WHITMAN – The town received some good financial news regarding potential interest rates on borrowing for construction of the new Whitman Middle School.
Initial interest rate calculations of 5.5 percent for borrowing, discussed during the November Town Meeting, now stand at 4 percent, Town Administrator Mary Beth Carter announced on Tuesday, Jan. 9 Select Board meeting.
“That’s some good news there,” Board member Shawn Kain said.
“A little good news there,” she agreed.
Carter said that she has met recently with W-H Director of Business and Finance John Stanbrook and Lynn Welch from Unibank Fiscal Advisory Services, W-H Treasurer David Leary, Town Treasurer-Collector Ken Lytel and Assistant Town Administrator Kathleen Keefe to discuss the preliminary WMS borrowing plan.
“The initial plan is for the district to go out and borrow $6 million in approximately the month of March 2024 in the form of a bond anticipation note,” Carter said. “We’re short-term borrowing.”
In Fiscal 2025, the interest of about $240,000 will be due with the estimated impact to the median house with an assessed value of $448,800 in 2024 will be $42.91 per $1,000 of assessed value.
“That’s the impact because we’ll just be paying the interest on that [bond anticipation note],” she said.
In March 2025, the district intends to permanently finance the $6 million BAN that rolls out to a bond for 29 years – because they do not want to go any longer than 30 years total – and they will borrow an additional $60 million in the form of a bond for permanent financing, she explained.
“The BAN will be rolled over for one year, we’ll have a 29-year term as a bond and then the new bond will be straight for 30 years for the $60 million,” Carter said.
In fiscal 2026, the full principal and interest will be due on the bond issuance amount of $66 million, with estimated impact to the median house would be $867.14. In fiscal 2027, the balance of the remaining district share and 5 percent of the MSBA hold-back amount [until the project’s completion] will be borrowed with a BAN of an additional $10 million, or $76 million total.
“That [$867.14 for the median house] is lower than we anticipated, because … Stanbrook, when he had to put an interest rate out there, said 5.5 percent,” Carter said. “They’re calculating these numbers right now at 4 percent. But I can’t say or stress enough that these numbers are fluid. It’s ever-changing … but right now, that’s the plan.”
The “big hit” for taxpayers would be in 2026.
The first full bond amount in 2026 is now $867.14 (based on current valuation of $448,800 for a median home). It later goes up to the highest amount of $931.36 after the final $10 million BAN is taken, and then it does decrease, dropping to $436.26 in the last year, she said stressing the numbers that far ahead are just estimates.
What’s in a name?
In other business, the board voted 4-0, with Vice Chair Dan Salvucci abstaining to forward a proposed amendment to the Bylaw Committee, replacing the words “Board of Selectmen” with “Select Board” wherever they appear.
“It seems we’re just getting rid of the old ways of doing things and all of a sudden just changing things,” he said. “I’m just curious as to why that’s happening.”
Board member Laura Howe, while agreed Salvucci’s opinion, but as the female member of the board, she also understands the change.
“I never had any problem [with ‘Board of Selectmen’], but I think they call it progress,” she said. “We’re supposed to move forward, and the next person sitting in this seat might prefer that, so why not get it out of the way now?”
“I don’t understand why things are changing in today’s world,” Salvucci said.
“Yeah, but they are,” Kowalski replied.
Board member Justin Evans explained that the change stemmed from the Mass. Selectmen’s Association renaming itself the Mass. Select Board Association in 2020.
“Other towns have really picked this up,” he said. “Hanson did it a couple of years ago. It was on our Town Meeting warrant last year, but we didn’t have the Planning Board hearing, which are required to amend the Zoning Bylaws, because we’re the licensing authority on some of the Zoning Bylaws. We had to pass over that at Town Meeting.”
The vote begins that process to get it back before Town Meeting.
Evans also pointed out that there have been nine female Select Board members – Howe being the ninth – in Whitman since 1975.
“I will abstain,” Salvucci said. “I’m old-fashioned.”

HANOVER – An early forecast for the South Shore Tech fiscal 2025 budget proposal, which increases by 5.62 percent – or $16,139,669 – was presented to the School Committee on Thursday, Dec. 20.
