Incumbent selectmen Brian Bezanson, from left, and Scott Lambiase and challengers Christopher DiOrio and Justin Evans, who are currently members of the Whitman Finance Committee, met in a candidates’ forum on Tuesday, April 23. (Photo by Tracy Seelye)

WHITMAN — The four candidates vying for two seats on the board of Selectmen in the Saturday, May 18 Town Election fielded questions from the Express and Kevin Tocci, access operations coordinator of Whitman-Hanson Community Access TV, in a forum at the Selectmen’s meeting room in Town Hall on Tuesday, April 23. Tocci moderated the forum.

Following opening statements, questions ranged from the state of the town budget to the divided state of politics, and other issues facing the town.

Challenger Christopher DiOrio, a practicing trial attorney and law professor, launched the opening remarks by outlining his 30 years of professional experience solving problems for clients with NGOs and nonprofits, he is hoping to bring a common-sense compassionate brand of leadership to serve Whitman.

“I know full well that I’m not from here,” he said. “I didn’t grow up in Whitman so I may not have the deep, generational roots that some people may think is important, but I chose to live in this community. I want to be here.”

DiOrio said he is interested in making the town stronger for his children.

“Their future is our future,” he said in his opening statement. “Whitman has finally started to answer an important question: What kind of town do we want to live in? … We cannot be afraid to take the steps necessary to sustain our future with a solid financial and capital plan — not just for next year, but for the next five years or 10 years to prepare for our future needs.”

A resident for nearly 60 years, incumbent Brian Bezanson said he was first elected Selectmen in 2004 after running on the idea that he could make a difference in his community.

“That’s exactly how I ran every year — and how I did business every year — it’s all about making the lives of the citizens, taxpayers, seniors, veterans and families the best it can be in Whitman,” he said in his opening statement, noting Whitman is not alone in Massachusetts in dealing with financial hardship. He pointed to Franklin, where a $2.5 million cut has been made in that town’s school budget.

“It’s happening everywhere,” he said. “I do not bring politics into this building. This is about the citizens and the community and what’s best for everyone — and that’s exactly how I will continue to operate.”

Incumbent Scott Lambiase, who has lived in Whitman for about 20 years, has worked as Duxbury’s director of municipal services for about 15 years where he conducts all the procurement in town and oversees all special projects, as well as serving as the liaison for the town manager to most committees — I oversee all the licensing, permitting, inspections and the Affordable Housing Trust. He has also served as a Whitman Auxiliary Police officer.

“I’ve been a member of the Board of Selectmen for the last seven years and I feel very privileged to have been allowed to be on this board and a steward on this committee. We have done some good work over the years,” Lambiase said in his opening remarks. “We do apply the best financial management tools and practices [in Duxbury] and I hope to apply them here and I hope you’ll remember that on Election Day.”

Finance Committee member Justin Evans, who works as a natural gas pipeline safety engineer for the state, rounds out the field of candidates. Evans, who grew up in town, thanked his fellow candidates for their service to the town of Whitman. He and his wife decided to stay in Whitman to raise their future family and feels the town has much to offer.

“We have a loving, caring community. We have one of the nicest town centers on the South Shore and what I would call the nicest park on the South Shore,” he said in his opening statement. “I’m tired of hearing, ‘We’re too far from the highway,’ as an excuse not to take chances to develop for the future. I don’t like hearing that we don’t have enough revenue to justify a long-term financial plan. I’m sick of excuses not to adapt. We need to embrace what we have to offer and develop a future of Whitman around that.”

Politics of division

Asked how they would help heal the social, political and cultural rifts facing the nation and community, the candidates agreed the problem is real and aggravated by social media, but argued a change in policy for the board was preferable to a bylaw change to address town officials’ use of social media.

“Whitman has all the pieces that we need to try and close that gap, but I think one of the things that drives it further is the way people act on social media,” said Evans, who has been on Facebook since he was 15 and was on MySpace before that. “We need to focus on just how to treat people in person and online and I think Whitman would be a good place to start — get to know your neighbors and don’t belittle people when you don’t see them.”

DiOrio agreed in part.

