HANSON – What’s in store for the Hanson Fire Department now that there’s a new chief in the corner office?
More of the same, if you ask Chief Robert O’Brien – who sees himself as something of a conduit between the department’s past and its future. A 27-year fire service veteran, O’Brien took command officially in June, after some five years as a deputy chief and several weeks as acting chief after the retirement of Chief Jerome Thompson Jr.
“Chief Thompson was always very encouraging,” he said of new ideas he had suggested as he climbed the ranks. “Some of them work, some don’t work, and that’s where encouraging people is valuable.”
It is an approach he is continuing as chief of a department that Thompson had already brought a long way from where it was 16 years ago.
“We’ve got a lot of stuff going on, which is good,” he said. “We have a very young department. Their enthusiasm, their way of thinking, is – I’m going to call it non-traditional.
“That’s what I’m really pushing for the direction of the department now, for the firefighters and the officers to think outside the box … basically throw it against the wall, and if it sticks, great, If it doesn’t, then we continue the way we’ve been going.”
There have already been a lot of ideas they are trying, including use of the experience new hires have until they can go to fire academy. One has fire experience and has been put on shift, another has paramedic experience but not firefighting training, so he is assigned to the first ambulance out the door, which leaves three firefighters and a lieutant available to answer fire calls until he can attend the academy.
“Firewise, we don’t want to put him in a precarious position without being trained,” O’Brien said. It also allows the second ambulance to get out the door faster.
“My mantra to them is, ‘Let’s give it a try,’” he said. “Having a young department, the experience level is different from what I have.”
While maintaining a lot of the department’s traditions and respect for its history, O’Brien said technology is making a lot of changes as it adheres to the department’s tradition of aggressively seeking grant funding for equipment, projects and programs. Emergency management has provided a weather TV system – which, no doubt, came in handy during Saturday’s tornado warnings – and ROCC 911 funding pays for the department’s security and dispatch systems. Those are just two areas where grant funding has been secured for the department.
A lot of information on what to do to prepare for weather extremes, and what resources in town are available, for example, are posted to residents via social media on the department’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.
“We’re really fortunate here that Rob Heffernan is a big technology guru,” he said. “All these TVs and monitors that you see, especially the big one [in the main room which is used for virtual classes and webinars], the townspeople didn’t pay for any of it.”
As he spoke, one of those video screens, which displays a map most of the time, alarms went off as Whitman Fire was dealing with a heat emergency involving a person collapsed on South Avenue. A line of white LED lights was illuminated along the ceiling as well as a shorter line of red LED lights. Had it been at night the red lights would be more prominent at first, so it would be less jarring to the 24/7 crews being awakened by alarms until firefighters’ eyes adjust to the light.
“That’s why I’m encouraging people to come on in,” he said. “Come see your fire station. You paid for it, but what’s interesting is what they don’t have to pay for.”
While most technology equipment is funded by grant money, a majority of that in the apparatus bay is a combination of grant money and the ambulance account. The ladder truck replacement, for example, is being looked at as a 50-percent grant-sourced project.
“I’ve been very fortunate my whole career,” he said. “Other chiefs outside [of town], because of my involvement with technical rescue … I’ve gotten very involved with MEMA.”
It’s been a boon to networking, he said.
Hanson Fire and Mass. Maritime Academy plan to run a big tabletop exercise in April, that the school’s seniors are working.
“It’s going to be a little different for the town,” O’Brien said. “Chief Thompson allowed me to handle all the emergency management stuff, but I’m starting to go through things now of a continuity of operations plan for the town.”
Hanson does not currently have a robust emergency operation plan. A comprehensive plan was developed just about the time Thompson retired.
O’Brien has also presented a training course at Mass. Maritime for the helicopter aquatic rescue team, for which he is a program coordinator. The team specializes in flood and swift water rescues, from a concept developed in North Carolina.
“We’ve been working on it for five years and now it’s up and running,” he said.
O’Brien is also pushing for firefighters to be better educated in their craft and learning from what other departments have done or what they’ve experienced outside of Hanson Fire, to be more valuable members of the department.
Shifts are excited about new training techniques they can learn as a unit, as well.
“Firefighting is changing constantly and what it was 30 or 40 years ago is much different than what it is today,” he said, adding that department leadership is also sitting down with firefighters to discuss their short-term and long-term career goals.
While ambulance receipts also fund equipment like the new amulance being sought at the October Town Meeting, O’Brien said most ambulance costs to patients are handled through insurance.
“We don’t go to collections for it,” he said. “We don’t want people not to call the ambulance because of the cost.”
He also stressed the importance of calling 911 when help is needed, instead of the business line, because there might not be someone available to answer the business line if they are out on a call, prevention or training.
In fact, if O’Brien had an unlimited budget, staffing would be his top priority.
“Right now, we are looking at a SAFER grant,” he said. “It will pay 100-percent [of costs involved with] firefighter hiring – physicals, equipment, training, health care and retirement for three years, which is a great deal … But at the end of three years, the municipalities take ownership of that.”
He’s working with the Select Board and Finance Committee to determine how the department can afford that level of staffing.
More people on ambulances get them out the door quicker and more people on the fire line are important because fires burn hotter and faster than they used to because of chemicals used in buildings.
The May 2022 Town Meeting also approved funds for a feasibility study for the station, which should be going out to bid shortly, but O’Brien is aware a new Highway facility is a more pressing priority in town right now, and rightfully so, but the fire station is approaching 50 years old – and originally shared space with the library and senior center.
“The building was not designed for 24-hour occupancy,” he said. “Our bunkrooms are make-shift and are in the attic.”
It was also not designed for a co-ed fire crew, and the department now has two female firefighters.
