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Taking mystery out of writing thrillers

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HALIFAX — Mystery writer Edwin Hill is developing a following.

Most of the dozen or so people attending his talk about his second Hester Thursby novel, “The Missing Ones,” had already enjoyed his debut novel “Little Comfort,” and were happy to hear this newest work, too, strays into the realm of the creepy.

“Let me just ask, real quick — and there’s no wrong answer to this — who has read the first book?” he asked. Hands were raised around the room at the Holmes Public Library Saturday, Oct. 5. “A lot of you have already been introduced to the characters. … I have some repeat offenders who have come to see me before, which I really appreciate.”

Thursby, a Harvard librarian who stands all of four-feet nine inches tall, takes care of her 3-year-old niece, her non-husband Morgan Maguire and a Bassett hound named Waffles. She works on missing persons cases in her spare time.

Or, worked in missing persons cases.

“The Missing Ones” makes clear early on that Hester no longer does that kind of work, in fact she’s been avoiding working at all as she struggles from PTSD after a harrowing experience in the first published book.

Picking up 10 months after then end of “Little Comfort,” Hill was determined to reference things that happened in that book while writing “The Missing Ones.”

“Hester had made some pretty serious mistakes in the last book and I wanted her to acknowledge that,” he said. “I also wanted to show she had feelings of having been in a life-or-death situation.”

Hill referenced older books and TV series where the hero is shot in the shoulder in one storyline and it is never referred to again.

“I wanted the books to work together,” he said.

It opens on two small islands off the coast of Maine, loosely based on the real island of Monhegan. The prologue relates a ferry boat accident that caused a 4-year-old went missing for a time and the island’s constable is at first credited with saving the boy. While he is dealing with town gossip about how that incident played out, another child goes missing.

“I always tell stories from multiple points of view,” Hill said. “In ‘Little Comfort,’ there are five points of view … In this book I used four point-of-view characters.”

He credited readers with suggesting story line changes, including more for Hester’s “not-quite husband” Morgan to do.

A failed attempt at publishing a book in the early 2000s left him discouraged until he found the kernel of an idea in the Christian Gerhartsreiter — AKA Clark Rockefeller — a professional imposter who kidnapped his daughter and was later convicted of murder. By 2012 Hill was back to writing with an agent by 2014 and selling it two years ago.

“You’ll see the seeds of Clark Rockefeller in there, but it’s not completely based on that,” he said.

A library is another source of his inspiration.

Hill’s grandmother, Phyllis Hill was the librarian in Whitman from the 1940s to the late ’60s.

“For a while, she was going to be a chef,” Hill said of Hester Thursby’s day job. “Then I thought she might be a psychiatrist — a lot of mystery series have psychology at their core — but there are a lot of people doing that, and they do it very well, and I thought let’s do something different.”

He said librarians are really curious people, who have resources available to them that are not available to the average person, especially in 2010 when he wrote “Little Comfort.”

He started with a lighter touch, writing that Thursby’s caseload featured whimsical cases such as long-lost prom dates or lost dogs.

“The novels are not light,” he said. “They wound up becoming much darker as I worked on them over time.”

One whimsical touch he retained was making Hester “clinically messy” and Morgan a “neat freak,” along with their caring for Morgan’s twin sister Daphne’s headstrong 3-year-old daughter Kate.

“The novel went through three or four different changes and stopped being funny,” he said. “It’s not funny at all, it’s a psychological thriller.”

“The Missing Ones” carries that theme over, as well. Hill read an excerpt from the book’s first chapter and answered audience’s questions from the researching, writing and publishing process, the challenges of writing a second book, and his third book. Set in Boston, primarily in Jamaica Plain, that book involves a for-profit university and is due out in December.

To flesh out the characters of three individual preschool children, hill put out a Facebook request to parents about what they noticed about their kids as they aged from 3 to 4.

“People were really generous with things they shared,” he said, including how they start to grow more solidly and that they developed little obsessions.

“They listed off all these different things their kids had been obsessed with — bugs, and counting, Thomas the Tank Engine, and poop and peeing on trees,” he said. “If you have three 4-year-old [characters] they can end up merging together in your mind if they aren’t disinct, so I just assigned each kid an obsession.”

A vigil for Sandra Crispo

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HANSON — The family of Sandra Crispo, who was last seen at approximately 5 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 7, held a candlelight vigil in her honor at Hanson Town Hall Green on Saturday, Oct. 5.

The event was held at midday due to the ongoing EEE threat. Selectmen granted the family’s request for the vigil to raise awareness of her story, celebrate how wonderful she is, and send good vibes that will hopefully bring her home.

A family member dropped her off at 47 Spofford Ave, Hanson — the address she resided at for only approximately three months, the day she disappeared, Crispo’s daughter Laina McMahon wrote Selectmen.

“She babysat my children 3 days a week and had planned to keep them overnight Friday, Aug. 9. On the morning of Aug. 9, I arrived at my mother’s home, as planned, to find her not there, her back door unlocked, her dog inside without food or water, all the lights on in the house, the last items discarded in her waste basket were my children’s diapers from Wednesday. My mother would never have left her home or dog without notifying family,” McHahon wrote.

The Hanson Police have been reassuring me that they are working diligently on this case, McMahon wrote.

“They have conducted multiple searches of the neighborhood with canines and questioned the neighbors with no leads in my mother’s disappearance,” she wrote. “Myself, family and friends have been searching for answers ourselves.

Collins Center offers capital report

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WHITMAN — The Board of Selectmen, in a joint meeting with three other committees working on the town’s fiscal crisis, heard a report Tuesday, Oct. 8 on the Capital Improvement Plan drafted by UMass, Boston’s Edward J. Collins Jr., Center for Public Management.

The work was funded by a Community compact Grant.

“We’re going to have a talk at the next Selectmen’s meeting about re-energizing capital projects and getting a clear sense of direction of how we want to go,” said Town Administrator Frank Lynam.

All supporting materials for the report will be provided to the town, said Collins Center team leader Sarah Concannon.

“I think we need to look at all the capital projects that are listed and prioritize,” agreed Selectmen Vice Chairman Dan Salvucci.

“What we really need, I think, is to assign this work to the capital planning group,” Lynam said. “They’re going to have to analyze and present that information.”

Ultimately, the way Lynam hopes to see that work progress is to review and prioritize the information, and present it to the Selectmen and Finance Committee, with recommendations as to how to move forward. That is a project he estimates will take about two months.

