WHITMAN – The Select Board on Tuesday, March 7 approved the revision of a job description and salary range for a new Town Administration, as well of an assistant town administrator.
Town Administrator Mary Beth Carter said the salary range now being offered is $90,000 to $100,000 for the job.
Committee member Justin Evans asked where the job opening would be posted, as it had been posted on the Mass. Municipal Association site as well as some industry organizations in the past, but the town received a “flurry of resumes” when positions were posted on Indeed.
Carter said it would definitely be posted on the MMA site and she could certainly post it on Indeed as well, and in local newspapers.
“It will definitely be put out there on several sites,” she said.
Selectman Dr. Carl Kowalski advised holding off on using Indeed until the board could gauge what interest they see from local newspapers and the MMA.
Fire chief Timothy Clancy, in his regular COVID report, said there had been only 16 positive cases of the virus in town over the previous week, out of 244 tests performed for a 6.5 percent positivity rating.
“Let’s have it be noted that’s a 50-percent decrease from the previous week and we can only hope that this trend will continue as people move back outside as we approach spring,” he said. “Also, the wastewater report has shown a gradual decrease.”
Timing votes on WMS project
WHITMAN – A decision on how to proceed with the timing and logistics of a special Town Meeting and ballot question on the Whitman Middle School project has been delayed to Tuesday, March 21, so Town Clerk Dawn Varley can attend a Select Board meeting to answer some lingering questions on how the board might proceed.
Town Administrator Mary Beth Carter, at the Select Board’s Tuesday, March 7, meeting reported that delaying the Town Meeting and election for the project would add three months to the schedule and .5 percent monthly to the cost.
“Our last meeting was basically a brain-storming session of what this board felt … we needed to question a bit and find some solutions, and I don’t think, at any point any decisions were made,” Select Board Chair Randy LaMattina said, noting that Carter had researched the issue of timing the special Town Meeting and ballot initiative for the project. “Whether or not we get a date this evening – I think we definitely should by the next meeting.”
Carter said she met with Project Manager John Bates to discuss the timeline and the difference waiting to hold the ballot question to the March Presidential Primary Election might make.
“The WMS project is a massive project,” she said. It would be the largest municipal building project to date in Whitman, with an estimated borrowing cost to the town of about $72 million. The added .5 percent monthy cost from a delay could come to and additional $1,530,000.
The total cost of the project is estimated to be $127 million, with the Massachusetts School Building Authority funding about $55 million.
While a portion of the $1.5 million escalation cost would also be partially reimbursed by MSBA, the town would still have to pay more than $800,000 the cost of delay.
Carter said that waiting until the Presidential Primary vote would ensure the question that would be seen by the most voters.
“I think we’ve all seen that per the last major single-ballot vote we had was on the marijuana issue that fell on a holiday time – we did not have an extensive turnout for that,” LaMattina said.
The WMS Town Meeting was initially scheduled around Thanksgiving with a ballot question soon after.
“I personally would hate to see a borrowing and funding vote, that would be historical for this town, fall with minimum turnout,” he said.
“It makes all kinds of sense to try to attract the greatest number of people because it is an expensive item and it is such an important item for the parents of the town,” Select Board member Dr. Carl Kowalski agreed.
Select Board member Justin Evans, who had initially suggested tying the ballot question to the Presidential Primary date, said the $800,000 impact of such a delay is “a little hard for me to swallow,” however.
“I agree we should try to get as high turnout as possible, but to do so and really raise the cost of the project on the taxpayers – I don’t know if that’s the right move for this board,” Evans said.
Vice Chair Dan Salvucci, maintained that it is more important to give the most people possible a chance to voice their opinion and vote.
“My feeling is this project has been out there for a couple of years now, and to be able to move forward as quickly as possible, is not irresponsible,” he said, agreeing with LaMattina that holding a vote or Town Meeting during the holidays is not a good idea.
“You’re trying to fight a Thanksgiving turkey, Santa Claus, etc.,” he said.
But he suggested a January 2024 special Town Meeting followed by a ballot initiative in February would bring out people interested in the project, good and bad.
“If it can be earlier for the ballot vote, that’s fine, too,” Small said.
Building Committee member John Galvin asked for clarification on the necessary timeline for voting on the project, noting that an Oct. 26 MSBA meeting is being looked to for its final vote, but said there is no reason the Select Board has to wait for that date.