“We’re the best-looking building in town, and a lot of that is due to the [maintenance and upkeep] done by the firefighters,” O’Brien said, noting he does not see any reason to move the Fire Department to a different location – which leaves a decision on how to improve the building where it is.
“We’re doing the groundwork,” he said.
Hanson hunters sniff out dog license issue
HANSON – Kennel regulations and infield dirt for Little League baseball fields [see related story, page 12] may be among the articles on the October Town Meeting warrant. The Select Board reviewed the specifics of the two pending articles at its Tuesday, July 25 meeting.
Animal Control Officer Joseph Kenney took a bite out of explaining an article to change section of the canine control by-laws to bring kennel licensing regulations in line with state law.
Town Administrator Lisa Green said the initial discussion was requested through her office regarding changing the by-laws governing kennel licences. She said the discussion made clear who the participants are going to be and they could work toward determining if an article could be made ready for the October or possibly May Town Meeting,
“I was looking to change it from a four-dog kennel license to a five-dog kennel license,” said Select Board member David George. “You know Hanson’s a big hunting town, a lot of people in Hanson hunt with dogs.”
He noted there are two types of hunting dog – retrievers and upland game dogs.
“One’s for ducks and geese and the other’s for pheasant and quail,” he said. “I don’t hunt both .. I do ducks, so if you’re a guy that hunts both upland game and waterfowl and say, you’ve got two German short-haired pointers that you use for upland hunting and you have a Labrador retriever for your duck dog, well, at some point in time, one of those dogs is going to have to retire and you’re going to turn it into a house pet.”
He said just because a dog can’t hunt forever, does not mean owners who hunt would be willing to put a dog down for that reason, it would become a pet, George reasoned.
“Dogs are not just dogs,” Select Board member Ann Rein agreed. “They’re part of the family.”
“You might need to bring another dog in,” he said, noting it could take a year or two to train a new hunting dog. “I’m not saying that you’re going to have four dogs all the time, but you might need to cycle one in and have four dogs at one time.”
The same could be said for one of the dogs a hunter uses for upland game.
“It would be nice if somebody wanted to, they could do it legally and have four dogs without going around the system, which I’m not saying I know anybody that does …,” George said.
Kenney, who described himself as an advocate for hunting as well, said his only concern was there are already people in town who hunt, as well as those who simply own dogs as pets, and have more dogs than they’re supposed to have.
“The Chapter 140 laws that the state writes for kennel licensing requires anything over three dogs” to obtain a kennel license, Kenney said. “It’s up to three. You get the fourth dog, you have to get a kennel license. That’s a state law, even if they’re your own dogs.”
Mass. General Law is worded in a specific way, talking about owners of “less than four dogs, may elect to secure a kennel license,” Green explained. Hanson By-law, Section 7 says “any owner or keeper of four or more dogs.”
The town has gone one above what the state law says, according to Green, who added that written application to the Zoning Board of Appeals for approval is needed. The ZBA may impose certain restrictions and the Animal Control officer, who does inspections, then issues the kennel license.
“There’s a lot of steps and this is good as an open discussion for what direction to go in,” she said.
Kennel licenses also change hands along with a house when property is sold.
“I don’t think we can go above the state laws on it,” Kenney said. “What we can change is the process of getting that applicants to make the change. I think making the process as easy as possible, but I don’t think we can change the number of dogs.”
Select Board Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett asked what kind of changes he was looking for, to which Kenney said his main focus was on making things simpler and faster.
George asked if that included inspecting homes to determine the number of dogs. Kenney said the house would have to be inspected to determine whether the dogs are not kept in conditions not appropriate for them as well as having the ZBA determining if your zone is appropriate for four dogs, or even more.
“It’s a good discussion, I learned a lot,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “But, unfortunately, we didn’t get anywhere.”
She suggested there is more the Select Board office needs to do in order to have a conversation on the matter, including an opinion from legal counsel as well as obtaining information on what other towns are doing.
“I must admit, I thought it was Mr. Kenney proposing this,” she said to Green. “I would appreciate in the future having a discussion about what’s being placed on the agenda like this.”
FitzGerald-Kemmett said she agrees with George and Kenney that the licensing process should be made as possible for people to license their dogs so “we don’t have this weird stuff going on” because people might be trying to hide their dogs.
“It protects other townspeople … because more people would, in return, do the right thing and register those dogs.” Kenney said.
FitzGerald-Kemmett asked Green to meet with George, Kenney and someone from the ZBA to see what can be done to cut through some of the red tape involved.
“This is just an initial discussion to get a feel from the board,” Green said.
HMS students win grants for civics projects
Eighth graders at Hanson Middle School have been awarded $1,000 grants for charities that they partnered with to complete their Civics Project this past spring. “Explore. Act. Tell.” is an experiential learning program that specializes in teaching students how to understand and act on solutions to fight food insecurities in their communities, selected two student groups from Mr. Merritt and Mr. Lopes’ Civics classes, respectively.
Eighth graders Camryn Walsh, Sami Masker, Keira Phinney, Siena Murphy, Tayla DeLue, Lilly Jones, Camryn MacCallum, Presley Giannino, and Riley Walsh completed Civics Projects working with local businesses, and partnering with the Hanson and Hanover Food Pantries as part of the eighth-grade Civics Projects. The students worked on the projects throughout the winter and spring, inside and out of the classroom, where they raised funds and donated food to the local food pantries.
Project presentations were then submitted to Explore. Act. Tell. and they were selected from hundreds of submissions. The grants will be awarded to the food pantries, and a ceremonial check presentation is in the planning stages for the coming school year.
Strategic plan aims at equity
The School Committee unanimously voted to adopt a draft of a five-year strategic plan facilitated by the district’s consulting group when the district began the process in November 2022.