“We have to get out of the idea of doing one project here and one project there, and start putting together a comprehensive plan,” he said.

Concannon and her team members, management expert James Tarr and finance expert Stephen Cirillo, made the presentation to a small audience and the committees at Town Hall Auditorium. A fourth member of the team, David Colton, could not attend.

“This wasn’t a quick process,” Concannon said, noting that her team met with all town department heads. “We really appreciated the time your staff spent with us. Without their participation, we really can’t do our job well.”

The team researched the town’s capital needs and reviewed online forms filled out by department heads before talking with them in detail. They then score projects to facilitate conversations on project priorities.

In Whitman, she noted that public works capital projects make up about 65 percent of the $24,849,969 in 142 total requested project costs — with water and sewer alone making up one third of the total, or $8,690,500 — Whitman schools [$3,886,000] represented 15 percent and the regional high school another 8 percent [$1,983,000].

The total costs of requested projects were then compared to available resources. The team also looked at available grants. The final plan was narrowed to 115 projects totaling $26.7 million. Of that, 88 percent, or $23.6 million is local investment — $9.2 million from the general fund, $13.6 from the enterprise fund and $790,000 from ambulance receipts — and another $3.1 mill from non-local sources, Concannon said.

Tarr outlined the basics of capital plans — major, non-recurring expenses, typically costing more than $5,000 to $10,000 with a useful life of at least five years. Capital improvement plans are comprehensive, multi-year projects encompassing all funding sources and departments with financially viable project details.

“We take into account the spending capacity of the community and we factor that in, and, if we reach a certain cut-off point, then we start asking about choices,” Tarr said. “Do we make a distinction as to what is a necessity and what is something that can be put off.”

Without a capital plan, Tarr said, municipalities may face negative effects on public health and safety as well as legal liability; staff inefficiency or ineffectiveness; costly emergency repairs; poorly managed or timed projects; inconsistent capital costs that can have an impact on the operating budget; and financial disorder that can have a negative effect on bond ratings.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to recognize the work that the UMass Collins Center has done,” said Finance Committee Chairman Richard Anderson. “I think this really puts us in a good position to move forward with our shared goal of making a comprehensive strategic plan a reality. This is an excellent foundation for that.”

The Building Needs and Capital Projects Committee as well as the Budget Override Evaluation Committee also attended the meeting. Some officials present serve on two or more of the committees.

Anderson added that he noticed that 38 percent of the total dollars requested for capital projects are for water and sewer, a situation he did not find surprising.

“I think it’s pretty evident to a lot of people in this room that this is a department that’s had its share of deferred maintenance over the last couple of years,” Anderson said.

“A planning study is going to result in a capital plan,” she said. “The water and sewer did include at least one or two planning studies.”

Salvucci said one of the main needs remains infrastructure, in particular a DPW facility.

“It’s obvious that, even though we’re downsizing facilities, it’s something that’s needed,” he said. Concannon agreed.

“Whitman is not alone in facing the need for a new DPW facility, because many across the commonwealth were built in the ’50s and ’60s,” she said. “The fact of the matter is, they’re just at the end of their life span.”

While they are typically on the back burner, DPWs perform a critical function of municipal government. Concannon said there were five planning studies included in the

A policy of debt management was recommended in creating a capital plan.

“A policy gives you discipline,” said Cirillo.

Concannon said their plan is intended to run from fiscal 2021-25, adding there is time to have a policy in place by the time the fiscal 2021 budget is calculated.

Finance Committee Vice Chairman David Codero asked if there were specific towns with which Whitman can be compared.

“We don’t go out and find a group of comparable towns when we do the financial analysis,” Concannon said. “What we do is we bring to bear information that our team of finance experts have, as well as the experience we have over the last three or four years, doing 30 to 35 of these projects.”

Lynam asked if the Center was aware of other communities contemplating a general override to commit capital funds.

“I’ve seen it in Wellesley, I’ve seen it in a couple other places, but is that common or uncommon?” he asked.

Cirillo said the technique is “very rare,” but he knew of a number of general overrides in which a portion of funds was dedicated to raising the level of debt permanently.

Lynam said it is a strategy through which the town can practically assess kick-starting a formalized capital plan.

He also said he and Concannon have discussed a change in the way emergency vehicles are purchased, identifying them as things that should be developed in a pay-as-you-go — or cash — basis.

“[Currently the town has been] taking small commitments and dragging them out, opposed to establishing a funding mechanism that says, ‘This we’re going to pay for each year,’” Lynam said. “It doesn’t make sense to formalize a program to lease-purchase vehicles over three years, when the outright cost is $50,000 to $60,00.”

“Debt is a tool,” Concannon said. “A lease is a tool. The reason we came up with an alternative strategy for replacing cruisers [is] because they’re smaller-dollar … you don’t face the same pressure to lease the cruiser [because there is a plan].”

Hanson OKs plastic bag ban

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HANSON — Voters at Town Meeting Monday, Oct. 7 approved bans of single-use plastic check-out bags and polystyrene food and beverage containers, while passing over a pair of articles aimed at limiting the number of marijuana establishments in town.

The cannabis articles, brought via citizens’ petition will be renewed for the May Town Meeting in order to permit the proposed bylaw amendments to be placed on the Town Election ballot, as was the case with previous marijuana articles.

An article to rescind an October 2018 Town Meeting vote in favor of a revised W-H Regional agreement was unanimously passed without comment.

The plastic and polystyrene articles were passed nearly unanimously by the approximately 165 voters, many of whom brought green-colored re-useable bags distributed to shoppers by Green Hanson at Shaw’s last month. The bags were printed with a checklist reading: “Paper,” “Plastic” and a checkmark next to the word “Neither” and Green Hanson’s logo.

A group of WHRHS students commented in favor of the plastic bag ban and only one resident, who said he depended on the bags to carry his notebook and pens to the library, spoke and voted against it.

The amendment to town general bylaws is aimed at reducing the number of single-use bags in the waste stream and environment.

“It is not banning plastic bags all-out throughout town,” said Selectman Matt Dyer. “It’s banning plastic bags at the point of checkout. This does not remove the option of getting a bag at the point of check-out, and it’s not going to add a tax or anything like that for bags.”

Instead of plastic, paper bags will be available at the point of check-out.

“It’s not just because of the environmental crisis … but also because of our solid waste workers and improving their safety at the plant,” Dyer said of his reason for making the proposal. He said the bags get tangled in the gears at sorting centers in Massachusetts and nationwide, shutting down the machines every half hour. Workers have to climb into confined spaces to clear the bags, armed with a pocket knife.