“There is a great deal of strength that comes from anonymity or the ability to speak from behind a screen,” he said. “One of the biggest problems that we have is that we hear, but we don’t listen.”

He said that sitting down and listening to each other would reveal that “different paths don’t mean the destination is wrong.”

Bezanson said the problem trickles down from Washington to local communities like Whitman.

“We need to put our partisan and religious and social issues aside and come together for common-sense solutions for the citizens of the community which you are working for,” he said. “All that is just distractions.”

Lambiase agreed more dialogue is needed.

“There’s always going to be extremists on either side,” he said. “But I think we will find that the majority of us have more in common than we don’t and — obviously — what’s best for the town lies somewhere in the middle.”

Source of the town’s budget problem

Bezanson said the legislature is the root of the problem.

“They’re not fulfilling their obligations they’ve set forth over the years on what they would pay for, how they would pay it and when they would pay it,” he said. “At this level, we have to find a way to increase revenues, cut costs, while maintaining services.”

Lambiase agreed there is shared responsibility on the state and local levels, noting that land leases such as cell tower and solar panel deals have proven effective in Duxbury.

Evans also pointed to both parties, especially in view of the incentive promised for school regionalization.

“In 2010 they changed the rules and we haven’t responded in kind to the dwindling state money coming our way,” he said. “There’s still the unfunded mandates from the state and, ultimately, I think that will have to be the solution, but the town last year chose to pull money out of savings, rather than fix the problem and this year we’re looking at laying off some school employees instead of trying to find new revenue.”

DiOrio also responded that “the local and state [governments] have their hands in it,” pointing, in part to unfunded education mandates.

“We can’t continue as a town and as a local board to leave money on the table,” he said. “We’re not necessarily doing all that we can to maintain the tax base … and we’re not doing enough to bring revenue in.”

Operational or school override?

DiOrio said it is imprudent to “turn up your nose at any possible solution to the problem.”

He said an operational override needs to be investigated and should have been looked into before now to be included in the May Town Meeting and Town Election.

Bezanson, however, is not in favor of an override in May because the plan to go with a debt exclusion can “get us to a place that’s as painless as possible” while looking at a comprehensive plan for the fall.

“In the short-term, it’s going to be painful,” he said. “But in the long-term it could help us get out of a situation and move on [to] where we can have some sustainability for the next five years.”

Lambiase said he was not opposed to an override, but said the town is not ready for it.

“In order to do it, we need to do a long-term analysis,” Lambiase said. “We need to adopt a lot of policies [and say] if we’re going to do this, we won’t have to do it again in two years.”

Evans said he would be in favor of a fall operational budget to help develop a sustainable budget, noting this would be the third debt exclusion or override placed before the voters in the past four years.

“We can’t continue doing that over and over,” he said. “We need to get all our ducks in a row and fix the problem once.”

Selling it to voters

Evans said officials have to do their homework and show what an override would fund and why it can’t be done right now within the confines of Proposition 2 ½.

DiOrio agreed that education is vital.

“Part of that education also has to be letting them know that, here in this community, we are surrounded by other communities that are having their own problems, but they are still taxed at a higher rate than we are,” he said.

Bezanson also said education was the key, citing information gleaned from the Community Assessment Survey, which noted that residents oppose overrides 2-to-1.

Lambiase said education must be paired with evidence that town officials have a level of confidence in what they are doing.

A difficult vote you have taken

Lambiase said he did not recall an example.

“A lot of the votes are difficult votes, especially when it comes down to the budget,” he said. But he pointed to a businessman who wanted to put the number of liquor licenses available in town before Town Meeting. While some members of the Board of Selectmen agreed, Lambiase said he did not because, as elected officials, they should uphold the state requirement.

Evans said as Finance Committee put forth a balanced budget last year, he voted in favor of taking $800,000 from capital stabilization in order to do that.

“We knew fiscal 2020 would be hurt by doing that in 2019,” he said. “It was a difficult vote but I still believed I did the right thing.”

DiOrio cited the same vote.

“Having to come to that decision was extremely difficult,” he said. “It’s why long-term planning is important.”

Bezanson also pointed to that budget issue.

“As painful as it was going to be, it was the right thing to do because the schools needed the money.”