Chaired by Assistant Superintendent George Ferro and District Equity and MTSS Dr. Nicole Semas-Schneeweis, the strategic plan committee included administrators, teachers, students, parents and sub-groups within the school district.
The report distributed to School Committee members and reviewed on Wednesday, July 19, included a summary of how the plan was derived, evidence of accomplishments and action steps needed for coming years as well a s brochure that will be the public document on the website. With feedback from the School Committee, Ferro said action steps could be drafted for the coming year.
“Remember, a strategic plan is the umbrella under which all activities in the district take place,” Ferro said.
“From my experience, the words in this brochure isn’t the words of just us or the people who were in the meetings,” Student representative Makhi Depina, “It’s the words of the people under you – the teachers, the students – everybody.”
Including LGTBQ+ inclusion in the equity statement prevented it from being held over race, religion or any other interest group’s concern
“Everybody had some problem or situation,” he said. “We have to care, not just about the students’ diversity, but the teachers’ diversity, which was another big issue in this. … They’re all in this and they’re all given the same amount of attention and care.”
Referring to the lengthy discussion on the Pride flag and rainbow symbol, Depina said some inaccurate assumptions had been made about the intent of those symbols.
“The flag isn’t only just to help this group of people, but it’s to teach respect to the group so that everybody cares for it,” he said. Depina likened it to learning respect for the American flag through the daily pledge of allegiance. “At the point we’re at in high school, if you’re still causing disctimination, You were raised in the wrong way. You can change, but you already have your predisposed [opinions]. … You just want the kids to think.”
He said he approached the work with his 3-year-old little brother in mind.
“I want him to think of everybody as human,” he said. “That was my one goal with it.”
Committee member Fred Small commended Depina for bringing his perspective to the project and personally thanked him.
“I think it’s wonderful that a student would get involved,” Small said.
Following the sidewalk painting vote, [see related story] Small had made a motion that the panel “commit to refining our mission statement and, perhaps, making a proclamation that the LGBTQ community is welcome in our educational facilities and we are a welcoming school.
Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak said that should be done later in the meeting during a scheduled agenda item on the district’s mission statement.
“We’re going to talk about that,” he said. “We’re going to talk about the whole strategic plan.”
“I would just like to ask that, before we take a motion to change something we actually have a discussion,” Ferro said. “The strategic plan, which we’re going to look at soon, was crafted with care and there were 20 people involved. We asked for former School Committee board if they chose to be involved, they chose not to be directly involved, so we gave you notes on it every meeting we had.”
Those meetings began in December.
Small urged that an action be taken to “speak strong” on the issue, perhaps meaning a proclamation of support for LGBTQ+ students.
“I wanted to support you on two and three,” Small could be heard saying to Whitman PRIDE Director and President Christopher DiOrio before the vote, indicating he supported the library partnership and scholarship portions of Whitman PRIDE’s proposal. “Please understand where my no comes from.”
Ferro said the equity section of the strategic plan contains language about gender expression and gender identity.
“It is written about the words that are used in what Massachusetts has given us as a protected state class,” he said.
Committee member Dawn Byers said she was not prepared to vote singularly on a mission statement.
“I prefer to vote on an entire strategic plan that incorporates the mission statement,” she said.
Small then withdrew the motion.
Ferro said the data gathered by the committee was talked about to decide on their objectives which would be their focus areas for which action steps would be developed – the aim is to have that completed by September at the latest.
“Things might change over the next five years, who knows,” Szymaniak said. “But this is a framework to give direction to our principals, then it trickles down to our teaching staff … it gives people a guideline for where we want to be as a district.”
Some of the results in the original survey were difficult to read, he admitted, but it was important to get that feedback as a starting point for conversations.
Member Dawn Byers questioned the terminology of the phrase “fiscally sustainable” in reference to the plan, and asked for the definition the town of Whitman and district are working under, as well as the continuing need for preschool facilities and communication about it.
Ferro said the consensus was “this is the W-H Regional School District plan,” he said. “Yes, there’s outreach to the towns, but when we talk about fiscally responsible, fiscally sustainable, that doesn’t mean the status quo.”
While they don’t want to be known as frivolous or extra, they want it known that when items that impact the budget in a growth aspect are discussed, the schools have to show they have done their homework and what they are doing is proper.
The plan would charge the School Committee with the decision on what is fiscally responsibility and sustainability.
Colors on the ground
The School Committee has voted 5-3 to approve the painting of a progressive Pride crosswalk at WHRHS and Whitman Middle School and to accept a Whitman PRIDE scholarship for a graduating senior. The vote also allows a partnership with the district’s wellness program and the Whitman Public Library to provide age-appropriate materials to district students.
Opposing it for various aspects of the crosswalk portion of the proposal were Fred Small, Glen DiGravio and Stephen Cloutman. Not present were Vice Chair Christopher Scriven and Michele Bougelas.
“We are not here to advance an agenda,” said Whitman PRIDE President and Director Christopher DiOrio. “We’re here to try to save lives, that’s really what’s important here. [See accompanying story, page 3] … Having at least one accepting adult in a child’s life can reduce the amount of suicidal attempts among LGBTQ people by 40 percent.”
He presented the requests at the Wednesday, July 19 meeting, explaining that his organization was created to increase LGBTQ visibility in Whitman, as well as raising awareness and funds for organizations and funds for organizations that provide community programs, advocacy and activities for LGBTQ youth.
“We know that LGBTQ people and their allies exist in all corners of the community, but they may feel alone or unrepresented,” he said. “Our mission is to help them show that Whitman is a place of inclusion, acceptance and love.”
When students see the rainbow colors it demonstrates the school they attend and the community in which they live, accept them for who they are, DiOrio said.
