Whitman-Hanson Express

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Budget vote pushed back

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The W-H Regional School Committee on Thursday, March 12 decided to reconvene later this month to set a budget for fiscal 2021.

“We have to make decisions,” said Committee Chairman Bob Hayes. “This discussion that we’ve had, we’ve had the last three or four meetings. Nothing’s changed.”

Committee member Steve Bois had moved that assessments totaling $28,528,937 be divided between the two towns, but it was rejected by a 5-4 vote. Seven votes were required to pass it.

Another meeting was then rescheduled, initially until March 18, but pushed forward this week to Wednesday, March 25 due to concerns over the coronavirus and public safety.

“I’m not sure we can support the required [budget], it pains me to say that, but I can say that because I think we really need to do going forward, is work with both towns for the following year, to do a full restore, which will require an override in both towns,” School Committee member Christopher Howard said. “I am not comfortable moving forward with a budget until I hear the towns have reached a compromise.”

He also said he does not see why a budget has to be set now. Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak said the district’s legal counsel has advised that a budget must be set by 30 days prior to the May 4 town meetings.

Szymaniak added that, while compromise is good, he does not know what the towns can afford right now.

“I don’t know what to cut right now,” he said. “I think we gave you a fair budget that’s level-serviced. … We tried not to give you everything.”

He said the committee needs to tell him how much to cut and he would have to find where the cuts must be made.

Whitman resident Christopher George, named this month as a citizen at-large member of a regional agreement committee, said he understands, the assessment formulas, has a level head and that the two towns are close to a compromise.

“What I would say, though, is there can’t be a compromise without a number that we’re working toward,” George said.

Howard disagreed, arguing that the towns have to come to an agreement on how the compromise can be made before numbers are decided upon. School Committee member Dan Cullity advocated that the panel join the discussions between the two select boards and town administrators as they discuss an assessment compromise.

Hanson Selectmen Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett agreed that Szymaniak and Assistant Superintendent George Ferro would be valuable additions to the process.

She also said that, while she appreciated the School Committee’s position and perspective, she found it troubling that the move to a statutory assessment formula was difficult.

“But if you set the assessment at the place that you just talked about, I can assure you that you’ve left me nothing that I can go back to my voters and the citizens of Hanson with,” she said. “It’s just not going to happen and, in effect, if you set it at that, you’re going to be setting a ball in motion that I am powerless to stop.”

She said it would end up having the state take over.

Hanson is willing to go back and consider a modest override, but anything more would “eviscerate” her town’s finances. She advocated for the return of several educational programs, but warned it could not all be done in a single year.

Howard asked if any compromise had been discussed between the two towns. FitzGerald-Kemmett said the only way for that to be achieved would be to build in a gradual change toward the statutory formula during the revision of the regional agreement.

Cullity agreed it would come back to a compromise in negotiating the regional agreement.

“I’d rather see something like that happen than lose this district to the state,” he said.

Adding back $280,000 for the four elementary-grade teachers laid off last year was discussed as a priority to control class sizes in elementary grades. The pupils would be at Duval and Indian Head as well as science class at the high school. Conley has been OK, but there have been 17 new students move into the district since October and some 200 new housing units will be fully online by the fall.

“Twenty-eight students in a fourth-grade class isn’t where we want to be, optimally,” Szymaniak said. “For grades three-plus, 25 is OK, under that — and we have first- and second-grades of 26 — I’d like that to be 19, and that’s where we can go if we get more staff.”

The teachers had not been included in the original required budget, but were moved up from the recommended budget.

“We have to give principals the autonomy to put people in the right  places. Our job here, in our spot, is to make sure they have the tools, and the tools are their teachers,” Szymaniak said.

“I’m fully cognizant of the fact that we do not, and are not, funding our schools to the level that we should,” Committee member Fred Small said, asking if returning the teachers is a necessity. “That being said, there’s blood out of a stone, and we have to be cognizant of what the towns can afford at this point.”

“I think we think it’s a necessity,” Ferro said. “I think, if you’re a parent of a student in that class, it’s a necessity, I think if you’re a teacher in that class, it’s a necessity. I think if you work at that building, it’s a necessity so, yeah, I think it’s a necessity.”

School Committee member Dawn Byers advocated returning the teachers, as well, noting that the towns have benefitted from increased state aid since the Education Reform Act in 1993.

“When we talk about collateral damage, it is the kids,” she said. “It is the students who have lost time — the kids that are in eighth grade right now and they lost that foreign language learning they had last year and that half-day kindergarten that doesn’t have the opportunity. I don’t see how we can cut anything.”

Szymaniak cautioned that state take-over of the school budget is not the answer to the impasse during a recent meeting to discuss Chapter 70 distribution between town officials and Mass. Association of Regional Schools (MARS) Executive Director Maureen Marshall and member Stephen Hemmand. The cost of de-regionalization and impact of a state takeover of the school budget were also discussed.

Both MARS representatives told local officials that they “might have a conversation about what’s affordable for both communities, potentially, and that might not be what we’re asking for to keep level service at this point,” Szymaniak said. “The two communities have to agree and [Hemmand] said there’s pain to that.”

Hanson officials discuss budget status

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HANSON — Meeting an hour before the W-H School Committee on Thursday, March 12, a quorum of the Hanson Selectmen — Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett, Vice Chairman Kenny Mitchell and Jim Hickey — met with Finance Committee Chairman Kevin Sullivan for a discussion of the school budget.

“They’ve decided on the methodology of the budget, which thus far has been voted into by statutory [assessment], and tonight, they will be lowering the boom on the budget,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. The School Committee, instead, put off that decision at least until this week.[See related story, page 1]

“This isn’t just a Hanson problem, it’s a school problem, it’s a district problem, it’s a Whitman problem and it’s a Hanson problem,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “This can’t be just Hanson solving this problem.”