“This is to keep the cost of recycling down, keep American manufacturing competitive, because otherwise it all gets shipped out to China and other nations,” he said.

Resident John Zucco of Glenwood Place asked if plastic bags used to keep food safe and fresh in the meat and produce departments would be included in the ban. Dyer said bags used at the grocery meat and produce departments, the dry cleaner and the like, will not be affected by the ban.

Students speak

Green Hanson member Marianne DiMascio of Indian Head Street, said she favored the ban an introduced W-H Environmental Awareness Club students Allysa Small, Sarah Reagan, Nicolette Heath, Riley Getchell, Carly Balfe and Jenna Lacey.

“I’m always happy to hear from our students,” said Moderator Sean Kealy. “You’re always welcome at Town Meeting and I hope that, when you are 18 and you register to vote, that you participate  in your town meetings, as well.”

The students spoke of the environmental impact of plastics and the effect of such waste on public health.

“I always think how none of those plastic bags are ever going to decompose in my lifetime, my children’s lifetime, or even very possibly my grandchildren’s lifetime,” said Regan who lives in Whitman, but is concerned about the issue. She noted that plastic bags have only been in existence for about 100 years. “Every single plastic bag that’s been made hasn’t left this planet and hasn’t decomposed.”

Lacey, who lives on Lakeside Road in Hanson, said she used to enjoy walking near the lake in nice weather, but now she does so less and less.

“It’s not because I don’t appreciate the plant life and fresh air, but because other people didn’t,” she said. “Now when I walk through these woods or along that lake, all I see is plastic bags, styrofoam cups and other pieces of trash that don’t belong in my town’s forests.”

Small noted that plastics only break down into microplastics which we eat and breathe in everyday.

But resident George Craig or East Washington Street, noted he depends on the bags to carry his belongings or to clear litter from the roadside.

ZBA member Don Ellis of High Street asked about the penalties for violations, suggesting the article’s wording was not clear.  Initial violations bring a written warning. The next subsequent violation described as “the first violation following issuance of a written warning” carries a $50 fine, a second violation would bring a $100 fine. Fines are cumulative and each day in which a violation occurs is considered a separate offense.

Town Counsel Katherine Feodoroff relayed, through Keating, that the language was clear.

The polystyrene container bylaw, passed unanimously, does not include plastic straws, cutlery or anything not listed in the bylaw — foam plates, cups, bowls, trays and hinged or lidded containers are the only items listed.

“I know a lot of people care about their Dunkin’ Donuts [polystyrene] cup,” Dyer said. “If you have not heard, Dunkin’ Donuts is moving away from the [polystyrene] cups by the end of 2020 throughout the nation. Regardless of whether this passes or not, the [polystyrene] cups are going to disappear.”

He said polystyrene, like the plastic grocery bags does not break down.

Elm Street resident Gilbert Allen said his only concern was about Meals on Wheels containers and the ability of seniors to obtain to-go containers at restaurants.

“What are we going to replace them with?” he asked.

Dyer explained his research showed the only concern he found was about thermal protection for people with sensitive fingers. Paper and other products that are more degradeable or recycleable are an answer he indicated.

Cannabis limits

The night’s final two articles, centering on the citizens’ petition to limit the number of marijuana establishments to one, under both general and zoning bylaws, generated discussion on potential environmental impacts of the business as well as whether the issue should go to the ballot.

“Hanson voters voted to prohibit marijuana retailers,” said co-petitioners Annette Benenato of Brookside Drive. “But there is currently no limit on the number of other types of marijuana businesses in town.”

She argued that the amount of electricity required — from lighting an HVAC needs — to grow the plants, and the impact on water consumption make the business and environmentally unfriendly business model.

She charged a portion of liquid waste could pollute groundwater and aquifers and said extraction of THC is a dangerous process and that impact fees of 3 percent to help mitigate the business effect on town services would only last five years.

Asked why the Finance Committee voted not to recommend the article, Chairman Kevin Sullivan said, “These are legitimate businesses.”

“They will continue to provide revenue to the town,” Sullivan said. “That can fluctuate, but they will continue to provide revenue. … They will not be exempt from taxes.”

Selectmen Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said that language in the community host agreement does not allow the company, Impressed LLC, to “flip and request an agricultural exemption.” The Selectmen also voted not to recommend.

Paul Benenato pointed to tobacco, lottery and alcohol retailers “never turn out very well for the taxpayers.”

When asked about the claims of impact on town aquifer and waste water plans, Water Commissioner Don Howard said he was not fully aware of the issue, saying he had questions about it himself.

“This is a highly regulated industry like nothing I’ve ever seen,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said, noting that Impressed LLC will be collecting agricultural discharge water out and trucking in water they need. She also stressed that Impressed LLC is not the issue.

Another resident asked if any other industry in town was limited to a single business.

“Are there businesses pounding down our door to take up residence here, and if the marijuana industry thinks this could be a potential match, then I think its worth considering on an individual basis going forward and not putting out a blanket rule in advance that limits us,” asked a Squantum Avenue resident opposed to the article. She noted that, without new business, and a continued reluctance to raise taxes, Hanson would not be able to fund schools or other budget needs.

Conservation Commissioner Phil Clemons pointed out that, the trucked in water comes from another aquifer in town.

South Street resident Richard Edgehille asked how the article could legally limit the number of businesses in town.

Feodoroff said limitations can be set on the marijuana industry, but the petition before the Town Meeting was not one that triggers a ballot vote.

She also stressed the wastewater is handled in a closed system to protect groundwater, and the discharge of water into any system is something that is “very highly regulated by the Cannabis Control Commission.”

Patrick Powers of Holmes Street suggested passing over the article for May to enable a town-wide ballot.

“We should stay consistent with that, as opposed to try to sneak something through,” Powers said.

Hanson digs in on assessment

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HANSON — Selectmen voted on Tuesday, Oct 1 to stand by the current alternative school funding method for calculating the upcoming fiscal 2021 budget, and to send a letter to W-H Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak requesting information outlining how Hanson’s share of the regional school budget is calculated.

The vote came following an outline of the events surrounding the issue and leading up to a vote by Whitman Selectmen on Tuesday, Sept. 24 to support only the statutory funding method preferred by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).

“I guess I look at things a little bit differently than maybe others do,” said Hanson Selectmen Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett. “There’s been a lot of rhetoric that I don’t intend to engage in — I don’t think it’s productive, in fact I think it’s counterproductive — it’s very difficult to get together with people and negotiate when you’ve got people hurling insults.”

