classrooms as that work is done.
The work would bump the estimated cost to $272.5 million for the total project budget, with the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) reimbursement now estimated at $106.5 million and the district’s estimated share at $172 million for a school with 805 students.
The add/reno was rejected for two reasons – the high cost of modular construction at $20 million, which the MSBA does not reimburse and a 52-month construction window and the disruption it could cost to student instruction. “[The Add/Reno] was seen by the building committee as very challenging to have an active construction zone, near an occupied school on a small site.” Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey said this week. “Also, the considerable amount of costs that are not reimbursable brought the costs very close to the new construction estimates.”
The MSBA does not reimburse for modular classrooms, so the total new budget cost of $81 million – for an estimated project budget of $110 million – would be the district’s responsibility.
Whitman Committee member Dan Salvucci said he did not favor an addition/renovation plan.
“I’ve seen that done in my town in the past and, for the amount of money we spend, you don’t get 50 years out of it,” he said. “When you do an add/reno and you have to [join] the old section with the new and you get them together, for some reason there’s always issues with water leaks and damage and mold.”
Hanson member Robert Mello voiced similar concerns.
“There’s a lot of unknown things that aren’t or may not be repaired,” he said. “I initially think of things like the plumbing system, whether it’s in the ground or in the walls that currently exist, that we don’t really have good access to and are 60 years old.”
Mello said that, for a little bit more money, they would have the “security of knowing we’re not going to have any major issues for some time.”
Cohasset member George Cooney added that the lack of MSBA funding and disruption caused by an add/reno to the school routine is concerning.
“If you could build a separate structure and everybody does business as usual [during construction], I think that’s a win,” he said. “Yes, money is always tight, but when you look at expenses and potential hidden ones, the add/reno could actually turn up being more money than going new.”
Principal Sandra Baldner said a new school would better enable the school to maintain a moslty regular function. She said it could rob an entire generation of SST students of the educational experience they deserve.
Chair Robert Mahoney also noted that, at a timeline of five years, the add/reno would take more time than new construction.
“It’s a bad idea,” said Norwell member Dustin Reardon of the add/reno plan. “We can’t do a disservice to these students who are fighting so hard to come here.”
“I haven’t heard one positive reason to go add/reno,” said Hanover member Robert Heywood.
Salvucci and Reardon both voiced concerns about enrollment capacity of a new school.
Citing the need to discuss it as a School Committee and to keep in mind that Marshfield is joining the district – and Pembroke is signaling and interest to do the same – Salvucci said he did not want to have to turn away Whitman students who might want to attend SST.
“I’m really split between 805 and 900,” he said. “I wouldn’t go any lower than that.”
Reardon agreed that enrollment is the biggest issue.
“That’s where we’re going to be deciding what makes financial sense,” he said.
The project has been carrying over $1 million in advance, but an a$3.5 million has been added to the carry-over for the renovation plan because of the need for plumbing under the slab.
“This is not just a cosmetic fix,” Carlson had said of the plumbing situation. “It’s a very invasive plumbing activity, it requires lot of planning to avoid undermining the footing of the existing building. … There’s a lot of risk involved with this work.”
When another closer look at logistics and things that needed to happen on-site and within the building for an add/reno would mean doubling the amount of modular classrooms needed to be brought onto the site.
“We had been carrying just under $10 million for that, so we added another $10 million,” she said. “Typically, to get into this level of detail, the construction manager, once we bring them on board, would be able to get into this level of detail, which is why this cost was not identified in the earlier estimates.”
Code concerns
Code updates for an add/reno project would also affect costs and could eat into the useable space already existing for teaching and learning.
The scope of this updates include: adding sprinklers to the original building; a full ADA accessibility upgrade; a major HVAC upgrade and replacement of all non-compliant plumbing and replacement of all electrical infrastructure. Not included are new finished beyond patching where electrical and plumbing work had to be done, nor for new furniture, technology or equipment. Site upgrades would likewise not be included.
“Because of the reuse of the existing building in this option, we really don’t think you could go much beyond 5-percent enrollment growth for the add/reno option,” Carlson said.
The add/reno budget estimate was calculated on the assumption that the district would be done on the same timeline as the add/reno.