“These colors are not for everybody, but they are to let the teen-ager who’s insecure and unsure about how safe it is to be who they are, to know that the community and school that they work and live in actually cares about them,” he said. “They are for folks who live in a world where we still have to worry about folks legislating away their future rights to work, to raise children, to get an education, to get married and even to exist. … I’m asking simply to place colors on the ground.”
DiOrio had researched the district’s mission statement, which points out, in part, that it is “committed to maintaining a safe, respectful and supportive working and learning environment in which all students and employees can thrive and succeed” … with core values of supporting an inclusive environment and makes all decisions in the best interests of students.
“Whitman PRIDE is here today asking to be a partner with the schools in fostering and furthering your mission, because your mission coincides with ours,” DiOrio said. The organization’s ask is that the district act in the best interests of its student body – specifically LGBTQ students – in a safe, secure and healthy environment and to be a good model for diversity, equity and inclusion, proposing that:
Whitman PRIDE provide progressive PRIDE crosswalks at the high school and at Whitman Middle School – not state-mandated crosswalks, but simply painting them the traditional rainbow colors, plus black, brown, light blue, white and pink (to include racial diversity and trans persons);
The organization is offering to create a Whitman PRIDE scholarship to be offered to a graduating W-H senior who has exhibited efforts toward advocating or strengthening the LGBTQ community; and
Offering to partner with the Whitman Library and libraries in all W-H schools to provide age-appropriate educational materials for students at all levels to understand diversity, equity and inclusion, specifically related to the LGBTQ community.
“Why is this important?” he said. “Because this community, specifically the young people in the LGBTQ community, are under active attack in this country.”
DiOrio pointed to more than 500 separate pieces of legislation – including a bill now before Congress to cut funding for HIV research – have been filed throughout the country, specifically attacking LGBTQ individuals. More than 220 of those bills specifically single out trans students.
“Attacking students,” he repeated. “Children. “Seventy of them have already been approved by individual states, banning necessary gender-affirming care for trans students, banning trans students from participating in sports and sporting activities and even limiting bathroom access for those people conforming to their person’s gender.”
Chair Beth Stafford said she hoped before he entered the building that DiOrio looked up to see a nice “Respect” sign and an inclusion sign, which to her is very important.
“I did,” he replied.
“Those were done by the students themselves, and I think that’s very important and an important thing for all of us to remember,” she said, noting that the WHRHS library where the committee meets had a number of Pride-related books on display.
A former teacher who had LGBTQ students in her classes over the years, Stafford admitted that, “I treated them differently, but not in the way you think.”
“When I know that they are trans or maybe going to be, and they were walking alone in the corridor, I would stop them and ask them how their day was and how they’re doing and how they were feeling,” she said, recalling one former student, now working in town, who insists on waiting on her and has friended her on Facebook. “I find it very important that each and every one of us think about that before we have our discussion.”
Committee member Fred Small, while agreeing with “probably 90-something percent” of what DiOrio was saying, and for the committee to pass a proclamation or resolution that it is an inclusive district would be a good thing and that the mission statement could be adjusted to specifically include the LGBTQ community.
“I believe we have counselors and people in place to provide that adult educational assistance … so they know it’s OK, they have someone to talk to,” he said. “The one part that I worry about …is that by putting a symbol on the ground, and if we can end up having that discretion to say yes to one group, what happens when another group comes and says, ‘We want our symbol there?’”
He said it could be a group the district does not agree with or is “very repulsive,” such as Nazis, and referred to the group that took the city of Boston to the Supreme Court over the issue of a Christian flag. They Supreme Court allowed it, even after every lower court rejected the suit.
“My big fear is ‘Who pays those legal expenses?’” Small said.
DiOrio, who is a lawyer and Constitutional law professor, said the difference is the Boston case dealt with an existing policy that the city had, but was not followed. They had never rejected anyone based on their written policy for flags going up the third pole. The Supreme Court said that because the policy was not followed, the content decision made by the city in contradiction to its stated policy, they were operating in violation of that policy and had to allow the Christian flag they had rejected.
“The difference here, is when you as a collective body make a determination of policy it is what we call ‘government speech,’” DiOrio said. “You are permitted, as a government entity, to speak as you choose, no different than any individual.”
Neither can government entities be compelled to say anything they don’t believe or wish to say.
Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak said he did not see any mention of a flag in the Whitman PRIDE request.
“Not yet,” DiOrio said.
“What I see is a scholarship, which I feel would be beneficial to my student body, support for education of our students – age appropriate – and a crosswalk,” Szymaniak said. “In our country, in our commonwealth right now, that’s a hot-button issue – the flag, and what pole it goes on.”
He stressed that the district has education professionals to help select age-appropriate materials across the board.
School Committee member Dawn Byers noted there is already a gender and sexuality alliance (GSA) club at the high school called the Rainbow Alliance, and advocated embracing them and include them.
“I support Mr. DiOrio’s efforts coming forward, however I would not want a citizen in the community to be dictating how a message or a symbol is put on a school campus without [the Rainbow Alliance] input,” she said.
She noted there is “a variety of flags” on display in the WMS foyer and did not recall any of those placements coming before the School Committee before.
DiOrio said each of the three South Shore Communities he is working with that have done similar sidewalks – Hingham. Scituate and Weymouth – all of them have worked with GSAs on being approved by the town, and he would welcome that volunteer effort. Cohasset, Quincy and North Quincy have also approved the rainbow sidewalks.
Committee member Hillary Kniffen, who is a teacher, said she has read many college entrance essays about how seeing a painted crosswalk, or a sticker placed in a classroom by a teacher, led to students feeling more like they belonged.
“To me, all of these things are absolutely harmless,” she said.
District Equity and MTSS Dr. Nicole Semas-Schneeweis said Massachusetts is the only state with a safe schools initiative so there is precedence to support LGBTQ students in the school setting.