She told School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes that, in the spirit of partnership, Hanson officials would appreciate the schools bringing their budget “as far down as you can.”

One question FitzGerald-Kemmett had centered on why $117,000 for technology upgrades that Hanson, as did Whitman, budget as a capital expense was also included in the school budget.

Town Administrator John Stanbrook broke the school budget options into three scenarios — the first, simply the required budget increases Hanson’s assessment by 21.49 percent; the second, which also adds $280,000 to return four elementary teachers cut last year, increases it by 22.58 percent or $2.3 million; if the town also had a level-service budget is a 3.5 percent increase on the town or $1.83 million.

Based on FY ’20 assessment values of $1.29 per thousand, the average annual tax increase for a single-family home [$334,368] would have been $457 if an override had been done last year. Scenario 2 would put the increase at between $630 and $640.

Sullivan said his committee has been working under the idea that the required budget, aimed at providing level-service spending to the schools for fiscal 2021, would be the number with which it would have to contend. Hanson would have to come up with $1.87 million under a statutory assessment formula.

The town is already about $300,000 in the hole with a 4.5 percent budget increase for the town.

“We’ve earmarked some places, already, where we believe the first round of cuts ought to go,” Sullivan said. “We’re looking at every and all options that are on the table.”

Among the scenarios the Finance Committee is considering is a 10-percent reduction across all town departments. With the exception of the library, the town had added back all the positions cut 10 years ago during the recession.

“Our goal is to get this number down to a reasonable level where we would have to present an override to the town,” Sullivan said. “No one likes that override word, but it’s a matter of how much can we cut out of the budget to get it down to a reasonable level?”

Mitchell agreed that the town needs to start thinking that way.

“The only way to get by this [next year] is to increase the tax rate,” Sullivan said.

A Finance Committee member since 2012, Sullivan said he has not seen a deficit close to being this large that the town has had to overcome.

Mitchell also suggested a mediator might help resolve the issue between the two towns.

“Well that is a controversial little theory, there, Mr. Mitchell, and I like it,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.

FitzGerald-Kemmett said she was hoping the School Committee would recognize that the situation is not Hanson’s problem alone to solve. She said she personally does not favor an override, but that is a question for voters to decide.

The coronavirus may also have an impact, as FitzGerald-Kemmett said there has been some discussion of postponing town meetings. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has already waived the 180-day school year requirement.

“The School Committee meeting tonight, if it wasn’t an important meeting, I probably would have canceled,” said Hayes, who attended the Selectmen’s meeting.

No ordinary times

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The Whitman-Hanson Regional and South Shore Technical school districts have joined schools across the state suspending classes for three weeks, through Tuesday, April 7 — and as long as a month in some places — to help stem the progress of the coronavirus.

Town halls, libraries, senior centers and any activities that could attract more than 25 people are canceled or rescheduled in light of the state of emergency declared by Gov. Charlie Baker.

Public meetings in both Whitman and Hanson must be “attended” remotely by residents — and, in Hanson, via telephone link by all Selectmen for the duration of emergencies declared in both towns, effective Monday, March 16.

Town meetings will be rescheduled to June 15, but Hanson plans to keep the scheduled date of the Town Election as Saturday, May 16. Selectmen approved the refunding of down payments for planned events canceled at Hanson’s Camp Kiwanee.

Hanson Food Pantry will remain open, but will admit only one client at a time with social distance guidelines enforced, and chairs will be cleaned between clients. Residents have been asked to use food pantry services only in the event of clear need.

“Public meetings will be broadcast on cable access, either live or the next day on YouTube,” Town Administrator Frank Lynam stated in a reverse 911 call Monday.

“You’ll notice we are all socially distanced,” said Hanson Selectmen Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett, as she convened the Tuesday, March 17 meeting, attended in person by only herself, Selectman Matt Dyer, Town Administrator John Stanbrook, Administrative Assistant Greer Getzen, Police Chief Michael Miksch, Health Agent Gil Amado, Health Board Chairman Arlene Dias and IT Director Ryan McGonigle — all at seated at CDC-recommended intervals. Selectmen Wes Blauss, Jim Hickey and Kenny Mitchell, Fire Chief Jerome Thompson Jr., and Town Counsel Jay Talerman attended remotely via telephone link.

“Tonight’s meeting will probably be the last meeting where we will see each other in person because we take this seriously and we want to make sure we’re leading by example and doing the right thing,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “We thought it was important to meet tonight, because we hadn’t yet worked out the logistics on the teleconferencing — and time will tell if we actually have worked them out, but we are going to give it our level best.”

Teleconference meetings will be recorded and posted on the town website with videoconference coverage available only for land-use board hearings where hearings can’t be delayed, where maps and other documents need to be viewable, FitzGerald-Kemmett said.

Lynam said that, while all town employees were still working, admittance to buildings will be by appointment only. The telephone number for all town departments is 781-447-7600.

Hanson town and school fields have also been closed to any organized sports or activities and will remain closed as long as the schools are closed. Whitman fields and recreational areas are closed to the public until further notice. Updates are available on town websites whitman-ma.gov and hanson-ma.gov. Municipal bills may be paid online or by check or money order deposited in drop-boxes at the town halls.

“We regret that these limitations are being established, but we are doing so to reduce the exposure to the [coronavirus] to the public and it’s town employees,” Lynam said in his message.

Restaurants are limited to carry-out or drive-through food business only.

“I think people shine in moments like this,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “You really see people’s true colors, and we’ve got a truly dedicated group of employees here in Town Hall, Fire, Police, Highway, Water — they’re all stepping up.”

Like Lynam, FitzGerald-Kemmett stressed some of the measures put in place with the state of emergency are for the protection of town employees as well as the public.

Materials can be taken out from the library by calling ahead. Staff will wipe down books and other media and bring it out to residents.

“There will be no person-to-person contact and they will be taking precautionary measures,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.