The existing building is appraised at $26.4 million. Work over $8.7 million, or 30 percent of the appraised value – within a three-year timeframe would trigger the need to fully address ADA accessibility.
“There are other thresholds that do apply, depending on what work is being done, that may trigger the need for the full scope of the code upgrade to be done in one shot if this option becomes a reality,” Carlson said.
“There actually may be less space available,” Carl Franchesci of architectural firm DRA said in light of the fact that no future enrollment growth could be accommodates under an add/reno option. “Educational space could actually be reduced slightly.”
Hickey asked for a breakdown on the increased number of modular classrooms, seeking information on whether they are for classrooms or specialized space because certain shops might be included in the renovation.
“I think it really had to do with looking at the phasing,” Franchesci said. “The way that option wraps around the gym creates a construction zone, that at first we did not include the [five or six] science labs as part of the first phase.”
He said the phasing could have them consumed by the adjacent construction zone.
Library love
Hanson Public Library made Valentine’s week twice as lovely with a Family Valentine Craft Day, during which parents and their children made Valentines, left, while patrons were encouraged to offer notes about what they love about the library all month. See more photos, page 6. Courtesy, Hanson Library
W-H hires a new business manager
The School Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 7 voted to accept Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak’s recommendation to hire former Canton Director of Business Steve Marshall as the W-H district director of business and finance, pending the successful negotiation of a contract.
His official start date would be July 1.
Szymaniak had recently accepted the resignation of Business Manager John Stanbrook, posting the position immediately on SchoolSpring and Indeed employment websites.
Thanking him for putting together the fiscal 2025 budget presentation, Szymaniak said he appreciated what Stanbrook has put together.
None of the viable candidates responding had any certification or experience in school business, so Szymaniak contacted some local superintendents for possible recommendations. School Committee Chair Beth Stafford said that, no sooner did W-H begin searching for a new business manager, a number of other towns also started a search process.
“I found Steve Marshall,” he said. “I shot a text to Steve and said, ‘Would you be interested in sending me your material so I could review it?”
He also asked Marshall if he would be interested in having a conversation with the W-H Central Office team. When Marshall agreed, he was interviewed and the team found him to be “exceptional,” Szymaniak said. Stafford also had a chance to meet with Marshall.
“By Jeff looking to the other superintendents and seeing if there was anybody around, to do it that way, was really the only way to get somebody qualified, who is certified and ready to go,” Stafford said.
“He comes with very good references,” Szymaniak said. “I’m very confident in his ability in municipal – town – government work. We spoke about the learning curve in a regional [district] and I’m very confident.”
Marshall had been director of business for the Canton School District, and W-H will have someone mentor him as he settles into the district’s business routine.
“He’s got the name,” Steve Bois joked about their shared first name.
Committee member Fred Small said he noticed a trend toward two-year periods with past employers on Marshall’s resume, and asked for an explanation.
Marshall replied that he spent about 10 years with Aramark, working with a number of different districts through the same employer as a contracted service provider.
“I did leave [Aramark] and spent some time outside of public schools, working for a startup company that was subsequently sold off, and I came back to public schools,” he said. “At that point, I decided to go back to school, get my MBA and decided I wanted to pursue a business manager position.”
He then spent four years with Newton Schools in the business office, and went for a promotion as the business director and manger in Canton, where he has been for the last two and a half years.
“What assurances could we feel we would have that, two to five years from now, you wouldn’t be giving the same pitch, so to speak, [to another district]?” Small asked.
Marshall reiterated that Szymaniak reached out to him.
“I don’t have to leave my current position,” he said. “It’s not something I’m running from at all, but after meeting an interviewing here, it’s a place that I truly want to be. I think there is a very strong leadership team here that I’m excited to be a part of.”
He also said he lives in a close-by town only a 20-minute drive away and is looking for a professional home.
“I’m really looking for a place to be for an extended period of time.” he said.
Committee member David Forth said he appreciated Marshall’s attending the meeting, asking about his experience with the MSBA in middle school projects noted on his resume.
Marshall noted he was serving as Natick food service director when that district built a new high school and was part of three building projects in Newton – one state-funded and two locally funded.