She outlined a background of the funding issue, going back to 1991 when the present regional agreement was approved, basing funding on student population. Usually a 60-percent share for Whitman and 40 percent for Hanson.

“Historically, and without incident, that methodology has been used to assess the towns,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.

Two years ago, the region opted to revise the regional agreement to update it reflecting schools that have closed or been built since 1991.

“Unbeknownst to anyone in Hanson, language was added to the revised regional agreement that changed the assessment method to be a statutory method,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “Under that assessment method, Whitman would pay less than it is currently paying, and Hanson would pay more as a result of the criteria used to measure wealth in a community.”

She noted that Whitman has still not executed the revised agreement and, while Hanson has done so, Selectmen have placed an article on the Oct. 7 Town Meeting warrant to rescind that previous Town Meeting vote as not being to Hanson’s advantage.

Whitman finances

The Whitman Budget Override Evaluation Committee, established to review that town’s financial crisis, “discovered what they thought was an inequity in the way the towns were being assessed and insisted the towns use the statutory method,” FitzGerald-Kemmett stated. During a visit to Hanson Selectmen recently Szymaniak estimated that shift would transfer about $1 million in assessment from Whitman to Hanson.

She also mentioned the 24-member regional agreement committee proposed by the School Committee on Sept. 18.

“We agreed to be part of discussions as a show of good faith,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said, even while they did not commit to renegotiating the agreement. “Now we find ourselves in a position where the Whitman Board of Selectmen have effectively let us know they’re not interested in opening up a dialog. Their actions have made it clear that, despite what the school’s attorneys have said, and despite what our counsel has said, that they’re going to bulldoze through and insist upon the statutory method being used for assessments. Well, here in Hanson, we make decisions based on facts, on data and on the law.”

However, Whitman Selectman Randy LaMattina, on Tuesday night, and School Committee member Fred Small, on Wednesday, said school counsel has amended their position on the funding formula question since the Wednesday, Sept. 18 School Committee meeting.

“I can understand people disagreeing, and them having a different point of view over in Hanson than maybe we have in Whitman — and that’s cool,” Small said. “She conveniently made the point, ‘our attorney, along with the school’s attorney feels that the only method is the agreement method.’ That’s not true.”

FitzGerald-Kemmett took issue with Small’s charge.

“Although some members of the School Committee and the District may have received information regarding the assessment methodology from DESE and from the school’s attorney subsequent to the Sept. 18 WHRSD School Committee Meeting, nobody from the Hanson Board of Selectmen or their office was made privy to that information until Oct. 3 when the School Committee Chair shared it with me.” FitzGerald-Kemmett stated Friday. “If the information had been made available to us, it would have been part of our discussion and would have helped inform our decisions. For Mr. Small to suggest otherwise is preposterous and dangerously close to slander. Further, it does nothing to help move this discussion forward in a civil and cooperative way. “

Change of opinion

LaMattina had emailed Small a couple of questions to submit to DESE Regional Governance Director Christine Lynch after the Sept. 18 meeting, asking if both methods of assessment must be publicly discussed at a School Committee meeting prior to setting a budget and if the 1991 agreement, listing the alternative method handcuffs a regional school committee.

“In her email back to me, Christine’s very specific where she also states that she’s contacted our attorney,” Small said. “The man misspoke.”

Lynch also clarified methodology in which the school’s attorney was not well-versed.

“It does not limit the School Committee to only present the method defined in the agreement, the School Committee may choose to use either method,” Small said Lynch’s explanation stated. “They know that, but Laura Kemmett refused to even state that last night.”

He said the information from Lynch will come out at the next School Committee meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 9.

Small also pointed out that, should a budget go to a super town meeting, the statutory method is the only method that can be used. To describe it otherwise is a “big disservice to the residents of Hanson, to all the parents of the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District.”

The Education Reform Act of 1993 abolished anything a district has spelled out in another agreement, Small said. An agreement/alternative method did not even exist until 1996.

FitzGerald-Kemmett also said she had spoken with Whitman Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski several weeks ago, at which time “we agreed that the path forward would probably be for us to lay all the numbers on the line and have a civil dialog. Apparently, others did not get that memo.” Kowalski was not present at the Sept. 24 Whitman Selectmen’s meeting.

“It was before we had a lot of information and other viewpoints,” Kowalski said of the cinversation with FitzGerald-Kemmett. “That’s probably not inaccurate. I don’t foresee Whitman looking backwards and trying to reclaim money that we didn’t receive but we should have, but what we should do is look forward.”

Kowalski said he was the one who asked for the assessment funding item be placed on the Sept. 24 Selectmen agenda and had urged Town Administrator Frank Lynam to bring the issue to some kind of a vote with the intent that Selectmen should be asking the School Committee to use the statutory agreement.

“Immediately after the meeting, I texted all the members and told them, ‘good job,’” Kowalski said Wednesday morning. “They looked at everything rationally and were very clear.”

Whitman resident Shawn Kain, who had urged Whitman Selectmen not to back Hanson officials into a corner at the Sept. 24 meeting, attended Hanson’s meeting, as well.

“There are good people out there who want to have that conversation,” said Selectman Matt Dyer, gesturing toward Kain­­­­­­­­­­. “Having a conversation doesn’t hurt.”

Hanson letter

The letter Selectmen approved is designed to obtain information aimed at allowing the town to fully explore its options, which include de-regionalization of K-8 schools, renegotiating the regional agreement, litigating, etc., FitzGerald-Kemmett said.

“The Hanson Board of Selectmen stands by the current alternative school funding method for calculating the upcoming 2021 fiscal year budget,” the letter drafted by interim Town Administrator Meredith Marini concluded. “The Board further believes this information will provide a better understanding of the cost per community.”

The letter seeks the following information from Szymaniak:

• A breakdown of costs for each district school, including utilities, insurance and maintenance;

• The number of all employees in each school, their salaries and benefits costs;

• The number of students in each school, including special ed students and the town where they live;

• Transportation costs; and

• A detailed explanation of the savings from the closing of the Maquan School, indicating if, and where the staff was relocated.

FitzGerald-Kemmett said the town is aware that enrollment in Hanson schools is declining rapidly and that there are two schools in Hanson to Whitman’s three, and that “a disproportionate amount of special education costs — perhaps as much as 86 percent — are attributable to Whitman.”

“Given all that, I am hard-pressed to see how any objective person could reasonably believe that Hanson needs to pay more,” she said. “Nevertheless, we will take a look at the data, and we will take a look at the law and the facts.”