Miksch said if the public finds police officers to be a little less friendly or are hesitant to roll down a window to talk, there is a reason for that.

“We have to stress that we’re trying to do our best to make sure the officers stay safe as well,” he said. “I hate to limit people from coming to the police station, but again, unless they physically have to be there, we don’t want them there.”

Firearms ID renewals are being handled online as much as possible.

Schools closed

W-H Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak told the School Committee at its Thursday, March 12 meeting that a conference call for Commissioner of Education Jeff Riley and superintendents around the state had been scheduled Friday, March 13 to discuss the decision.

Regardless of the decision, Szymaniak was willing to take parental concerns into consideration had the decision been made to keep schools opwn. [See pages 4, 5].

“I would like to tell the School Committee and the community, if [parents] feel that school is in session and you would like to keep your child home, you may,” he said. “We are looking at ways … for online learning in the event of that.”

In light of the emergency, the unexcused absences policy has been waived. Students on free and reduced lunch, will be provided for.

“Some of our students get breakfast, lunch and dinner here,” Szymaniak said. “We have to come up with a contingency plan to make sure our students are fed.” Services to students on individualized education plans (IEPs) must also be served according to their plans, he said.

There had been no cases of presumptive or real cases of coronavirus in the W-H community, Szymaniak stressed on March 12. He has been in communication via conference call with both town administrators and boards of health and Szymaniak had already canceled all field trips through Friday, March 20.

Before the decision to close the schools for two weeks, he said the Conley and Duval schools were slated for cleaning over the weekend, which would have cost $8,000 for the work and buses were being cleaned after every run.

MCAS exams are “on the table,” Szymaniak said. “There’s no agenda for this, there might be a closure, I’m not really sure.”

By Friday afternoon, the decision to close the schools for two weeks had been made.

SST Superintendent-Director Thomas Hickey also said his school is out for two weeks, encouraging students to stay engaged in learning through reading and enrichment activities. School officials will re-evaluate the situation at the end of two weeks before making a decision on how to proceed from there.

Teachers will use online resources and work planned based on what they have planned for students to do when school does return, Hickey said. Social-emotional outreach services will also be available to families from school counselors whiles school is out.

“It can be very difficult to ensure equity in lesson plans,” Hickey said of the varying resources students have at home. “Still anything is better than nothing.”

While school is out, few staff will be in the building other than custodians who will increasing the flu-season cleaning protocols already in place since December.

Hickey is also looking to technology platforms such as GoogleVoice to limit the number of staff in the building further — forwarding any incoming calls to their homes.

“One of the things that we’re trying to do is to make sure that there’s an opportunity to continue learning,” said W-H Assistant Superintendent George Ferro. “We have to take into account many different things.”

Access to the Internet for devices is one of those. While 93.46 percent of parents have such access.

“When you look at that, that is not everybody,” Ferro said. Chromebooks owned by the school district are set up for the school network, and some could be made available if parents contact the district.

“We also have to come up with the paper packet for those who do not have access,” he said.

“I would commend your leadership and thoughtfulness in what are certainly extraordinary times,” said Committee member Christopher Howard.

“You guys are dealing with a lot of crazy stuff all at once,” Small said.

School Committee member Fred Small noted the Whitman Public Library has Verizon hot spots. Hanson Library Trustees Chairman Corrine Cofardo said they have many patrons who drive to the Hanson Library to use the Internet from their cars.

“There’s 40 parking spaces there,” she said.

Szymaniak asked for patience from the community as the coronavirus is an “evolving situation.”

“This is a first time for all of us,” he said, noting MCAS and graduation implications have to be taken into consideration.

Hanson Selectmen also discussed the situation at the board’s Tuesday, March 17 meeting with Police Chief Michael Miksch, Fire Chief Jerome Thompson Jr., and Health Agent Gil Amado. [See story, this page]

Selectmen have discussed using their oversight of the W-H playing fields on Hanson property to halt all sports play until further notice.

Hickey noted in the board’s special meeting Thursday, March 12 that the NBA, NHL as well as major league soccer, MLB and the NFL have suspended and/or delayed their regular seasons, the NCAA basketball tournament — as well as state high school basketball championship games — have been cancelled and the Boston Marathon was rescheduled to Sept.14.

“I have seen people posting of social media that they’re concerned and don’t know what to do,” said FitzGerald-Kemmett, who had just canceled the St. Patrick’s Day fundraising dinner slated for Saturday, March 14 to support the Hanson Food Pantry. “There are a bunch of elderly people who volunteer at the food pantry and I can’t have that happening, I don’t want to be responsible for harming people.”

Mitchell also suggested that the swearing in of two new police officers and recognition of Sgt. Eugene Andrews, who is retiring, be postponed. The new officers would be asked to get sworn in by Town Clerk Beth Sloan.

“Then we can do the family gathering … at a later date,” Mitchell said. “We shouldn’t have a room full of people.”

Hanson declares emergency

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HANSON — Town Administrator John Stanbrook and Hanson town officials would like to inform residents that the town has declared a state of emergency in an effort to prevent the spread of the novel coronvirus (COVID-19).

At this time, there are no known positive or presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 in the Town of Hanson.

The Town has declared a local state of emergency and has activated its Emergency Management Team to follow to this situation closely and provide any necessary updates.

The Town’s Emergency Management Team and the Board of Health will continue to work closely and meet regularly to discuss the latest guidance and determine the actions needed to keep the Town prepared as this situation continues to evolve.

Effective immediately, the following steps will be taken in the Town of Hanson:

•  Town buildings, including Town Hall, Council on Aging Senior Center, Town Library and schools are closed to the public until further notice.

•  All public meetings, except the next Board of Selectmen meeting on March 17, will be cancelled or postponed to a later date and likely for the foreseeable future.

•  All Town parks and fields will be closed to organized groups until further notice.

•  All functions at Camp Kiwanee or Thomas Mill will be postponed indefinitely.