Canton – just getting into schematic design – is looking to build a 1,000-student middle school, which current cost estimates put at $230 million.
“Steve is very familiar with that [process],” Szymaniak said. “He can maneuver right into working with MSBA and our architect.” AO3 is also working on the Canton school project.
Forth also asked about how the budget process had been reworked in Canton.
“It’s absolutely phenomenal – the best budget book I’ve seen since I’ve been here,” Forth said, of the work Stanbrook had put into the fiscal 2025 presentation, asking about how Marshall might restructure the budget process at W-H.
“There were some fantastic documents shown here tonight,” Marshall said. “I think it’s been a very transparent process,’ he said of Canton’s budget process] … there was many community members and a lot of outreach that the process might not have been as transparent as it should have been. … It can be more easily understood by the general public, which is important.”
He noted there is work to be done on the financial software, in the wake of the hack to central office computers last year.
Committee member Glen DiGravio asked Szymaniak about an ETA on the software.
“It seems like it’s a very stressful thing,” he said.
“We’re actually getting really frustrated with MUNIS – customer support for us – we’re a small district,” Szymaniak said. “We’re actually actively looking at two different systems.”
Marshall, who has used the software for about 15 years, said the current MUNIS software is comprehensive software that can do anything, but the more they can provide to users, the harder they are to use.
“It is not the easiest platform to use because of its capabilities,” Marshall said. That said, he noted he is comfortable using MUNIS.
He also granted there is a learning curve involved in moving from a municipal to a regional school district, but there are aspects of a regional district that he has seen in other places.
Newton, for example, holds all its own benefits on the district side.
Committee member Dawn Byers asked about Marshall’s grant-search and writing experience.
“We were managing about $16 million in grants that came from a variety of different sources,” he said, noting that the “grant market is just not as great as what it was in the time I was in Newton.”
He added that a lot of private organizations are struggling with fundraising and the impact of the potential future of the economy and how that plays into grants and private funds.”
He was writing applications for private, state and fedral grants in Newton as that had been his specific charge when he started there.
“The demographics of the district has a huge impact on what your eligibility requirements are for many of the state and federal grants,” he said.
Whitman eyes school override
WHITMAN – The Select Board has begun the discussion surrounding a possible override question to put before voters this May.
“As you know, we have put a 5 percent increase as a place-holder in the fiscal 2025 budget for the W-H Regional School District assessment,” said Town Administrator Mary Beth Carter. “If the district certifies an amount greater than the 5 percent we have planned for, the board may want to consider a Proposition 2 ½ override for any amount requested in excess of the 5 percent.”
She said such a move would require an additional warrant article for the annual Town Meeting and a ballot question for the May 18 annual Town Election. The Board will again discuss the budget issue on March12. The School Committee has until March 16 to certify its budget.
“I suggest that we consider this course of action and plan to include the related agenda items on an upcoming Board of Selectmen’s agenda in March to further discuss this issue,” she said.
Board member Shawn Kain, who is on the budget subcommittee, also spoke to the potential need for an override.
“The School Committee is in a tough spot,” he said, “There’s a good group of people who are trying to do best by kids, and at the same time wrestle with this budget, and they definitely are in a dilemma.”
He noted enrollment dropped again, the district is still in the hold-harmless situation, they spread themselves a bit thin with the use of one-time money as the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief fund (ESSER) money is going away and the state is pulling back on some funding. The ESSER funds were used to fund a number of positions to help students recover educational ground after remote learning during COVID.
Hold-harmless is a process by which the state calculates how much state funding was provided in a previous year, plus a small per-pupil addition to arrive at how much they believe a district will need and provide the larger dollar amount. A district is “held harmless” by not reducing your aid. If the state believes that need is declining, usually because of declining enrollment, all the budget growth is borne by the towns.
“They’re certainly in a difficult situation and, honestly, the solution isn’t clear,” Kain said. “Hopefully, we can go through the budget and find some ways to save money. I’m sure that would be greatly appreciated by the community. But with the signs of a deficit for a level-service budget, it’s understandable that they would consider an override and I think they should have the opportunity to do so.”
Kain added that he, personally, would like to see an enrollment projection to see exactly what the school district is facing.