“Going back to our pillars, one of them is safe schools,” said Committee member Steve Bois. “How would we want it any other way? … We’re here to educate the future.”
Small asked about the propriety of painting a crosswalk on Hanson property at the high school.
“This isn’t a social issue, I don’t think it’s a political issue, frankly, it’s a civil rights issue,” Committee member David Forth said. “I don’t think any statement is worthwhile unless there’s actions to back it up, and I think this is a great opportunity for us as a community, for as a district, to back it up.”
Member Glen DiGravio asked it there was a precent for a citizen request to make a change to school property. Szymaniak said there are Eagle Scout projects at schools all over the district that were approved by the committee. There have also been memorials placed on school grounds in the district.
He expressed concern that once a permanent change is permitted it shifts from inclusion to promotion.
Member Stephen Cloutman said a Pride flag is a statement of sexual preference that should not be present on school property. He advocated treating individuals as individuals.
“It’s a personal issue. We all need affirmation,” he said. “Every sentence or paragraph I read says inclusivity or diverse. I see it too much, it makes me think, what are we, all a bunch of bigots or racists? It’s put in our face.”
DiOrio corrected him that it is not an preference. It is an identity.
“I’ve also heard people saying it shouldn’t be taught,” Stafford said. “We do not teach you how to be gay. That’s not taught here just like Critical Race Theory is not taught here. We’re not promoting it. We’re helping the children who are under-recognized.”
Hanson revisits forensic audit
HANSON – Town officials have been seeking a forensic audit of the regional school district since the statutory funding formula began to be used to calculate assessments, but there have been no takers in reply to request for proposals (RFP) issued several times for the work.
Town accountant Eric Kinsherf knew consultant Mark Abrahams, who had made a presentation on the formula Abrahams to the Select Board on Tuesday, July 11. Abrahams indicated he is willing to conduct such an audit for Hanson.
The Select Board voted 4-0 to have Kinsherf approach Abrahams with a scope of work for such an audit. Vice Chair Joe Weeks was absent.
Town Meeting had voted to allocate $120,000 to conduct the forensic audit after the Select Board had approved it, but Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett wasn’t sure of the status since Randy LaMattina is no longer serving on Whitman’s Select Board.
“I would think Whitman would want to partner on this because we’re both users of the Whitman-Hanson school system and we’re funding the school system,” she said.
She did ask what Abrahams would charge if Hanson decided to go it alone on the audit.
“The original RFP was everything but the kitchen sink,” Kinscherf said.
“Which might have been why nobody responded,” said Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett.
Kinsherf came up with some bullet points based on Abrahams’ questions, which he shared with the board to see if there was anything it wanted Abrahams to look into.
“Basically, this wouldn’t be an audit, it would be agreed-upon procedures of engagement,” he said, noting it would outline what the board wanted him to do and send a report on his findings. “He’ll do a five-year look-back into excess and deficiency.”
Kinsherf said he wanted to narrow the scope to reviewing costs that have a direct affect on Hanson including revolving funds, but that details of all expenses were not necessary as it would not be a financial audit.
“I thought a salary review could be limited to comparison with towns with similar demographics,” he said. “What does W-H pay their teachers and how does that compare with other regions with similar demographics.”
Grants would only be included to the extent that they affect Hanson’s assessment, as well as other “relevant expenses,” such as food service, transportation, IT and building should be looked at in comparison to other districts, as well.
“I think that that is spot-on from what I remember us discussing before,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “Definitely one of the things people have expressed concerns about is some of the compensation packages.”
The source of one-time spending, historically, was also a question as well as whether it has ultimately been built into the budget were also concerns.
“We’re not dealing with the real numbers if you are using one-time funding and then, when you give us the assessment the next year, you’ve built in what was supposed to be one-time funding,” she said.
FitzGerald-Kemmett said she understands the need for one-time funding, but more clarity concerning what’s happening with it is needed.
Kinsherf said he would draft a scope to incorporate the items discussed and will forward it to Abrahams to get a cost estimate for the work.
Meeting notes
- Strategic planning consultant John Manning reviewed his work for the town’s financial planning efforts.
- The Board voted to open the October Town Meeting warrant. Deadline for submitting completed articles is noon on Aug. 7 via email in Word format or Excel. Articles requiring funding sources must outline those sources and must be provided to the Finance Committee. Capital items must go to the Capital Improvment Committee and Town Accountant for approval.
- The Board voted to approve $418,801 in ARPA funds for the Maquan School demolition. the balance of the $936,666 will come from borrowing. Up to $1 million had been approved by Town Meeting.
- A list of Maquan inventory remaining in the school was declared surplus by the board. Auctions International has been contacted to auction the more than 250 items. Town departments have also been advised they may take any items they can use.
‘Explaining the unexplainable’
HANSON – “I get to explain the unexplainable,” Abrahams Group President Mark Abrahams said during his discussion of the parameters of Chapter 70 and net school spending for the town’s public schools with the Select Board, Tuesday, July 11.
“Basically, the [Select Board] has asked me to explain how the Chapter 70 numbers work and how Hanson numbers are compiled,” he said. The goal of Chapter 70 is to ensure every school district has sufficient resources to meet its foundation budget spending level through an equitable combination of local property taxes and state aid.
“I’m having a real hard time understanding why all of our numbers are lower than Whitman’s, across the board, and yet we end up with a higher percentage,” said Select Board member Ann Rein.
“That’s because of the wealth of Hanson compared to Whitman,” Abrahams said. “If you look on a per-pupil basis, and you take the local contributions, they’re basically the same … what skews the numbers is that Whitman has more students, they have more foundation budget, they’re going to have more property values, they’re going to have more income – but when you strip it all down and you look at the wealth factors, the state believes Hanson is the wealthier community.”