• The Whitman-Hanson Regional School District has cancelled school and school activities until at least April 6, 2020. During this time, each school building will undergo deep cleaning and disinfecting. Whitman-Hanson students that need food services will be able to go to the high school, beginning today, daily from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the snack shack area which is in front of the Performing Arts center. Grab and go breakfast and lunch meals will be available. Students will need to provide their student ID number and this program will be handled as it is during a regular day. This is the only time a school building will be open to any member of the public.

• The Meals on Wheels program will continue to provide its services as needed.

• All Police and Fire services will continue as usual, however, we ask residents to call the department business lines for routine business and avoid coming into the police and fire stations to limit the spread of the virus.

•  The Board of Health will be enforcing Gov. Baker’s Order banning all on-premises consumption of food, drinks, and alcoholic beverages at the Town’s restaurants and bars effective at midnight on Tuesday, March 17. Only takeout and delivery of food will be permitted until at least 11:59 p.m. on April 5. Any establishment that violates the governor’s order will be subject to applicable license revocations by the Board of Selectmen.

• The Police Department and the Board of Health will be enforcing Gov. Baker’s order banning all gatherings of 25 people or more effective at midnight on March 17. This order is in effect until at least 11:59 p.m. on April 5. All food establishments must implement a plan for social distancing during takeout food order operations. These actions will slow the spread of the virus.

• The Transfer Station will remain open at this time.

These measures are being taken out of an abundance of caution so that the spread of the virus can be minimized and to promote social distancing. Your cooperation in this endeavor will be much appreciated.

Residents can log on to the Town’s website at www.hanson-ma.gov to get Town department phone numbers or e-mail addresses and for the latest updates as it relates to Hanson.

The Town’s public servants stand ready to answer any questions that you may have or to give out more information as it becomes available.

The state has also set up the phone number, 211, to answer questions that residents may have concerning this pandemic.

The Board of Selectmen is confident that together, working in concert with the community, Hanson will be able to help stem the spread of this virus.

A virus watch begins

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Once, again, your mother was right.

Common-sense practices such as washing your hands properly is the best way to prevent the spread of illness, such as the COVID-19 (or 2019 Novel Coronavirus) from spreading.

Across the state, as of March 3, there were 1,083 people subject to quarantine; 638 who have completed monitoring and no longer in quarantine and 445 now undergoing quarantine.

On Tuesday, Gov. Charlie Baker declared a State of Emergency in Massachusetts to support the Commonwealth’s response to the outbreak of Coronavirus

The Baker-Polito Administration also announced new guidance for Executive Branch employees in order to prevent and mitigate the spread of COVID-19. This includes discontinuing all out-of-state work-related travel, canceling or virtually holding conferences, seminars, and other discretionary gatherings, informing employees not to attend external work-related conferences, seminars, or events, reminding employees feeling sick with fever or flu symptoms to not come into work, and encouraging high risk employees to talk with their supervisors to review possible alternative work assignments.

Health officials in both Whitman and Hanson reported this week that, while there is no alarm being seen in the communities, there have been questions asked in Hanson.

“They call more about a mouse than they do about Coronavirus,” Whitman Health Agent Alexis Andrews said Monday morning. “Basically, it’s just common-sense. Wash your hands, [disinfect] doorknobs, don’t touch your face. It’s basically flu-type things.”

The department has posted how the illness is spread, its symptoms and precautions against catching it.

Councils on aging are taking precautions as handwipes and paper towels are provided, along with hand-washing reminders, according to Whitman Director Barbara Garvey, who indicated the company through which the town purchases hand sanitizer is on backorder with the product.

A maintenance volunteer at the Whitman Senior Center is also keeping doorknobs and light fixtures wiped down, Garvey said, noting that seniors have not expressed much concern over the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States so far.

In Hanson, Director Mary Collins said that, along with the cleaning done by the part-time custodian, center staff have been trained in and are conducting, periodic sanitizing of door handles, knobs and control plates as well as bathrooms.

“We’re sanitizing throughout the day, especially surfaces people touch frequently,” Collins said. “Haven’t seen a lot of change in attendance, and people haven’t been talking much about it.”

Neither town has any reported cases of COVID-19 so far.

“The most important takeaway is washing your hands, staying home if you’re sick and if you are at all concerned — social distancing,” said Hanson Board of Health Chairman Arlene Dias. According to Dias, there have been few people contacting town officials about COVID-19 there, as well.

Former Health Board Chairman Tom Constantine sent a letter to selectmen with a list of questions about the outbreak, Dias said, but she said his questions pertained more to a pandemic.

Hanson has also posted information at Town Hall, the town website, sent information up to the senior center and library.

“I think people are so inundated every day, all day with information about Coronavirus,” Dias said. “They’re not calling us.”

She also said she is not seeing a lot of conversation about the issue on Facebook.

“People are more concerned about why people weren’t washing their hands before,” Dias said. “I think people are putting more energy into buying masks, buying hand sanitizer stuff like that — wiping down everything, maybe not taking trips that they were going to take — because they don’t know if they’re at risk or not.”

WHRSD has also posted information on its website for families of school children.

“We’re all doing the same thing,” Dias said. “The CDC is making the rules, sending it to Mass. Department of Public Health and DPH is telling us what it is we need to do. We’re all on the same page, and that’s how it always is.”

The DPH outlines what Health Boards must do, including for pandemic situations.

“I think they don’t want to create panic,” Dias said. “It’s bad enough people are out buying masks.”

Dias said masks or hand sanitizer are not needed.

“Soap and water is much better than anything you’re going to buy,” she said. “If you’re not sick, you’re going to make people scared if you are wearing a mask.”

About COVID-19

According to the DPH, COVID-19 (2019 Novel Coronavirus) was first detected in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. This viral infection has resulted in thousands of confirmed human infections, with the vast majority of cases in China. Other countries, including the United States, have identified a growing number of cases in people who have traveled to China. More recently, transmission has been noted in some countries that has not been directly linked to cases in China, indicating community-level transmission in some places.