She also took exception to attempts to portray Hanson as a wealthier town trying to take advantage of Chapter 70 funding meant for Whitman.

“Here in Hanson, we also have folks living at, or below, the poverty level,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said, noting her experience as a food pantry volunteer and board member. “In addition, here in Hanson, we have a lot of multi-generational households, which statistically looks like a high per-household income unless you drill down to see that there are four, five or six adults living in a house.”

Hanson is not a wealthy community, she said.

“We are a community living within our means and with our financial house in order,” FitzGerald-Kemmett she said.

“If they’re complaining about the way that Hanson’s valued, it’s not that anybody’s taking away money,” Small said. “The state’s not giving them money. Their beef is with the DOR (Department of Revenue) and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, not with Whitman.”

Story updated on Friday, Oct. 4.

Ban has vaping shops reeling

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Eric Van Riper looked around the empty shelves of his Hanson store, Vapor Image, at 1000 Main St., where only a small display of sweatshirts, T-shirts and hats remained on display this week.

These items, and his CBD oils, are all that exists of his business after Gov. Charlie Baker ordered a four-month ban on the sale of all vaping products in Massachusetts.

“It’s definitely restricted us from selling 95-percent of our inventory,” Van Riper said Monday. “We do some CBD sales, so we’re keeping the store open for that, and we’re finding that some municipalities are actually restricting vape shops from closing because they need to maintain their tobacco licenses.”

Vapor Image does not carry tobacco products.

“We’re kind of in between a rock and a hard place in that regard,” he said. “I think the writing is on the wall, I think, on a state and federal level, they want vaping gone.”

Health agents across Massachusetts, fanned out last week, armed with flyers explaining that the state had ordered a four-month ban on vaping sales, to be posted in public places in their stores. The packet included a letter outlining the ban on flavored and non-flavored vaping products, it’s immediate implementation and the penalties for violation — including fines and seizure of products; the order from the Commissioner of Public Health; the governor’s proclamation and a notice to place in the business.

Seen as the strongest effort against e-cigarettes across the country, Baker’s ban applies to both tobacco and marijuana vaping products, and is intended to allow a federal officials and medical experts to investigate the cause of an increase in illnesses tied to the devices.

“There have been so many pulmonary diseases — damage — across the country in people who vape,” Hanson Board of Health Chairman Arlene Dias said. “It’s not one particular product that they’re using, so they are trying to find out why it’s causing such significant pulmonary damage.

“I visited 11 places in Hanson that were listed as selling tobacco as part of their permit and to have them sign that they had received the information we got from the state,” Dias said. She said a couple of stores on the list did not have any kind of tobacco products.

“Everyone signed that they are aware of what the law is and that they cannot display or sell any kind of vaping products,” she said. “Most of the places in Hanson are combined, they have tobacco products and vaping and might have had a smaller inventory of vaping products,” she said.

Only one business in town, Vapor Image, sells vaping products nearly exclusively.

“I don’t know what other products they sell, but everybody else sells cigarettes,” Dias said. “I was really surprised at how many places we had in town.”

Van Riper said it has always been part of his company’s mission statement to get people away from using tobacco.

“We are vape-centric,” he said. “That’s something that I won’t waver on, but you can expect more smoke shop-centric items here just to kind of fill out the gaps in the interim.”

Van Riper said he is “planning for all eventualities” and trying to ride the situation out. He said he has fielded dozens of calls from consumers, some with existing lung conditions, who have experienced a lot of relief since making the switch to vaping and depended on his business.

“They don’t have a viable alternative,” he said, his voice breaking.

Elaine Williams, administrative assistant for the Whitman Board of Health, said her department sent out the order Wednesday, Sept. 25.

She said the state order pertains only to vaping products.

“I think the governor — I saw him on the news — and he had said they had considered those kind of situations, but the health [considerations] were more important at this point,” Williams said. She indicated there are no shops in Whitman that sell vaping products exclusively.

“I believe all the adult shops that we have in Whitman sell tobacco product, as well,” Williams said.

A Whitman Board of Health meeting held Tuesday, Oct. 1 was not slated to discuss pending revisions to tobacco sales regulations, according to Williams.

“I don’t know if they are going to continue to do anything because of what’s happened [with the vaping moratorium], if they are going to wait until January to see what happens with what the state’s going to do or not,” she said.

According to published reports, Danvers vape shop Vapor Zone filed a lawsuit Thursday, Sept. 26 in Suffolk Superior Court seeking to stop the ban at the state level, while a group of three shops in the state is preparing a federal lawsuit to halt the ban.

Van Riper said he is not involved in any lawsuits at the moment, but is rather standing behind the state trade organization, Vapor Technology Association (VTA).

“Not only is it an investment for me, but it’s been a passion of mine and we’re just celebrating five years,” Van Riper said. “We’ve dodged a lot of bullets and faced a lot of adversity. I think everyone kind of expected something like this, but to have it happen so abruptly, to me that’s just overreach of authority and to me it just reeks of corruption.”

He pointed to “a lot of the same politicians” that have campaigns funded by big tobacco and big pharma.

“It’s really just exciting the public, because the gun owners are starting to take notice, too, who say ‘They’ve been trying to take our liberties for a while,’” Van Riper said. “The implications and the precedent this sets is damning for anyone. We are seeing a lot of public outrage, whether they have a horse in the race or not.”

State law affords the governor authority to declare a public health emergency and to order that officials move to “insure the continuation of essential public health services.”

Dias said the Massachusetts order carries the potential for an extension beyond the four months.

California and Rhode Island officials are also said to be advising people to stop vaping immediately.

Dias said that, while companies claim their products are not marketed to youths under the age of 18, “a ton of kids are having access, even though they’re not supposed to, they’re still getting it, they’re still using it.”

She also said kids are not simply using the liquids manufactured for use in vaping products, they are also using THC — the narcotic agent in marijuana — into the vapes.

“It really was aimed at younger people,” Dias said of the fruit and bubblegum flavors sold.

Van Riper said he is encouraging his customers to contact Gov. Baker’s office to say that, as vapers and voters, they oppose the ban and talk about things that vapor has done to improve their health and that the freedom to choose flavors has affected your experience.

“Using flavors as a scapegoat is — I’m an adult, I like chocolate chip cookies just as much as I like a good tobacco flavor every now and then,” he said. “Removing that flexibility to choose would severely inhibit the industry.”