“There is a difference between a stable enrollment override and an override that takes place while enrollment continues to drop,” he said. “If enrollment continues to drop – and I don’t know that that’s the case – but were it to continue to drop, then it’s no guarantee, but we would likely, or more likely, still be in the hold-harmless situation, which would complicate things moving forward.”
He said on the town side, although it would place a significant strain on departments, it may be advantageous to “limp through the next couple years” because of the Plymouth County retirement liability continuing strain that side of the budget. Those increases, to makeup a deficit in that fund are forecast to continue for the next three or four years.
“After that time, we know there’s going to be a significant drop-off,” he said. “Now that we know that and we can kind of project out what that’s going to do, for the town side, it may be advantageous, on Mary Beth’s recommendation, that we stay kind of disciplined, as opposed to combining with the schools for an override. But that’s something to talk about and consider.”
For now, he said, the recommendation is to discuss a school override.
Chair Dr. Carl Kowalski said the only wrinkle he sees is that it would be a Select Board proposal to put it before the voters.
Kain asked that the board consider whether they wanted to discuss the issue with department heads to determine whether the town wanted to “piggy back” an override in addition to the schools or follow Carter’s recommendation, which he favors.
“I think I agree with Mary Beth, that’s the way to go,” Kowalski said. “The difference between the 5 percent and what the schools initially said they needed for a level-service budget is a great difference. It seems to me that it needs the consideration of an override in order to have it work.”
Kowalski said the Select Board should propose putting that before the voters as a ballot question.
Select Board member Justin Evans expressed concern that, at the board’s last meeting, they discussed that town departments might consider it.
“Town departments are also not living within the Madden recommendations,” he said. “Over the last couple of years, as well as this year, their projected increases are greater than what we can afford for any given department.”
Unless there have been voluntary efforts to make cuts, that’s probably still the case, he said it would be difficult to say it’s an override driven by the need of the schools.
“For this to work, Hanson would also need to pass an override just for the schools, otherwise we’re passing an override that can’t be spent, I don’t think,” he said.
Kain said that is why discussing it early and making it public sets the tone.
“If we do this, we’re sending a clear message as to what our intentions are,” he said.
Carter said the Plymouth County retirement liability is set to end in 2029 if the retirement board does not vote to extend it.
“That’s light at the end of the tunnel, but it is a few years down the road,” she said.
She met with department heads on Thursday, Feb. 15 and asked for their suggestions for cuts and, if she didn’t hear back from them she would go through it as best she could to reduce it.
By the next scheduled Select Board meeting on March 12, she said the School Committee would be meeting to certify their budget.
Finance Board members Kathleen Ottina and Rosemary Connolly, each attending the Select Board meeting to address other matters, said they appreciate to difficulty, but had questions.
“As a FinCom member, I know the gap,” she said. “I question the legality of forcing an override on the schools. … Towns can’t cut the school budget. They can either accept it or not accept it. … I question the legality of what the town is suggesting, that the school budget can be segregated into what the town is capable of funding within the 5 percent and then the rest would be put on an override.”
Kowalski and Carter said it was considered legal in 2016 when the same course of action was taken. Carter stressed that town counsel would be asked to examine it this year, as well. Ottina countered that the initiative came from the schools in 2016.
“To be clear, this would be with the cooperation of the schools,” Kain said. “If the schools were not in agreement with this structure, then we would have to pivot.”
“Schools have autonomy over their budget,” Connolly said. “There are so many laws and requirement that they have to meet. It’s one of the reasons you’re supposed to put your school budget first.”
She asked what happens if the schools put forward a budget that meets students needs, but still does not meet what the Select Board wants.
“Do you have a secondary budget set, because it’s going to come out of all of your other budgets?” she asked. “I just feel like this might be a little bit dangerous and almost theatrical and not really proper budgeting.”
Evans agreed the schools have autonomy, but they also have to present their budget to be printed in the warrant, but the Select Board also has to present a balanced budget to Town Meeting.
“That’s a huge point that Mr. Evans just made,” said resident John Galvin, who has served on the Finance Committee in the past. He noted that to keep to the 5 percent the towns indicated they could afford in a school budget, $1.9 million in cuts would be necessary to the school budget.