Coronaviruses are respiratory viruses and are generally spread through respiratory secretions (such as droplets from coughs and sneezes) of an infected person to another person. Information about how this novel coronavirus spreads is still limited.

This coronavirus causes a respiratory (lung) infection. Symptoms of this infection include: fever; coughing; shortness of breath; in severe cases, pneumonia (infection in the lungs).

While most people recover from this infection, some infections can lead to severe disease or death. Older people and those with pre-existing medical problems seem to have a greater risk for severe disease.

There is no specific antiviral treatment for COVID-19, other than supportive care and relief of symptoms. Currently, there is no vaccine available to protect people from infection with the virus that causes COVID-19.

Although risk to Massachusetts residents from COVID-19 is low, the same precautions to help prevent colds and the flu can help protect against other respiratory viruses: Wash your hands often with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds; Cover your coughs and sneezes; and stay home if you are sick.

Testing for the coronavirus that causes COVID-19is only available through the Massachusetts State Public Health Laboratory and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Any healthcare provider who suspects a person is infected with 2019 Novel Coronavirus should call the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to discuss testing, at (617) 983-6800.

Whitman posts virus info

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WHITMAN — Town Administrator Frank Lynam, asked by Selectmen Chairman Carl Kowalski to collect and review information available on the global COVID-19 outbreak, held conference calls Tuesday, March 11 with public safety and schools on the town’s approach to the situation.

The schools, police and fire chiefs and Board of Health have all posted information on the illness on their respective web pages, but Lynam said the town will be re-posting it to make access to simple recommendations on keeping healthy easier to access.

Information sheets will also be placed at the Whitman Public Library and Council on Aging and other public locations for residents without computer acesss.

“It occurred to me that we’ve got to make it as simple as possible for our citizens to be up-to-date on both prevention and treatment protocols,” Kowalski said during the March 11 Selectmen’s meeting. “It made sense to me that the Board of Health would be the place where the citizens of the town know to go for information on the Coronavirus.”

Lynam said his research has shown that there is so much information out there that is “sort of right, but nobody agrees.” He read reports on COVID-19 on the websites of Johns Hopkins, the Center for Systems Sciences and the Centers of Disease Control.

“Presumably, the CDC would be the ultimate authority for information,” Lynam said. “Everyone has different counts, different numbers, different trends. The bottom line is people have to exercise common sense,”

Town Hall is cleaning all surfaces people come in contact with in the morning and afternoon — hand railings, doorknobs, bathrooms.

“But the best thing people can do is avoid being in crowds and wash their hands 20 seconds at a time, as frequently as necessary when they come in contact with people,” Lynam said. “That’s our only line of defense. This is a flu, like any other one. It just seems to be moving more quickly than anything we’ve seen in the past.”

Selectman Justin Evans said he was asked how would town employees’ sick days be affected if they were exposed and had to self-quarantine for two weeks.

Lynam said that, while they would likely burn through their sick time, he does not necessarily think the town would automatically cut them off if they needed if for other illness.

“I don’t think we’d leave anyone hanging out there, and that’s something we have to address as a board in subsequent meetings,” he said. “It’s really important that, if people suspect they’re coming down with a virus, flu or otherwise, they stay home, because it’s not going to help anyone else if they’re here.”

The virus is unique in that there is no runny nose, as is typical of a cold. COVID-19 is manifested by a dry, hacking cough and no runny nose.

The board voted to appoint Lynam, Evans, Finance Committee Chairman Richard Anderson and resident Christopher George, as a citizen at-large, to a WHRSD Regional Agreement Review Committee,

In other business, interviews for a new Recreation Director will be scheduled with people not yet interviewed for the position, as some voting members were not present during a meeting at which interviews for candidates were scheduled.

What’s cooking?

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HANSON — The secret to cooking lies in two words — don’t stress.

Chef Bernard Kinsella of Good Life Kitchen cooking school and catering operation, 433 Washington St., Norwell, brought his class to the Hanson Public Library on Saturday, March 7.

He demonstrated a full meal from Israeli couscous salad to chicken meatballs with roasted tomato sauce and crostini to apple strudel for dessert, while reviewing knife techniques and meal planning before concluding with a sampling.

“We do 98-percent hands-on classes,” Kinsella said. “There are a couple of different demos that we do, which are chef’s tables.”

He reviewed the cooking technique for couscous, one-to-one measures of salted water and couscous, stirred together after the water boils. The pot is then covered and removed from the heat to sit for a few minutes to absorb the water before being fluffed with a fork.

Proper cutting techniques for vegetables as well as planning multiple meals each week for the most economical use of vegetables, such as peppers, that can be expensive.

“What am I making today? … and then, what can I prep for tomorrow?” he said. “You don’t want to put [a cut pepper] in a plastic bag and throw it in the fridge.”

Finding a forgotten pepper in the back of the refrigerator at the end of the week is a sad waste of money, he explained. Cutting another portion of the leftover pepper in thin slices prepares it for stir-fry another night and in chunks makes it ready for kabobs another night.

“Try to change your cooking habits and get comfortable with what you’re going to do with your ingredients,” he said. “You have to think it through.”

Proper cutting techniques for onions, tomatoes, baguettes of bread and apples were also demonstrated.

Kinsella also discussed the best way to sharpen knives — don’t do it yourself.

“You ought to make sure your knives are sharp,” he said, suggested one wrap it in a kitchen towel to the grocery store meat department. “Then you say, ‘I’m shopping, can you sharpen my knife?’ and nine out of 10 people will do it for you.”

Full-time health agent?

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WHITMAN — In a joint meeting with the Board of Health regarding the fiscal 2021 budget on Tuesday, Feb. 25, the Board of Selectmen, discussed developing a five-year budget with a 2-percent increase, depending on contract negotiations.