“That’s the crux of the whole issue,” Rein said. “This doesn’t show us why the state thinks we are the wealthier town. … It just doesn’t make sense.”
One resident asked if Abrahams could provide the exact formula the state uses to determine that Hanson is the wealthier community.
Select Board member Ed Heal suggested it is because the state does not factor in commercial income, rather, it calculates only business property values.
“It’s a very emotional subject and one that we’re still grappling with because it’s fairly fresh that we’ve moved to this statutory method and we really didn’t fully understand what was happening at the time it was being done,” Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said, and asked if new business growth or an influx of lower income people would make a difference in the equation for either town. She also asked if any town has forensically looked into the equations or appealed them.
“It seems almost as though it’s a setup for the average Joe not to be able to figure out how the heck these numbers are arrived at,” she said.
“New growth is a part of the municipal growth factor [in the state’s calculation,” Abrahams said.
“It’s adjusted from time to time, but it remains basically the same thing,” he said. “Remember, I’m explaining the unexplainable.”
State changes
In 2007 the state reviewed the calculation after several towns, with similar figures and demographics ended up with dramatically different numbers, taking two years to develop the new formula.
To explain the new calculations, Abrahams used the preliminary fiscal 2024 budget numbers released in June for his discussion as the state budget has not been finalized, as yet. That preliminary budget included the local portion of $6,584,595,911 under the Student Opportunity Act in Chapter 70 funds – which was $586 million, or 9.8 percent, more than in fiscal 2023. The SOA is now in its third year, putting more money into districts with targeted student populations – mostly students with disabilities, low-income students and English-language learners, for example.
“The district can spend as much as it wants on education,” he said. “The state is calculating a minimum local required contribution, which is based on your wealth factors.”
Required Net School Spending is the sum of local contributions and Chapter 70 aid, otherwise known as the foundation formula, and should be greater than the foundation budget, he said. A District can spend as much as it wants on education with the state calculating a minimum local required contribution based on wealth.
The local contribution is the amount of local appropriation required to meet net school spending for each town in the commonwealth and the local district contribution is the funding allocated to the local school district. Chapter 70 is the difference between the foundation budget and the local contribution which, combined with the local contribution makes up the net school spending.
“Hanson, since it sends its students to Whitman-Hanson, the foundation budget is, essentially, the vocational students of Hanson,” Abrahams said.
The state computes the total foundation budget for all districts and takes the shares of Hanson’s foundation budget to the three elements and comes up with the foundation shares, which are then applied to the town-wide contribution.
“For Whitman and Hanson, 90 percent of the foundation budget is for WHRSD,” he said. “This is the calculation, based on foundation shares and this is the starting point for your regional statutory assessment.”
Hanson’s contribution to W-H is $10,600,496 contribution to WHRSD.
Whitman follows the same formula.
The foundation budget is a municipal-based formula, Abrahams said.
To determine each district’s Chapter 70 aid, the state calculates each district’s foundation budget, determines an equitable local contribution (59 percent) – based equally on property values and income levels – as well as state aid (41 percent).
“To determine how much a community should be paying, you first look at the wealth factors,” he said. “The second test is to take 82 percent of the foundation budget, and the state will take the lower of the two. In both Hanson and Whitman’s case, the calculating is based on the wealth factors.”
That provides the preliminary contribution, which is either above or below the state’s calculation of the local contribution effort. Hanson’s equalized valuation is $1.7 billion while its 2023 total resident income is $450 million.
Whitman’s equalized valuation is $2.1 billion while its 2023 total resident income is $554 million. Deflated, it gets $7.5 million from property wealth and $8.4 million from resident income for a combined total of $16 million. It has a $16 target contribution – 49 percent of its foundation budget.
“So the target for Whitman is $16 million,” Abrahams said. “In fiscal 2023, they contributed $13.3 million. Their growth factor is slightly higher than yours, deriving a $13.8 million preliminary contribution. … They have a shortfall similar to your shortfall – 1 percent of their 2023 contribution.”
Whitman’s 2024 contribution is calculated at 14 million — $2 million short of their target.
“There’s a lot of similarities between the two towns,” he said.
Comparison
Whitman’s contribution to W-H is $12,554,000 based on the formulas. The actual school net spending greater than the requirement is 86 percent for the region, according to Abrahams. The statewide average is 23 percent.
“The test is what the households can support,” said FitzGerald-Kemmett.
Heal argued it should not be based on household income.
“Just remember, he’s explaining formulas the state uses … based on the information they receive from the DOR,” said Town Administrator Lisa Green.
“In order for that to be 50/50, the state deflates the [equalized valuation] and inflates the income, deriving $6 million from local property effort and $6.9 million from income.” he said.
Those figure together make up the combined effort yield of $12,929,413 – the first test of what Hanson’s local contribution should be. The “second test” is to take 82.5 percent of the foundation budget and it derives $16.8 million.
“Hanson’s town-wide local contribution, based on its flow factors, is $12.9 million,” Abrahams said. “Divide that by the foundation budget and you get about 63 percent, meaning the town of Hanson is going to contribute 63 percent in local contributions toward its foundation budget.”
Hanson is $1.3 million – or 6.7 percent – short of its $12.9 million local contribution target, so increments are added to the preliminary, depending on how much lower a community is toward its target.
“Since Hanson falls between 2.5 and 7.5 percent, the increment is 1 percent of last year’s number. Therefore, the growth factor – determined by year-to-year increases of certain municipal revenues – is increased by 1 percent to arrive at $11,669,000 as the local contribution for fiscal 2024. Those revenues include property taxes certain state aid and local receipts.
“It is still, $1.2 million short of the target,” he said.