Whitman amends town vacation policy

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WHITMAN — The Board of Selectmen has voted to approve a town-wide vacation policy for municipal public employees. Employees may now carry over no more than nine vacation days, and is affected by collective bargaining agreements already in place.

Any days over the nine not used within a fiscal year will be forfeited.

Town Administrator Frank Lynam said during discussion on the issue Tuesday, Sept. 24. He said the new policy is not meant to affect people’s right to vacation time, but to encourage them to use it instead of carrying it over year after year.

“One of the issues that we’re addressing in the updated policy is the carry-over of vacation over the last few years,” said Lynam. “We have had financially significant payouts for accrued and unused vacation.”

The 4-0 vote — Selectmen Chairman Dr. Kowalski was absent from the meeting — came after months of discussion in executive session, because the policy included compensation issues that needed to be negotiated, according to Lynam.

“The nine days that we settled on is not arbitrary, it was the maximum vacation rollover in a collective bargaining agreement,” Selectman Justin Evans said.

Lynam said the new policy will mean meetings with “a couple of people who have far in excess of the nine days that will be permitted” under the new policy in an effort to help them use the time rather than lose it.

Lynam said that, in connection with the new policy, a vacation accrual line item will be in the next budget cycle to recognize the remaining vacation time liabilities.

In past years, he noted the town has had to pay out amounts exceeding the appropriation for the current and future plan. Lynam said the issue has been brought before the board a number of times.

“I’ve always felt, working 43 years at the same company that I worked for, that vacation time is very important and needs to be used,” said Selectman Vice Chairman Dan Salvucci. “You need to be able to divorce your mind from the job, rest your mind, get a vacation, enjoy your family — whatever it takes.”

He said not taking vacation time to roll over vacation pay is not the right thing to do for a person’s mental health.

“You need to take the time,” he said. “They need to understand that vacation time is there for a purpose and it’s there to relax your mind so that, when you come back, you can do a better job.”

New leadership for Whitman Police

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WHITMAN — After presiding over the swearing-in of a new police chief, deputy chief and police sergeant, Selectmen on Tuesday, Sept. 24 voted 4-0 to support only a statutory-based assessment formula for calculating school budgets.

“This isn’t a way to pick Hanson’s pockets,” said Selectman Randy LaMattina before the 4-0 vote. “This is a way that we should have known about. … I’m not saying anyone is wrong. I don’t know why that is, but I do know we have to fix it.” Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski was absent.

But first, there was the matter of promoting three WPD officials to new leadership positions within the department.

Whitman Town Hall Auditorium was filled with family members, friends and colleagues of Police Chief Timothy Hanlon, Deputy Chief Joseph Bombardier and Sgt. Patrick Burtt-Henderson as they were sworn in by Town Clerk Dawn Varley.

New badges were pinned on by Hanlon’s wife Lori; Bombardier’s wife Kim, as his father Paul looked on; and Burtt-Henderson’s wife Chrissie, who was accompanied by his dad Dave.

Hanlon had been appointed as chief by an Aug. 6 vote of the Board of Selectmen, subject to negotiation of a contract. They voted Tuesday to approve that contract and his appointment before Varley, who called her duty a great honor, swore him in.

Each ceremony was followed by warm and enthusiastic applause.

Selectmen had also voted to appoint Bombardier as deputy chief on Aug. 6, also subject to negotiation of a contract, approving his contract and appointment Tuesday.

“Joe and I went to school together,” Varley said before administering his oath. “He’s a year older than me,” she joked, adding, “Joe was always wiser. I’m very, very proud to be swearing you in.”

Burtt-Henderson took his oath of office after Selectmen voted to approve his contract and appointment. His initial appointment, too, had been voted Aug. 6, subject to negotiation of a contract.

Following the promotional ceremonies, Selectmen reconvened in their meeting room to address the balance of their agenda.

The board adjourned before addressing whether to appoint two members to a new regional agreement committee. The School Committee voted to form the panel renegotiating the assessment formula [see related story, page one]. That committee must wait until after Hanson Town Meeting voters decide on an Oct. 7 warrant article on revoking a past vote in support of a revised regional agreement. Whitman Selectmen meet next on Tuesday, Oct. 8.

Town Administrator Frank Lynam reported to the board that he and Selectman Randy LaMattina, who chairs the town’s Budget Override Evaluation Committee, have spent a great deal of time working on the issue and communicating with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. LaMattina has also been talking with Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak and School Committee members.

“The district can follow an existing agreement that specifies the way to assess each town for its share of the operating budget, or you can use the statutory method, which from DESE is the preferred method,” Lynam said. “The method that the state intends for regions to use is the statutory method.”

That formula calculates the financial ability of each member town in a district, establishes what the aid for each town will be as the starting point under the statutory formula created as part of the Education Reform Act in 1993. The 1991 agreement calculates assessments based on student population — of which 59.88 percent are from Whitman — under the alternative formula.

“Over the years, we have continued to assess each town based solely on student count,” Lynam said. “It’s not the intent of the statute or the regulations promulgated by DESE.”

He said no matter what formula is selected, it will not change the system, but it will affect the share of the budget borne by each town.

LaMattina said Education Reform set up a situation in which a school district could choose a formula.

“What they said is not incorrect,” he said. “Yes, there is an alternative method. Is that a legal method? Yes, it is. The argument that Whitman is saying is that there are two methods annually … The state actually recommends and puts it in place that makes it impossible not to use the statutory method. It is actually a fallback method when, and if, you ever got to a super town meeting.”

LaMattina said that is because it is the most equitable way to produce a budget for a school district.

“It is a self-correcting method,” he said. “It is adjusted constantly … based on economic factors.”

School Committee member Fred Small helped Whitman officials work through the superintendent’s office to write a letter to DESE seeking clarification on the scope of the 1991 agreement.

“The 1991 agreement does not limit the School Committee to only present the method defined in the agreement,” wrote DESE Director of Regional Governance Christine Lynch. “The School Committee may choose either method.”

LaMattina said town officials have to do what is ethically, legally and morally right for the people of Whitman and their children.

“When you look at what we’re paying over what the state says our minimum contribution should be — we’re $3.7 million over what the state says our minimum contribution should be — and that’s just one factor, then we need to do something or we will not be able to maintain services to where they should be,” he said.

Lynam said there are about 20 financial criteria on which the local contribution is calculated, based on economic conditions in a town, including value of property and median family income, among others.

“The kids that need this aid should get it,” LaMattina said. “That’s what we’re talking about.”