Other major issues in town

Bezanson said roads are in tough shape and that there has to be some way to add funds to Chapter 90 to repair them. Lambiase said the town needs a long-term capital plan that addresses the needs of the DPW building. Evans, meanwhile said the opioid problem, and the number of improperly discarded needles that are found around town, points to a need to maintain funding for Whitman-Hanson WILL and the Whitman Counseling Center. DiOrio said the schools should be the top priority as a way to tackle the problems of crime and drug abuse.

Single or split tax rate?

DiOrio said a split tax rate is something that needs to be investigated, but hard numbers are needed to make a decision. Bezanson said he doesn’t favor it, because there are not enough businesses in town to support it. Lambiase agreed that businesses don’t make up a large enough portion of the town and the best way to attract more business is to keep tax rates favorable. Evans, too, was opposed to a split tax rate.

The candidates were also asked about whether they favored a new DPW building, the value of the Community Assessment Survey, what assets they bring to the office, and how to prevent inter-departmental fighting over budget cuts.

A lightning round of questions ranged from the candidates’ favorite restaurant in town to whether they would consider revisiting the retail marijuana sales ban — DiOrio “absolutely” supported reconsideration and Evans supported it, while Bezanson said he was against it, Lambiase said it could be reconsidered if there was interest. The forum can be seen on WHCA-TV and its YouTube site.

After a lengthy debate on Wednesday, April 10, the W-H School Committee voted 7-1 to support a 12.5 percent assessment increase to the towns.

School Committee members Alexandra Taylor, who was absent, and Michael Jones, who had to leave the meeting early, were not present for the vote and Fred Small, who had supported the 6.5 percent increase Whitman officials have indicated the town could afford, voted against the new assessment. The School Committee meets next at 7 p.m., Wednesday, April 24.

“The 6.5 is based on what they can give in jockeying different lines and different things,” Small said.

School Committee member Robert Trotta had proposed a 10-percent assessment to begin discussion, before the committee ultimately opted on the 12.5 percent, which, in tandem with a transfer from excess and deficiency, avoids more cuts to the school budget.

A transfer of $561,237 from the $961,237 in excess and deficiency brought the assessment down from 15.1 percent to 12.5 percent. Small also advocated using $5,000 from the School Committee travel account, keeping only enough to maintain memberships. It could also help the budget.

School Committee member Steve Bois also made a motion to seek 12.5 percent from the towns after the excess and deficiency transfer closed the gap to that point.

At 12.5 percent, Whitman would see an assessment of $1,658,773 — a total of $14,928,958 — and Hanson’s would go to $1,114,168 — a total of $10,027,508.

The 12.5 percent assessment saves about nine teaching positions.

The level-service budget now stands at $53,270,534 after an initial cut of $290,000 from legal costs, supplies “everything that doesn’t live or breathe.”

E&D, as it is called, is depended on to deal with unanticipated costs such as a new special education student in the district. Individual education plans, ranging from extra time on tests to residential placements, have increased in cost by more than 50 percent over the past five years.

Special education is also among the $5 million in unfunded state educational mandates impacting the budget.

“Students learn differently, students are being emotionally challenged differently … we’re seeing more and more students not being able to cope because of anxiety, because of stress — and that’s starting in kindergarten and preschool now,” Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak said.

Special education and related accounts, such as transportation and legal costs, are among increasing unanticipated costs, school officials said. Even with the cuts that would have to be made if the towns provide only 6.5 percent assessments, Szymaniak said new programs would have to be developed to keep more special education children in district to reduce costs long-term.

Special education costs have jumped from $2.5 million in the 2016-17 school year to $4 million this school year for out-of-district placements.

He said Hanson officials had informed him that their town could support a 7.5-percent assessment.

He repeated his breakdown of program and staff cuts that he had provided Whitman Selectmen on April 9.

The 6.5 percent assessment would mean the loss of three non-union employees, middle school foreign language, six paraprofessionals, three duty aides, the part-time elementary music teacher, a guidance staff member and 19 teachers — with 4 percent meaning a math curriculum and 23 teachers in addition to the other cuts. Special education costs have run over by $630,000 this year. There are 82 staff members paid through federal grants.