Whitman and Hanson as towns, are non-operating districts that send their students to the regional high school.
He also reviewed state Chapter 70 formulas.
“You’re not going to get additional foundation aid because your base aid exceeds your foundation aid by $100,000-ish,” Abrahams said. “But the state is guaranteeing every district $30 per pupil at minimum (more than $107,00).”
Whitman-Hanson receives $25,196,000 in state aid.
At the same time, enrollment rose by 128 students while the foundation budget grew by $5 million, and the two town contributions grew by $1 million while Chapter 70 aid only grew by $107,000.
Whitman reviews strategic plan
WHITMAN – Strategic planning is already paying off.
Select Board member Shawn Kain provided an update on Whitman’s strategic plan during the board’s Tuesday, July 11 meeting.
“It was actually really helpful for me to go through this – working with [Town Administrator] Mary Beth [Carter] and some of the team – to go back and thoroughly look at the strategic plan, and look back over the time that we’ve been here and figure out what progress that we’ve made and where we need to move forward,” Kain said. “I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how much progress we have made toward strategic plan.”
The five-year planning window spans 2022 to 2027 and has five focus areas: Finances, public policies and infrastructure, economic development, citizen services and schools.
Finances speak to the responsible and sustainable aspect of services the town wants to provide to the public with initiative goals of providing financial policy, a process through which residents can be informed of how much and when new revenue is needed, an accurate financial and capital forecast, and enhanced communication with all educational partners.
“It’s pretty obvious that we’ve made significant progress,” Kain said. “We have adopted a financial policy and used it to guide the budget process – we’re still getting used to that, but we have actively done that over the past year.”
Whitman has also dedicated funds to contract with a consultant on financial forecasting and has enhanced communication. Todd Docuoto was also hired as the facilities manager and he has conducted an “extensive facilities assessment” to give officials a better understanding of the town’s capital needs.
“We have also committed to working together with the schools … earlier in the budget cycle and develop that process earlier so that,” he said. “As far as that first pillar is concerned, we’re definitely making good progress.
A new DPW building project, approved at Town Meeting and at the ballot box is a “huge step” toward the goal of replacing the deteriorating facilities that department is working in.
Professional assessment of ongoing facilies, such as a completed sewer main project, downtown infrastructure improvements such as underground utilities and high-speed internet, will benefit from having a full-time facilities manager.
Economic development “speaks to an enhanced downtown infrastructure, community engagement and communication of benefits and tradeoffs, establishment of a Chamber of Commerce and competitive MassPIRG grant application submittals, according to Kain.
“We’ve definitely made some progress toward this imitative, but we may want to target some areas in the near future,” he said. “We’ve applied for a grant to update under the Master Plan.”
That took place a few months ago and that project is in the works. Assistant Town Administrator Kathy Keefe has also met with the Old Colony Planning Council (OCPC) to discuss available grants that the town would be eligible for in that area.
Kain said he thinks there will be a couple.
Carter and Select Board member Justin Evans have applied for another MassPIRG grant to cover the town side of the South Avenue corridor project.
“That’s a significant project, so there’s a good chance that we’ll have grant money to cover the town’s side of that project,” he said. The town has also qualified for an EPA Brownfields Assessment Grant which also pertains to the South Avenue corridor.
“That area of Whitman seems to be, when you think about it, [where] some of the new businesses that we’re bringing in – so, good economic growth, good infrastructure, working with the state to get multiple grants that can help us achieve our goals – so I think there’s some big progress.”
Whitman is also working with OCPC to develop an affordable housing plan with the goal of increasing affordable housing by 10 percent and to do “a lot more flexible zoning.”
“The one area we may want to pay attention to is the establishment of a Chamber of Commerce,” Kain said.
Select Board member Laura Howe expressed enthusiasm for a Chamber of Commerce idea.
“The Brockton Chamber of Commerce is excellent,” she said, asking if that was the type of group Kain had in mind. “It’s immensely helpful … to people. I used them a long time ago and it was really informative. They were very welcoming.”
He said he has reached out to business owners in town who have that type of experience.
“I think with just a little bit of organization, we could have one,” he said.
Kain said communication might also be an area on which to concentrate materials can be produced to give residents a better picture of the budget and the town’s finances.
Where the schools are concerned, Kain said the town “took from their strategic plan and embedded that as part of our strategic plan,” Kain said.
It helped them institute all-day kindergarten, even as they have other goals still in the works and plan to update their strategic plan, he noted.
Chair Dr. Carl Kowalski asked Kain if he would be willing to give an annual summer update on progress with the town’s strategic plan. Kain agreed, reiterating the value in the “reflective process” of reviewing what has been accomplished and what is left to be done.
“I think it’s a really healthy part of what we should do,” he said.
Two Grannies on a mission for adventure
How do you get to know a new town?
If you are Beth Sobiloff and Marcia Rothwell, you post your intention to visit on Facebook, and ask for suggestions as to where to eat and what to do when you arrive. That’s how the two of them ended up starting the day with a veggie omelet and French toast at Cowbells Café on Thursday, July
Sobiloff and Rothwell, known for their Facebook mission to visit every town in Massachusetts, record their adventures on a webcast travelogue called Two Grannies on the Road.
Something of a modern-day, high-tech combination of the late Scripps-Howard newspaper columnist Ernie Pyle’s Depression-era travels across America to introduce his countrymen to each other, revived on television by CBS’ Charles Kuralt in the 1970s. The Massachusetts mission is the latest Sobiloff has undertaken, with Rothwell as her third partner.
Whitman is the 56th Bay State community the vlog has visited and as they rattled of some of those towns, this writer couldn’t help but replay the vintage country tune, “I’ve Been Everywhere” in the back of my mind.