If you look at what’s causing this deficit, it’s clearly a revenue issue with the schools,” Galvin said. “It’s not just the $800,000 worth of ESSER, or the $500,000 worth of [excess and deficiency] that could be used. They’re also being told from the state … and federal other grants to be short almost another $400,000.”
State Cherry Sheet numbers will be down almost $125,000, he noted.
“If you add those all up, it’s basically the $1.9 million deficit that the schools are saying they would have if the towns are funding at 5 percent assessment,” he said. “All the grants they’re forecasting in their revenue are gone.”
He asked how the town could even think about handling that without an override. The town’s budget increases, by comparison, were designed to help increase town services.
“They’re going to lose jobs,” Galvin said of the schools. “I can’t imagine why the schools wouldn’t want to work with us on this. It’s really the only way the schools have a chance.”
Connolly asked which school – between W-H and the four tech schools students attend.
Kowalski said the W-H district was being discussed.
Kain said increases from other regional schools, such as South Shore Tech and Norfolk Agricultural, are due to enrollment increases where the enrollment at W-H is decreasing.
Resident Robert Kimball of Auburnville Way, urged the Select Board to consider the elder population in town, who are already financially stressed because of ballot initiatives for a new DPW building and a new Whitman Middle School.
“It’s nice to have a level-service budget, but let’s make some cuts someplace,” he said. “Let them try to cut their budget. They’ve got decreased enrollment.”
Walkin’ up to Boston for mom
Lifelong Whitman resident Heather Fernald is a woman on a mission.
While she has a fundraising goal of $1,500 – the Pacesetter Goal – when she again takes part in the Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk on Sunday, Oct. 1, she said this week that she’d really like to double that.
“I would dream of doubling that,” she said.
When asked where fundraising sits at the moment, she let out an ironic chuckle and said, “Like, $350.”
“My goal is $3,000 and we can say I’m halfway,” she laughed. “Most people end up donating the last couple of weeks.”
Besides trying to fit in more training and boosting her fundraising efforts, she is also devoted to the color pink because of their support for breast cancer fundraising, she said, noting people walk to support research in all forms of the disease.
“She’s fantastic,” Heather said of her mother’s condition. “She uses a Rolator because outside of the house she’s nervous.” Chemotherapy has left her mom occasionally with a situation where her legs go out from under her.
Her mom, who had back surgery two years before she was diagnosed with cancer, also makes sure to keep up with her exercises.
“She gets a couple thousands of steps a day,” she said.
While her mom is an inspiration, Heather said she doesn’t train for the walk, but she’s kicked it up a notch and is back at the gym three days a week, doing a lot of cardio on the treadmill.
With Heather’s work schedule, fundraising has proven challenging, but she does a lot of it through Facebook Fundraising. And she also does some fundraising on the Whitman 02382 Facebook site, where she has received good encouragement and some donations, too.
“I try not to be too pushy – that’s my problem,” she said, noting she ads posts from her training walks to keep interest fresh.
Fernald has participated in the walk, presented by Hyundai, five times before in honor of her mother, who was diagnosed with breast cancer. Last year the walk returned to the Marathon route after two years of “Walk Your Way” events at participants’ homes.
She did hers around town, receiving some friendly horn-beeps and waves, but it doesn’t compare to the Marathon route walk.
“The support from the people just along the route, it’s more encouraging,” she said.
An added boost for this year is that participants will end the route at Fenway Park because of construction going on at Copley.
“My mother is my main reason I walk,” Heather wrote in an announcement run by the Whitman-Hanson Express on Aug. 10. “She is a Breast Cancer Survivor thanks to Dana-Farber and, of course, her own strength and courage!”
Her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017 and was treated at Dana-Farber.
“I’ve been going there since I was in my early 20s,” Heather said of the
preventive care she has received there herself. “They were just so amazing. They’re so amazing to the family members.”
She said Dana-Farber staff have kept up with her on how she’s training for the Marathon walk and have people who visit patient while they undergo treatments and some of the items in the center’s gift shop are free for patients.
Her mom was practical to the soft, handmade hats available. A crafter herself, who creates inspirational rocks to sell at craft fairs. Fernald left about 40 or so of the message stones at the shop for other families when he mother was released.