Health Board Chairman Eric Jaubert spoke for the board, arguing for the need of a full-time health inspector who would be able to operate independently of the board. Under that scenario the Board of Health would serve in an advisory capacity so that issues can be dealt with in a more timely fashion. He said the Health Department budget represents .3 percent of the entire town budget.

“This action is not about the person, but about the position,” Jaubert said. “Whoever’s in that role, they need to be able to attend conferences. We just hit with the Coronavirus [and] there’s all kinds of meetings and stuff going on that and we want to make sure the health inspector stays current and is in the loop on those type of projects and programs.”

Board member Barbara White, who was unable to attend the meeting, sent a letter to be read into the record expressing her support for a full-time health agent even before the animal control services had been added to the department’s responsibilities.

“The Health Department has not been able to keep up with the demands placed on it by the residents, businesses and state Department of Public Health,” she wrote. “The role of the health inspector needs to be expanded so that the needs and expectations of the town can be addressed without the delay of board members being contacted or waiting for a board meeting. Issues need to be addressed in a timely manner.”

As the town has grown, the Health Department’s needs and responsibilities have also grown even as it no longer oversees animal control, which requires the support of a 24/7 staff, he said.

Norwell Visiting Nurse is no longer serving Whitman as of July 1, 2020, and the agency changes its focus from town services outside of Norwell.

“One of the telling things is that there is no other town around that doesn’t have a full-time health inspector,” Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski said.

It’s quite a skill set to be a health inspector,” said Jaubert, noting the part-time position made it difficult to fill. “There’s a lot to the job … regulations have increased, so you have to stay current.”

Both said the town was lucky to find such a skilled health inspector as Alexis Andrews.

Jaubert said they have not yet brought a revised budget before the Finance Committee.

Assistan Town Administrator Lisa Green presented a proposal to the board for Whitman’s participation in the Community Preservation Act.

Enacted in 2000, Whitman Town Meeting approved it in 2002 but the measure failed at the ballot box. Selectmen approved placement of the Community Preservation Act on the Town Meeting warrant for placement on the Nov. 3 ballot.

“I’m here to talk a little bit about it to get the town to reconsider this program,” Green said.

The act allows communities to earmark funds for specific programs and projects such as parks and recreation, historic preservation of municipal buildings, athletic field upgrades, restoration, open space preservation and community housing projects. So far, 176 Massachusetts communities have adopted the Community Preservation Act and participation could help Whitman raise $182,000 to $190,000. State contributions of between 13.9 percent to 23.9 percent, which could mean as annual budget of between $207,000 to $235,000 for those specific projects.

Hanson is one of the state communities that adopted the Community Preservation Act.

It does not raise taxes, but represents a 1-percent surcharge on property taxes off the assessed value. The average Whitman property value of $331,251 would mean $53 annually off the average property tax of $52.50 per $1,000. Some towns go as high as 3 percent.

Registry fees are also a source for CPA funds, including from Whitman properties which are distributed to towns that have passed the Community Preservation Act.

“Unfortunately, Whitman has lost out on this money,” Green said.

It would appear on a presidential election ballot, when turnout is higher, if Town Meeting passes it again.

Selectman Justin Evans said Hanover has used the funds for senior housing and Hanson has used the money for work at the high school fields among other projects.

“We’ve got plenty of projects in the Collin capital improvement plan that could benefit from this dedicated pool of money,” he said.

In other business, Town Administrator Frank Lynam reported work is still being done, with the Finance Committee, on a budget that reflects current circumstances and delivers services without an override this year.

“I emphasize it will take a little effort and cooperation to get to that point,” he said noting the Capital Committee will be meeting soon to finalize a list of warrant articles. He said that, so far, he has not yet seen some of the articles that were expected this year, with the filing window closing on Friday, Feb. 28.

School panel discusses budget issues

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Selectmen from both towns told School Committee members on Wednesday, Feb. 26 they are ready to move forward with budget work, but need a bottom line figure from the schools.

“We need a budget,” said Whitman Selectman Randy LaMattina, noting that the School Committee’s job is to support the schools, superintendent and school budget. “I need you, relatively soon … to let us have that next piece of how we are going to work it.”

He said it is very tough to say you are going to work toward something when you don’t know what you’re working toward.”

He asked for a consensus from the committee whether the required or recommended budget was preferred and support it.

Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak said he expects that the School Committee should be certifying a budget number to send to the towns regarding what assessments would be at a 7 p.m., meeting on Wednesday, March 4. The budget is posted on the W-H website.

School Committee members agreed they preferred taking a week to review the budget numbers before acting on them.

“The required piece is to keep us at status quo — level-serviced for 2021,” he said. “There are other items in that recommended piece that are up for discussion.”

Szymaniak said he is more than willing to meet with the Hanson Finance Committee in the meantime.

“I hate to say it, it feels like another year of treading water for us, that we can’t move ahead, that there is going to be budgetary constraints, and I don’t know that there’s a dollar amount that you can put on it,” said School Committee member Fred Small. “I can’t see us going backwards anymore.”

“This budget was prepared using a budget model over software, which allows us to look at budgets from previous years, said interim Business Manager John Tuffy. “It turns out that, over time, there have been some line items that have not been used anymore or consolidated in another line, but in order to keep the integrity of using that software … you’re going to get a budget where you see those blank lines.”

Whitman Finance Committee member Kathleen Ottina, speaking as a resident and grandmother, spoke to the School Committee about class sizes at Duval and in the one grade at Indian Head School in Hanson, where classes exceed 22 children.

“It had to happen this year, you really didn’t have any opportunity to think, ‘how else can we save money to come in under budget,’” she said. “But when you start these discussions, I would really urge you to take a look at the discrepancy between a class size of 19 for first and second graders in two schools and 24, 25, 26 at the Duval School. It’s really an inequity.”

She urged the committee to consider that the youngest students need much more one-on-one attention and should be a higher priority than other budget items.