Breaking down the increase, said Superintendent/Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey explained that the operating budget itself is up 3.88 percent (or $320,000), with capital expenses up 0.92 percent ($180,000) and district election costs for the MSBA project will raise the budget another 0.81 percent. Of the MSBA costs, $125,000 will come from excess and deficiency to avoid impacting local assessments.
“If this wasn’t the year to budget for this election, the overall budget increase would be about 4.8 percent of which about 3.88 percent is to operate the school house,” he said.
The ballot question for the MSBA building project is being planned for late January 2025. If it is passed, borrowing would begin in 2026. A preferred schematic plan – based on a preferred planned enrollment goal – will be presented to the MSBA later this month. The MSBA vote would come in August.
“I want to be able to lift up the hood on this,” he said. “We bring our communities one assessment number … Whatever we need, whether it’s a piece of capital or just running the schoolhouse, it all funnels down into one number.”
Hickey said he also thinks the district will be able to procure new buses using a combination of stabilization and existing funds, putting money toward a second year’s payment. The district had leased a dozen propane buses in 2017 and paid the lease off early, saving money and enabling the district, through equity in the buses to enter a successor lease. Last summer the district had some surplus revenue allowing the purchase of three buses for about $435,000.
“We have said goodbye to the last of the diesel buses that were 10-plus years old,” he said. Even with Marshfield joining the district, Hickey said they should be able to delay the need for more buses by a year.
The specifics of how that assessment breaks down by town will be available at a planned Jan. 25 School Committee meeting after the governor’s budget comes out.
The December budget presentation is traditional for the district.
“We are a little bit earlier than some communities because our regional agreement calls for us to have a certified budget 45 days before our earliest district Town Meeting, Hickey. “Historically, we have at least one town that schedules Town Meeting for early April, so that triggers a budget certification in February, preceded by a budget hearing in January.
SST uses a “zero-based” budget formula.
“While there are fixed costs, every department head and cost-center supervisor is asked to look at their budget with fresh eyes and focus on the year ahead and also on long-range capital planning, but do not simply add a few percent onto last year’s number,” Hickey said. “If we all did that, there would never be enough money for the things that pop up.”
Hickey said the district is monitoring Chapter 70 aid and the effect of changes in state regulations regarding non-resident students, while in-district student enrollment increases with the addition of Marshfield, raises the question of how a drop-off based on non-resident kids graduating in June will impact revue.
The inflation rate being used to calculate state aid is under 2 percent, raising the question does a lower rate mean the member communities may have to absorb more of the costs.
“Does the state aid match the drop in [non-resident] revenue?” he said. If it does not, there is a revenue gap that must be addressed either by adjusting the budget down or pass more costs to the communities.
“We will know what the right answer is as soon as we see the governor’s budget, the estimated state aid – and I’m prepared with a Plan B if there’s a gap,” Hickey said, indicating budget cuts would be the most likely approach.
The budget also aims to move $137,407 in personnel salaries funded by grants into the budget. New personnel eyed in the budget include $75,000 for a physical education/health teacher and $40,000 for a medical assisting teacher budgeted as an aide position. The $40,000 would be paid by a Perkins grant, should it come through.
Among the accomplishments which are always included in the budget presentation: SST now has the highest enrollment in its history with a strong program placement and student application pool, outside funding has been secured via Rethinking Grading, Skills Capital and a recent $2.1 million CTI grant. There has also been progress with the MSBA project and the district has expanded to include Marshfield as of July 1, and programming for student supports have been expanded, Hickey said.
“We are killing it on state grants,” Hickey said. “We’re doing a fantastic job of showing the world that we thrive after hours and we’re serving our day kids and our nighttime adults with great distinction.”
Enrollment trends show Whitman going up by 14 students and Hanson going down by eight from last year’s enrollment. Debt service is based on a town’s average Oct. 1 enrollment in the three years preceding a debt authorization and debt amounts are fixed.
Right now, the debt service number is zero.
Goals ahead include the NEASC accreditation in 2026, expansion of community and culture goals of expanded workforce development, creation of a Student Equity Club and strong student participation in athletics. The MSBA process is the main facilities goal and implementation of a grading initiative is another instructional goal.