Reduction in force (RIF) notices were sent out on Thursday, April 11 to teachers and staff in line for layoffs in the event cuts are made.

School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes explained once again how assessments are made based on what school officials say they need in a budget, cautioning that the original 15.1 percent assessment to the towns was not a 15.1 percent increase in the overall budget.

“[Taxpayers] are getting a Cadillac for a Yugo right now,” Szymaniak said referring to the Yugoslavian-made economy car that became the butt of jokes shortly after its introduction to the American market from 1985 to 1992. “This is the best bang for your buck around.”

Finance Committee member Rosemary Connolly had made a similar argument during the April 9 Selectmen’s meeting.

“This 6.5 percent increase, even though there will be layoffs, maintains a curriculum that we’re committed to give our teachers,” Szymaniak said. “It also maintains social-emotional learning and support for our students.”

School Committee members said they were also concerned about the effect of additional budget cuts on class size and the potential of any more state funding.

“I’m happy to play ball and I’m happy to be in agreement [with the towns], but we still need a little bit more,” Bois said. “There’s still work to do here.”

Small, meanwhile, said the committee also has to be cognizant of what the towns are able to give.

“Were they prepared? No. Should things have gone differently? Probably. But if we have to, I’d be all for taking E&D money to try and supplement different things and really preparing for the fall and having a proper override presentation showing the need for everyone to reset,” Small said. “And we’d take control of that ourselves.”

Szymaniak also spoke about the budget impact of the 3.1 percent increase in the overall South Shore Tech budget approved by both towns.

“If we were to get a 3.1 percent increase to our budget, that would be an 8.5-percent assessment to both towns,” he said. “I’m just asking both towns to treat us as equals.”

The assessments SST is seeking comes to 3.12-percent increase to the towns — $48,000 for Whitman —but still must be approved by the two town meetings. W-H’s overall budget increase is 5.6 percent.

Szymaniak also noted the difference in per-pupil expenditures for both school districts — W-H now spends $12,740 per pupil while SST spends $21,142 per pupil.

“There are less kids so there is less cost [at SST],” Szymaniak said.

With special education costs factored in, W-H spends $13,385 per pupil, while SST has no out-of-district special education expenses. Thirty percent of SST students, however, are on IEPs. Equipment costs and other factors. Safety factors dictate that we have some limited student teacher ratios in some shops, which also contributes to higher per pupil costs, according to SST Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey.

“That’s the only school I wish to compare us with because we are sending students over there,” Szymaniak said. “I don’t see and apples and apples situation, I see an apples and oranges-type situation and I think South Shore Tech is a very good institution for our students if that’s their choice. I just want equal footing as far as finances for the teachers we employ as a district and for the students that decide to stay here.”

Small described his vision of an override as not just one that solves immediate problems, but returns the school services to a level where it should be.

“If we are going to go for an override, we should give the voter the opportunity to fund us to the level where we should be, and that’s a whole helluva lot more than we’re talking about tonight,” he said.

In other business, the committee approved submitting a letter to the  Commissioner of Education requesting a waiver of the 185-day requirement to the school year for Conley School following the norovirus-related closure of the school for one day last month.

Assistant Superintendent George Ferro explained that requiring Conley students to make up the day at the end of the school year could cost the district $2,800 in busing costs and that the time on learning could be made up in other ways.

Ferro said the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education  (DESE) said the number of days in school was the key measurement.

“The hours do not count,” he said of the DESE’s regulations. “It’s the showing up on the 185th day.”

“The content of an education is not in the length of days or the minutes you spend,” said Bois in making the motion for the assessment. “That is very valuable time, but I’ve seen kids that have continuity from a group of people that deserve millions of applause … for the everyday work that they do.”

O’Brien pointed out that the decision would be counter to the reasoning behind a recent vote to reject a 2019-20 school calendar which included extra days in the Christmas vacation.

“Everybody brought up time in the classroom,” he said of that vote. “You’ve got to learn, got to learn, got to learn. I’m OK with applying for it, no problem at all, but we seemed to have done a 180 here. … I’m just making a point.”

Ferro said waivers have been granted to districts in the past.