School Committee member Dawn Byers, who also served on Whitman’s Budget Evaluation and Override Committee, noted that the latter panel had recommended a 5-percent assessment increase to Whitman for funding education. The required budget package carries a 4-percent assessment increase.

“Believe me, I’m sensitive to the statutory method and how it is affecting Hanson, as well, but I look to Whitman in a sense that, if we go with even that 4 percent number, what does FY ’22 look like?” Byers said. Using the statutory method in 2022 would mean a $1.3 million assessment to Whitman.

“It’s a big increase the following year,” she said. “So, what I’m asking is that you follow the recommendations of [consultant John] Madden …it translates to additional funding of about $228,000 in the Whitman Article 2 operating line item.”

Small said he realizes that Whitman has spent a lot of time studying what they could afford, adding that an increase for one town would mean in increase for the other.

“I’ve been thinking about this whole broad budget cycle discussion  for awhile,” Hanson School Committee member Christopher Howard said. “I’m not sure I really feel we’re doing what we said we’d do in terms of moving education forward.”

He said some of the issues Hanson has with the assessment is that the current budget cycle is an example of what he sees becoming an ongoing budget problem.

“I don’t know how I can support a budget that has an over $1 million swing toward Hanson,” he said. “It’s a very big, big issue, especially when it’s in conflict with the agreement that we made.”

Assessments based on per-pupil distribution was how the district was formed, he noted, pointing to a recent visit by Christine Lynch of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

“She was very clear, when she spoke to us on behalf of the state, that this body should absolutely understand the ramifications of that change to both towns before it made that decision,” Howard said.

Lynch had recommended a five-year phase-in of a change to mitigate the financial impact, he reminded the committee, especially as both towns are in tough financial shape.

“Just because the state gave us the opportunity to make the change, doesn’t mean we should take the change,” Howard said. “To me, it’s really about the partnership. Are we going to have a partnership or not?”

Hanson’s Board of Selectmen Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett stressed that officials in that town are working to keep the partnership going. Meetings between the two select boards and a request to place the regional agreement on the Feb. 26 School Committee agenda for appointment of a revision committee reflected that commitment, she argued.

“You haven’t heard from the FinCom, because we need a number,” she said, noting Whitman has been working on the impact to its budget since last summer. “We’re going to need a minute.”

She also cautioned about risking a state takeover of the school district.

“I assure you, although people have tried to say that isn’t the Bogeyman, and we don’t need to be worried about it, that’s not what our attorney is telling us, it’s not what Selectmen I have spoken to in Dighton and Rehoboth are telling me,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “They’re telling me that home values have deteriorated, that new families will hesitate to move to town, because they get a very strong signal that the schools aren’t being supported and I don’t want to be responsible for that.”

She said her mission is to take a position of leadership in the hope that calmer heads will prevail.

“It’s going to take a minute,” she said, adding that this year level-funding is about the best that could be expected form Hanson, based on what is discussed at selectmen’s meetings and from residents’ comments. “They really don’t even want an override.”

FitzGerald-Kemmett said any partnership between the school district and the towns will require a sensitivity to what each is going through. If the end goal is to truly move educational programs forward, she advised that the School Committee not try to do it all in one year.

“It’s actually going to boomerang and you are actually going to have people digging in and saying, ‘They won’t get a dime more from us for years to come,’” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.

She stressed that the informal meetings between select board members and town administrators shows her “sometimes something positive comes out of something negative.”

“I don’t remember the two towns working together, strategically in advance of the budget,” she said.

Byers stressed that the statutory assessment formula was implemented in 2007, but that there is a perception it is something new being forced on the district. She said another problem lies in a lack of textbooks. There are classroom sets, but not enough for children to take them home for study.

Hanson pays 42 percent of its municipal budget on education, according to DESE. Whitman spends 46 percent, Abington 48 percent, Halifax 59 percent and Mansfield 53 percent.

“Even in my own household, budgeting comes down to priorities,” she said.

Howard argued that the very reason the district was formed has its basis in the economics of that regional agreement.

“This is not Whitman’s fault,” School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes said. “This was a state thing.”

School Committee member Dan Cullity of Whitman said nothing gets done because of need changes in the regional agreement. Without Whitman’s balking on a different clause, pertaining to the deregionalization process, the assessment formula would have been set in stone.

“The towns have to realize that to provide for their school system, they’re going to have to do an override,” he said.

Howard said using a forced override, means the district loses support from the towns.

“We’ve got to bring them here  and show them the value of education,” Howard said, agreeing with Cullity. “We’re going to literally have to go and show people what they are going to get for those dollars.”

Hanson School Committee member Rob O’Brien, responding to Cullity’s mention of the recent successful Whitman override for new equipment showed that technique works.

“They went to the resident and said here’s what we need,” said O’Brien, who is not running again. “That’s why they got the extra firefighters — they proved why they needed it.”

The issue with the schools, he said, was that overrides have been sought to provide level services, rather than to get ahead.

Whitman School Committee member Christopher Scrivens said he is encouraged that the two towns are meeting and talking.

A Super Tuesday for Biden, Sanders

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After their first-choice candidates had withdrawn — and then endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden on Monday — supporters of Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar and Beto O’Rourke delivered.

On Tuesday, Biden carried Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas and Massachusetts — where Buttigieg, where the former South Bend, Ind., mayor had a strong grassroots organization; Minnesota, which is represented in the Senate by Klobuchar; and Texas, where O’Rourke had been a congressman — as well as Alabama, Oklahoma and North Carolina. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders won his home state, Colorado, Utah and California. Maine had not yet been called as of 5:30 a.m., Wednesday.

The delegate count now sits at 399 for Biden, 322 for Sanders, 44 for former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg and 42 for Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren — with 536 still to be awarded. Buttigieg had released his 26 delegates to Biden.