“We’ve been all over the state,” Sobiloff said as she began listing some of the towns. “Marion, Mattapoisett, Fairhaven, Dartmouth, New Bedford and then we’ve done a couple places on the Cape … we’ve been up in Newburyport, Newbury and West Newbury … we’ve also been out to North Adams and Adams and Williamstown and a five-day trip to the Berkshires.”
Quite a few towns in the greater Worcester area have also been destinations.
After breakfast, they had plans to head over to the Historical Society to chat about Whitman’s history and how they might add historical site drive-bys to the itinerary. They had an appointment to interview Josh Phippen, of the South Shore Boxing Gym on South Avenue and were going to fit in lunch at another Whitman eatery before stopping for an ice cream at Peaceful Meadows on the way out of town.
“We end our day with ice cream.” Sobiloff said.
They took photos of their breakfast entrees and video recorded their reactions to the menu items for their Facebook page before eating.
“I’ve got French toast made with French bread, which you don’t see all the time,” Sobiloff reported. “I’ve got real maple syrup, which is a must for me… Very good. I like the French toast, nice and thick..”
From the Plymouth area, Sobiloff said her son lives in Hanson and her daughter works in Whitman, so she is a bit familiar with it, but as always they let the community give suggestions for their specific destinations.
“We try to do something unusual,” Rothwell said, mentioning the boxing gym visit. “I hate boxing,” she laughed. She told gym owner Phippen the same thing in an often-funny interview posted the Grannies Facebook page: facebook.com/twogranniesontheroad.
That visit also included the ladies climbing into the ring to test their fighting stance as well as a round or two with the speedbag and heavy bag.
“We often will do drive-arounds to view historic buildings that aren’t necessarily open, monuments, parks, things of that nature,” Sobiloff said.
“This town seems to have a lot of things,” Rothwell said.
This writer interviewed them – and they interviewed me – it was a mutual meeting of the media mavens of the South Shore.
A native of Wethersfield, Conn., Rothwell is a retired nurse who worked at Hartford Hospital for 46 years, but Sobiloff, an Ohio native, still works as a web designer. Each of the women is a bona fide grandmother – with six grandchildren each. They also love to joke around that Rothwell is the third “second granny.”
“I actually started [her travels] in 2010,” Sobiloff said. “I’d had my business for about eight years and I was single at the time, my youngest son was getting ready to graduate from college … and I just started thinking about how I hadn’t had a vacation in eight years.”
Taking her kids cross county in an RV had always been a dream of hers, but she never had the chance to do it. Then she realized she had a job she could do anywhere.
“I thought maybe I could figure out a way to travel and work across the country,” she said. Not wanting to travel alone, Sobiloff asked friend Ginny Just, who, as a graphic designer, was also not tied to an office.
“That made me think of the name: ‘Two Grannies on the Road,’” she said. “I got together with her and told her my idea and she said, ‘I’m in.’”
Sobiloff’s first partner in travel vlogging created the logo and Sobiloff created the website: twogranniesontheroad.com.
“The deal was to get sponsorships from big companies like Winnebago,” she said. “We did some networking about it, we did some proposals to big companies for sponsorships, but we were coming out of absolutely nowhere – nobody knew who we were.”
RV life may be more of a thing now, but 12 years ago it was a strange notion to some of the recreational vehicle companies.
“We just evolved over the years,” Sobiloff said. The next idea was to interview Baby Boomers being forced out of jobs at a time of economic downturn and what they were doing to reinvent themselves, to inspire other Baby Boomers to go for their dreams.
She made that cable access program in East Bridgewater for a couple of years, before Sobiloff and her then-partner each met a new husband and boyfriend, respectively.
Sobiloff and her husband moved to Plymouth and her first partner retired.
“I had guest grannies a lot of times,” she said.
“She tells me these stories,” Rothwell laughed. “I’m worried about her freezer.”
Guest Grannie Debbie Phalen, a retired optician who had started candy business in her basement, agreed to come on board for the mission to visit every city and town in Massachusetts after she and Sobiloff had worked together on a few shows. Phalen moved to Florida to be near her daughter about a year ago.
Enter Rothwell, who met at a social luncheon when a mutual acquaintance introduced them.
“Here I am,” Rothwell said.
Once Rothwell writes down the responses to her Facebook inquiries about a town, she makes some calls to confirm schedules and it’s time to hit the road. She also calls each town’s historical society for an after-breakfast trip.
“Maybe there are sights that we need to see,” she said. “This town, it was interesting how much different things, historically have taken place. … It’s always exciting what we find.”
Then there’s the editing to do before an episode goes up on their web site.
Next week the Two Grannies follow their road back to Western Massachusetts to Shelburne and Buckland. Follow along on Facebook.
They also speak at senior centers. Libraries and over-55 communities on their travels. Contact them at [email protected], their websites and Facebook page.
Whitman gas station damaged by fire
WHITMAN – A gas station at 79 Temple St., was damaged by fire Thursday, July 13.
Whitman Fire crews extinguished a structure fire at a gas station on Thursday night, according to Chief Timothy Clancy after the department received multiple calls at about 7:30 p.m. regarding a structure fire at the gas station and
were on scene in less than a minute because the scene was about 250 feet from the station.
The fire was brought under control by approximately 7:45 p.m.
Mutual aid was provided by the Abington, Bridgewater, and Hanson Fire Departments, and a Halifax Ambulance aided at the scene. Hanson Fire provided station coverage.
The gas station building and its contents were damaged, with a total loss estimated at $750,000. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Whitman Fire and Police Departments and the Massachusetts State Fire Marshal’s Office.
The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Whitman Fire and Police Departments and the Massachusetts State Fire Marshal’s Office.
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 31
- 32
- 33
- 34
- 35
- …
- 166
- Next Page »