Selectman Brian Bezanson agreed that the board has a fiduciary responsibility to residents to do what is in their best interest. Selectman Dan Salvucci confirmed that South Shore Tech has used the statutory method since1995.

LaMattina said it has less to do with the regional agreement than with equity, as it is an option “open to any town.”

“Every region has had to go through this since the memo in 2007, if not before,” said Selectmen Justin Evans.

Lynch had told him Whitman is, in fact, “a little late to the game with this,” LaMattina said. She also told him “it’s very clear you may have a fight ahead of you, because it’s a one-on-one battle,” he recounted.

Whitman resident Shawn Kain, while agreeing that the statutory method is the way to go, based on the research and methodology, but said he has concerns about the time frame. He cautioned a vote at this time could be viewed in Hanson as an aggressive act.

“Expecting that Hanson could make that jump in one year, is a difficult expectation,” Kain said. “Absorbing $1 million in one year would be difficult.”

He advocated working together to hash out disagreements between the two towns to help stay on good terms with Hanson while the problem is discussed.

Salvucci, while understanding the argument said Whitman has already cut municipal department budgets twice for the fiscal 2020 budget.

“I think the department heads took the bull by the horns and did what they had to do to give the schools what they needed and cut their own budgets,” Salvucci said. “It may be Hanson’s time to do that.”

Evans said he had initially leaned in Kain’s direction, but the rate of Whitman’s assessment increases coupled with Hanson’s student population decline coupled with increasing home values mean the situation is getting worse.

“The longer we delay the deadline, the more difficult it will become.” Evans said.

Small said that, regardless of the funding formula used, the school budget’s bottom line will not change. Budget Override Evaluation Committee member Chris George said the statutory method will be the most equitable way to cut up the school budget.

“I know there are some School Committee members [who] I don’t know where they stand,” George said. “I can tell you, as a citizen, if you’re a School Committee member and you’re considering not voting for the statutory method, you’ve got to think long and hard, because — it’s not a threat, it’s a promise — I’m coming for you with a whole bunch of other residents. We’ve given away $3.9 million since 2015. It’s only going to continue to get worse if we don’t fix it now.”

Evans said adopting the statutory method now helps Hanson by giving them more time to prepare for budget decisions before May town meetings.

“We’re being proactive here,” Bezanson agreed. “We’ve already jumped in with [LaMattina’s] committee. We’re working on the next year, trying to figure out how we’re going to do this. With this we have a clear vision as to how we can approach the next year. … For us not to do this, is suicide for us.”

Officials seek source of funding woes

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The W-H School Committee, dismayed at the absence of a representative from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) at the Wednesday, Sept. 18 public hearing on the regional assessment method quizzed a school district attorney on the legal points surrounding the issue.

Hanson School Committee member Christopher Howard observed that the amended regional agreement’s funding formula seems to contradict the alternative/agreement method traditionally used by the district, and asked which takes precedence — the state’s new assessment regulation or the binding regional agreement.

School district lawyer Kevin Bresnahan said the existing regional agreement “does reflect an appropriate and allowable alternative assessment under the law and under the regulations,” as well as annual approval of a school budget constituting approval of the method. In any year that a budget is not approved by both towns and a district-wide meeting is needed, the regulations dictate that “the statutory method is the only can be used in that circumstance.”

“I would not be confident advising the committee that you could take a vote, given your existing regional agreement, to utilize the statutory method to calculate your initial budget without confirming that with [the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education] DESE,” Bresnahan said. He argued the committee could not put forth a statutory budget under the current terms of the regional agreement.

Bresnahan said “unanimous approval of the towns” means that all towns in a district must approve it, rather than a town meeting vote total.

“We can talk about changing that, but we need to follow that,” Howard said of the alternative funding method currently used.
Hanson Selectmen Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett spoke for her board, stating that the assessment formula has always been per-pupil within the regional agreement.

She also confirmed the regional agreement revocation article is on the Oct. 7 warrant as an effort to neutralize the issue and give people a chance to be thoughtful.

“We really did not comprehend — and I mean to the person — the change that was being made to the agreement and it fell upon the Board of Selectmen to do what we felt was right, to rescind the original vote … until such time as a different agreement is struct,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “We stand ready to do what is in the best interests of the citizens of Hanson. We look to the School Committee to make a decision about what your next move is going to be.”

She said any participation required from selectmen, the board is ready to help. “Throwing hand grenades over the wall at each other” is not going to help improve education.

“We have an answer about what’s happened in the past, the question is what do we do going forward,” said Whitman School Committee member Christopher Scriven. He arugued that, unless the regional agreement is changed, the statutory method should be used as DESE regulations stipulate, going forward.

Whitman Budget Override Evaluation Committee member Chris George noted that the handbook Finance Committees in both towns follow outlines that assessment calculations for regional district member towns should be calculated on a statutory basis, noting that the SJC has affirmed that education assessment methodology in the DESE regulation supersedes any individual regional school agreement. Districts may opt for an alternative formula, but it must be approved by member communities each year.

“To me it’s pretty clear,” he said. “The 1991 agreement is superseded by state law. The reason why? Because they changed the way they did state aid. Following the regional agreement as it’s stated does nothing except reallocate aid entitled to the residents of Whitman to the residents of Hanson — it’s that simple.”

Hanson resident Bruce Young said Chapter 71 governs regional school district budgets, which W-H has been following since 1991.

“What I find strange as a citizen and taxpayer is that DESE would make a ruling that, in spite of all these things, the majority town can hold out for a super-town meeting … and the town with the most voters can impose its will on the minority community,” Young said.

Whitman Finance Committee member Rosemary Connolly, said that last year no one knew what the statutory method was, and that voters in both towns thought the law was being followed when it wasn’t.

“Essentially, $1 million of welfare money was diverted over to Hanson, and that’s the truth of it,” she said. “It is state aid intended for poor students.”

Connolly said the alternative method is there for “compassion, not exploitation.”

Whitman resident Shawn Kain said that, if people in both towns dug their heels in, nothing will be solved.

“I think we need to find a compromise,” he said. “I think there could be a third way that would still be an alternative agreement, but could be a multi-year step one way or the other.”

Kain said neither community is in a position to absorb $1 million in their budgets.

“If people dig their heels in, it’s going to get ugly,” he said.

School Committee member Dawn Byers of Whitman, noted that South Shore Tech uses the statutory assessment formula and that DESE has that in mind for all regional districts.