Bloomberg suspended his campaign on Wednesday and endorsed Biden. Warren’s campaign told the Boston Globe that they will press on, still seeing a path forward.

In Whitman, Biden garnered 996 votes to Sanders’ 754, Warren’s 350 and Bloomberg’s 288. Buttigieg took 127 — mostly from early voting the week before his withdrawal, with Klobuchar receiving 44.

In Hanson, Biden garnered 676 votes to Sanders’ 508, Warren’s 250 and Bloomberg’s 231. Buttigieg took 68, with Klobuchar receiving 29.

The primary was an educational experience for two WHRHS students volunteering as election observers in the Whitman Town Clerk’s office. Ian Brown and Samantha Thompson are co-presidents of the school’s History National Honor Society.

They hosted a voter registration at W-H for students who will be 18 by the Nov. 3 Election Day and then asked Town Clerk Dawn Varley if they could observe the election “to see how the whole process works,” Thompson said.

Because Hanson Middle School is a polling location, there was no school in the district on Tuesday.

“I’m seeing a lot of people post on their stories to get out and vote,” Brown said of his fellow students sharing of their interest in the election on Snapchat. He plans to study international affairs through an economics/political science major at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. next year.

“It’s nice to see,” said Thompson of the interest. “I’ve always been very interested in politics, and making sure everyone’s rights are respected,” She will be a nursing student at Curry College in the fall.

While sign-holders were unusually scarce at local polling places for a Presidential Primary, Hanson Democratic Town Committee member Kathleen DiPasqua-Egan was volunteering to provide visibility for Warren.

“We want everyone to vote, we’re unified in that,” DiPasqua-Egan said in agreeing to a photo with fellow sign-holder Benjamin Fletcher, a member of the Hanson Republican Town Committee.

“I really am quite a true believer in Warren,” she said. “Her ideals are ones I believe in and I’m hoping that she prevails as far as the convention — and maybe even further. I think she’d make a great president.”

Rather than being concerned about former  Democratic candidates’ endorsements of Biden, DiPasqua-Egan said she supported that development.

“I’m happy that they are coalescing around Biden, because at least they are coalescing around someone who’s a viable candidate to beat Trump. I want Elizabeth Warren to be the one, but if she’s not the one, I’m happy to have it be Biden.”

She disagreed with the perceived need in some quarters of the party that the support of Biden is needed to control Sanders.

“I don’t want to get Bernie under control, I think his ideas are great,” she said. “So I’m happy to have his ideas … which are basically what Elizabeth Warren had, but maybe not everything. … I think any of them would be a huge improvement over our current president.”

DiPasqua-Egan said the country can’t go back in time, it has to move forward.

While Warren, who finished third in her home state of Massachusetts, had a paid full-time staff operating here, supporters of Buttigieg — and to a lesser extent — Klobuchar, throwing their support to Biden were seen as the difference.

Endorsements

Buttigieg did not have an office in the commonwealth, but instead ran a grassroots campaign focused on relational organizing, according to Laura DeVeau of Newton and Marilé Borden of Northborough, grassroots volunteer co-leads for Buttigieg campaign in Massachusetts.

“Pete was the adult in the room, he pulled us all together, he did exactly what he said we needed to do since Day One, which is we need to come together and unite this party to defeat Donald Trump,” DeVeau said. “You know what last night meant to me? It meant we won Massachusetts.”

She said Buttigieg would have surprised people in every state where Biden did well, with the possible exception of North Carolina, on Super Tuesday.

“What this whole experience tells me is that a candidate can light a fire under people and then become an army of happy warriors who want to spread the word about that candidate,” she said.

DeVeau said she could not count the number of people called her or sent her direct messages on social media Tuesday for advice on for whom they should vote.

“These were not volunteers,” she said, but knew of her support for Buttigieg. She did not advise them as to for whom they should vote.

“No one could have anticipated a win by Joe Biden in Elizabeth Warren’s home state,” Borden said Wednesday morning. “But, then again, no one knew the weight that Pete Buttigieg carried in Massachusetts.”

Borden and DeVeau pointed to the grassroots nature of the organization that had been building through volunteer efforts for the past 10 months.

“When our candidate dropped out and endorsed Joe Biden, mountains were moved,” she said. “I have no doubt that we impacted the outcome of the race in our state, and across the nation.”

GOP primary

Benjamin Fletcher, a member of the Hanson Republican Town Committee was among GOP members in both towns out holding signs for state committee candidates Geoff Diehl and KathyJo Boss, while reminding voters that President Trump was also on the ballot.

In Hanson, Diehl won with 723 votes for committeeman to 129 for Gordon Andrews and 21 for Lawrence Novak. Boss won for committee woman with 596 votes to 237 for Jeanie Falcone. In Whitman, Diehl won with 992 votes for committeeman to 89 for Gordon Andrews and 21 for Lawrence Novak. Boss won for committee woman with 774 votes to 273 for Jeanie Falcone

Trump received 805 votes in Hanson to 61 for former Mass. Gov. Bill Weld, 12 for Roque De La Fuents, and 7 for Joe Walsh. In Whitman, Trump garnered 1,012 votes in Hanson to 69 for former Mass. Gov. Bill Weld, 3 for Roque De La Fuents, and 9 for Joe Walsh

“I’m giving some support to Geoff Diehl and KathyJo Boss for the Mass. GOP and also to give President Trump some support,” he said of his reason for sign-holding. “I like his agenda, I like what he’s doing for our country. I like the fact that the economy’s doing well with jobs for people.”

Asked for his reaction to several Democratic candidates’ assertions that the economy still requires many people to hold down more than one job, Fletcher said he agrees.

“I don’t think you’re going to get an argument out of me with that one, because I tend to agree with that logic,” he said as a disabled American. “I do know that President Trump has stated that people with disabilities have — their job number have gone up, too. I personally, living in Massachusetts, have not seen that, so I won’t argue with that point.”