“The terrible part, but the amazing part is that so many people from all over the world come here for top-of-the-line care,” Heather said.
Heather is the Team Captain of the Journey For Janice team and hopes to raise $1,500.
She said her mother still goes to Dana-Farber for checkups and any needed treatments.
“She doesn’t mind going to the doctor’s when she has to go,” heather said.
“It’s a life-long thing now,” she said. “So [Dana-Farber] is a life-long extended family. It’s not necessarily the family you want, but if you have to have one, they’re really the one to have.”
The 2023 Jimmy Fund Walk will take place on Sunday, October 1, and raises funds to support all forms of adult and pediatric patient care and cancer research at the nation’s premier cancer center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Whether participating for themselves, loved ones, neighbors, or co-workers, each walker shares a common purpose: to defy cancer and support breakthroughs that will benefit cancer patients around the world.
Participants have the flexibility to choose from four distance options: 5K walk (from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Longwood Medical campus), 10K walk (from Newton), Half Marathon walk (from Wellesley) or Marathon walk (from Hopkinton). Walkers can also participate virtually by “walking their way” from wherever they are most comfortable—whether that be in their neighborhood, on a favorite hiking trail, or on a treadmill at home.
The Jimmy Fund Walk has raised more than $167 million for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in its 34-year history. The 2023 Walk will be held during the Jimmy Fund’s 75th anniversary year and will aim to raise $9 million in the effort to prevent, treat, and defy cancer. To support Heather’s walk go to http.//danafarber.jimmyfund.org/goto/Journeyforjanice.
The wheels on the bus meant change
By Linda Ibbitson Hurd
Special to the Express
In the Summer of 1953 I was 6 years old and would start first grade in the fall. I was both excited and scared at the thought.
I also was covered with poison ivy from head to toe when I landed in it falling out of a small tree. I wasn’t hurt otherwise but hated being covered with calamine lotion every day. My sister Penny was 3 at the time and I felt bad because she didn’t understand why she couldn’t hug me or hold my hand. We also had a new baby brother who had been born the end of August and was little more than a week old and I couldn’t hold him. My parents were hoping the poison ivy would clear up so I could start school in time and I was hoping it wouldn’t.
Just in the nick of time the last of the poison ivy faded away.
I had new clothes and a lunch box and finally the big day came. I stood with Mom at the end of our sidewalk holding her hand with Penny beside us and Davey in the carriage asleep. As the big yellow bus came down the street and stopped in front of our house opening it’s door, I gripped mom’s hand. She urged me to go ahead as I walked slowly up the steps of the bus.
Much to my surprise I knew the bus driver, he was a distant cousin named Sammy.
My mother and he greeted each another both happy to see each other which calmed me down and I think it also helped my mother. As Sammy drove down the street picking up other children, I realized I had forgotten my lunchbox and everything in it I needed. I was trying very hard not to cry. When Sammy asked me if I was OK, I told him what was wrong. He told me not to worry, he would take care of it. When the bus turned around and came back up the street getting closer to my house, there was mom standing there holding my lunch box. Sammy smiled as he stopped the bus, took the lunch box from mom and gave it to me. It seemed very strange going to an unknown place without my mother. I also worried about leaving her alone with no one to help her.
The bus finally pulled into the L.Z. Thomas school parking lot. It was a nice old red brick building with a big window in the front with an outside staircase going down either side that made me think of a castle. Teachers met the buses, leading us into the building and to our designated classrooms. I will always love the smell of old buildings and their old wood floors and I did love this building, the wooden desks and chairs, the coat closets and the nice big windows with their spacious panes that looked out onto the grounds.
I liked my first-grade teacher and was intrigued and interested by the classroom and it’s big chalkboards on the wall. Over the chalkboards hung big squares, each one a different color with a letter on it. A big calendar hung on the wall depicting a colorful Fall scene. On another wall were big colorful squares with numbers on them. There was a flag hanging up in one corner and we all had our very own desk and chair. The first couple of weeks, I mostly worried about my mom and wanted to go home. Some of my classmates seemed to be having the same problem.