“From my reading of the Education Reform Act, they want minimum local contribution to provide equity to all students,” she said. “They want all students to have the best opportunity to learn equal to their neighbor and all the neighboring towns and all the towns across Massachusetts.”

She said DESE recognizes different towns have different abilities to pay.

Small said Whitman is currently paying $3 million more than its minimum contribution, while Hanson is paying just to their minimum level.

Bresnahan said the 1991 agreement will have to stand until approved by both towns and approved by the commissioner of education.

“Clearly, there are considerations on both sides here that should be part of the discussion about whether the existing agreement should stay in place or be amended,” Bresnahan said. “I’m just trying to tell you how things stand now what the law requires and what has been allowed in the past.”

Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak said he would be calculating a budget based on the alternative method, because that is the formula in place.

“That’s where I feel our office did not provide accurate information for the committees and the selectmen to know there was another method,” he said. “People dropped the ball in our office and we are dealing with it.”

The situation has been distressing for School Committee members, as well.

“I can’t say this enough — I hate this entire conversation,” Howard said. “We’ve got to figure this out. I think everyone agrees, this is not going to move us forward as a district.”

He said a new regional agreement committee might be needed to do that. School Committee member Fred Small of Whitman agreed.

“We need to fix the problem and fix it fast,” Small said. “Our administration right now is spending way too much time worrying about this and taking its eye off the ball, which is educating kids.”

Szymaniak agreed.

“We haven’t done anything but this for almost a month and a half,” he said.

Whitman Finance Committee member David Codero commended Small for his comments, while disagreeing with one point on which Small had agreed with Young.

“Majority rule considered tyranny? There’s another word for it — it’s called democracy,” Codero said. “It’s a democratic procedure. For anyone to categorize it otherwise from the gallery? They’re wrong.”

Panel to tackle funding formula

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The School Committee has voted to form a 24-person committee to renegotiate the school assessment method within the regional agreement. The panel can’t convene, however until after Hanson’s Oct. 7 special Town Meeting, which will address a new vote on the regional agreement.

The School Committee’s vote came at the conclusion of a public hearing on the issue at the Wednesday, Sept. 18 School Committee meeting. Two selectmen, two finance committee members, two citizens and three School Committee members from each town, along with town administrators as well as representatives from the Mass. Association of Regional Schools (MARS) and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) as non-voting members will make up the new committee.

Citizens interested in serving should contact the Superintendent’s office at 781-618-7000.

“Let’s sit down, sit around a table and work it out,” said member Fred Small, who suggested the formation of the committee. “Let’s work together and find a fair way to move forward.”

Small said his hope is that school administration would, in a “very short period of time” put together a budget showing the increase projections for the next five years, as well as educational priorities.

“Regardless of this situation, we still need to move forward,” Small said. “We’ve got to regain what we lost last year and then step forward from there.”

Former Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner and School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes, had noted before Gilbert-Whitner’s retirement, that the regional agreement was antiquated, Hayes said.

“It had schools that were not in the district any longer, such as [Whitman’s] Park Avenue School, which had been closed,” he said. “It did not reference the Hanson Middle School. We thought maybe it was time to make the regional agreement into the 2019 [version]. … It was not intentionally started to change any agreements or change any formulas — it was an update.”

A committee worked on the current agreement, which was approved by the School Committee in June 2018, Hanson voters in 2018 and passed over at Whitman Town Meeting this past May.

“Over the past two months, this has been [occupying] the central administration admin team about what the regional agreement is from 1991, what the amendments in 2018 did and something [Assistant Superintendent George Ferro] and I became aware of — that there are two methods of assessing communities via a regional agreement,” Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak explained. “There was no malice and there were no illegalities, as far as the assessment method made from the start through [fiscal] 2020.”

He said the agreement is legal and binding.

Based on the statutory assessment method state education officials implied should be used, Szymaniak said, Hanson’s fiscal 2020 assessment would have been $10,718,657 — or $1,047,682 more than the $9,670,975 it was assessed under the alternative method currently used. Whitman would have been assessed $13,350,469 under the statutory formula compared to the $14,398,151 as had been assessed.

“We don’t have an amended agreement, according to our attorney, according to DESE,” Szymaniak said.

Hanson Selectmen have voted to place an article rescinding its approval of the regional agreement on the Oct. 7 Town Meeting warrant as officials seek a solution to the issue.

“There’s a lot of emotion in the communities right now, and I’m asking for a reason, I’m asking — for our kids — because what I’m afraid of is not having a budget for our students in July of 2020 and being level-funding,” he said. “You’re going to see people wanting drastic cuts and de-regionalizing and so-forth. … I’m hoping we can have a calm, educationally based conversation moving us forward.”

Up until the fiscal 2020 budget under which the district is currently operating, the district has been using the alternative — or agreement — method. DESE is already in the process of changing that wording from “alternative” to “agreement.”

“We’re looking into who knew, who should have known, or who should have advised, members of the regional school district amendment committee or the School Committee, past and present, of these methods of assessment,” Szymaniak said. He added that past and present School Committee members have told him they were never able to make a decision about a choice between a statutory or alternative assessment method because they were not aware of the options.

He said he does not believe Selectmen or Finance Committee members in either town were made aware of the methods.

“I hold [the Mass. Association of Regional Schools] MARS a little accountable,” Szymaniak said, noting that in minutes he has read from the Regional Agreement Committee, MARS was never distinct in describing the two methods.

“It is implied in the new Regional Agreement, the one passed by Hanson in November 2018, and passed by the School Committee in June 2018 and passed over in May 2019 in Whitman, that the district is going to use the statutory method,” he said.

The statutory method takes into account a town’s minimum per pupil expenditure designated by DESE — the minimum local contribution — which fluctuates based on inflation, wage adjustment, income, property values and municipal revenue growth. Anything in a budget over the minimum local contribution goes to the regional agreement, based on pupil population, for any other operating expense.

There is no requirement for unanimous agreement by both communities to use the statutory method.

The agreement/alternative method uses strict per-pupil representation to assess the communities, the method currently used by the district. Both communities have to pass the assessment methodology prior to the budget distribution or at town meeting in order to use this method. If one town does not vote the budget forward and the other does, it does not constitute unanimous agreement for the method to be used.

The budget then goes back to the School Committee, which can opt to hold a district-wide meeting — also known as a super-town meeting — to vote on the statutory method as the only option open to the district by DESE regulations, according to Szymaniak.

If there is no budget in place by July 1, Szymaniak must inform the commissioner of education, who will place the district on a 1/12 budget based on level-funding to the previous year.