One morning the teacher passed out books. She said we were going to learn how to read. She started pointing to the lettered squares on the wall asking if any of us knew what letter it was and we learned the alphabet quite fast. Before long we were reading some of the words in the books she passed out. By the end of September, we were reading about Dick, Jane, Sally, their Cocker spaniel, Spot, and Puff the kitten; the town they lived in and all their adventures. When October came, we were learning how to cut shapes out of colorful construction paper and taping them on the windows. We decorated for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. We loved standing outside on the lawn looking at our decorated windows. There is always at least one kid who has to stick his or her tongue on the flagpole. The first year I was there it was a third grader as we all watched out the window while the Firetruck showed up to rescue him.
When Spring came that year, we were still decorating windows with our colorful cutouts. We also were taught about the Maypole and every Spring there was a ceremony. I remember the year my class was old enough to be in it and we were so proud. I was actually sad when it was time for Summer vacation at the end of first grade. I had stopped worrying about my mom, she was doing fine and Penny was helping her. Being both homesick and scared, first grade opened up a whole new world to me and as over the hill as I am, I’m still learning!
Hanson eyes busing article
HANSON – The October special Town Meeting ballot will include a space-saver article addressing a potential change in school transportation costs.” Town Administrator Lisa Green said.
The town will seek some guidance on the issue before its Tuesday, Aug. 29 meeting.
“We’re going to have to figure out transportation,” she said of the need to transport a student to Norfolk County Agricultural High School. “I need to fashion an article that’s going to provide that extra money. … This is going to cost the town about $54,000.”
Select Board Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett asked if Green has checked with legal counsel as to whether the agreement in question with the school in question includes busing.
“Did I not read that there was an article for out-of-district busing thoroughly being contemplated by the legislative body?” FitzGerald-Kemmett asked.
Green said she didn’t know if it would happen in time, before the beginning of the school year on Aug. 30.
“I want to bring to the board’s attention a situation that came to light today,” Green said during the Tuesday, Aug. 15 meeting. “It has to do with transportation for a student.”
“That’s a lot of money,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. Initially hesitant to entertain the issue, she asked if it pertained to the Town Meeting warrant.
“Information was brought to my attention today regarding additional money that we’re most likely going to have to expend on transportation per student,” Green said, explaining there had been an issue pertaining to the town having to pay transportation costs for one new student from one new location to the school.
“It was brought to my attention today that the situation continues” she said. It leaves the town in a situation of having to figure out student transportation and where the money is going to come from. She said she needed time to write the article that is aimed at proving that need while she works with the town accountant to prove the need for it.
“I did make a call to DESE (the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education),” regarding what we can do regarding the situation,” Green said. She was expecting a call back from them.”
Town Accountant Eric Kinsherf said that when the numbers become known they can be entered into the agricultural line item.
“I’m curious,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “I’m seeing a lot of money articles in the warrant, and I’m curious as to whether you think if we have the money to pay for all of these?”
Kinsherf said he didn’t at that time, as he is in the process of closing the books. He said he would know more when he got an initial look at free cash.
“It just struck me as a lot of money for an October Town Meeting,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said to the agreement of other board members.
Maquan Street
The town has receive some good financial news recently.
Green announced that, thanks to the efforts of Hanson’s state Rep. Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, and state Sen. Michael Brady, D-Brockton, a fiscal 2024 budget earmark of $100,000 has been received to finance a subsurface enginering work on a water pipe below the road surface – which had delayed progress on the road work being funded through the MassDOT Transportation Improvement Project (TIP) program.
The subsurface work is required because of where the pipe, which supplies water to Abington and Rockland is located. Those communities were not interested in joining Hanson in having the engineering evaluation done, Green said.
“That was huge,” she said. “So a very big thank you to our legislators for helping us obtain this money.”
“Fortunately, our legislative partners stepped in and put in for an earmark of $100,000 and the governor just signed that budget, including the $100,000,” she said.
That engineering study can provide the town the green light to move forward on the $13 million road project funded by state grants.
A $90,000 grant,provided by the Mass. One Stop for Growth program and applied for by Planner Anthoney DeFrais, has been received by the town to begin engineering work on the pedestrian improvements at the Hanson Commuter Rail station on Main Street/Route 27.
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