“That [MSBA] meeting is more or less a ceremonial approval to move forward to the vote,” he said, suggesting that the Town Meeting could be as early as Oct. 30.
Galvin also asked what the required time span is between Town Meeting and a ballot initiative.
Former Town Administrator Frank Lynam said 35 days are required between the two votes. While the annual Town Meeting and elections are set in the by-law.
“They are considered one event,” he said. “The meeting and the election comprise one event, and that’s why there isn’t a further expanse of time between the two,” he said. Otherwise, the Town Clerk must be given 35 days to present the ballot.
“There is no negotiating that,” Lynam said.
LaMattina noted that the building committee is also working on a deadline. They have 980 days to get it on a ballot from the time MSBA invites a community into the process.
The Whitman project already has had to file an extention because the Building Committee had to seek an RFS for the OPM twice. A January special Town Meeting, meanwhile, would require a primary day ballot anyway.
Another wrinkle, as Galvin brought to the board’s attention that only the list of candidates for president are included on a Presidential Primary ballot.
“You would need a second ballot at that election,” he said.
“I see that as an issue,” Salvucci said.
Evans suggested asking the Town Clerk’s office about whether or not they can even process two ballots simultaneously. Carter said the town consulted the Secretary of the Commonwealth said including a second ballot is not a problem at all.
Evans said a high early vote, which is used in Presidential primaries and general elections also presents a separate problem.
“I think for the turnout, it’s worthwhile and, for logistical, I’d think the timeline is going to be there anyway,” Evans said.
“You may want to think about that before you take a vote, because that will be a separatee cost,” Galvin said.
Thanks, Frank!
Before the meeting got down to business, Kowalski thanked Lynam for serving as interim town administrator,
“We have had the good fortune of having our former town administrator serve as the interim town administrator and as an assistant to Mary Beth in this transition period,” Kowalski said. “On behalf of the board, even though they don’t know I’m doing this, I’d like to thank Frank for doing so. As we all know, Frank was a town administrator for a very long time – a lot of good things happened while he was.”
He ticked off accomplishments such as a comparatively low tax rate, a new police station, improvements to the Town Hall and fire station and a new high school among them.
“But this interim period has been a tricky one and Frank jumped into it,” he said. “He didn’t have to. He was home with his grandchildren, and I just wanted to say thank you [to] him.”
Then Kowalski, leaning on his noted sense of humor, presented Lynam with a gift of cookies made by Leslie Diorio, bearing the “town seal” – an illustration of the marine animal balancing a ball bearing the official town seal, on its nose.
“One of the more interesting things we had happen during [Frank’s] tenure, was the cookie fiasco,” Kowalski said.
The design referenced an incident earlier in the year, when she had made cookies with the official Town Seal as refreshments for a joint Select Board/Finance Committee, which led to a complaint filed by the Keeper of the Seal for misuse of the official seal. A second cookie design featured the words, “Thanks for leading our circus.”
“You’ve done a great service to the town,” LaMattina said about Lynam.
Carter also thanked him “You stepped in, and I know you didn’t think you’d be here this long, it did take us a bit, but I think the wait was worth it and I think things worked out great for the town and I personally wanted to thank you.”
“And I really want to thank you,” Carter added. “I’ll never be a Frank Lynam, but I’ll do my best.”
District reviews Healey’s budget
School Committee chair Christopher Howard wrapped up the Wednesday, March 1 meeting by announcing his resignation, effective following the Monday, May1 Hanson Town Meeting.
“I’ve personally reached a point of disappointment and frustration to where it’s time for me to step off the committee,” he said, adding that he would be delivering a letter to Hanson Town Clerk Elizabeth Sloan the next day. “It’s seven years, it’s time. I think it’s important to stay with the committee through Town Meeting, we have a lot of work to do between now and then.”
He added that he wanted to give the town a chance to prepare – placing someone on the ballot – for the Town Election and give Hanson voters the opportunity to weigh in.
Committee members expressed surprise at the announcement and, while Howard discouraged professional euologes, Vice Chair Christopher Scriven said he intended to thank Howard for his time and service.
“I’m going to say out loud that the transition from the last regime, let’s say, has been drastic,” Scriven said. “We’ve been more aggressive, we’ve been more transparent, we’ve been more open to feedback from the public, we’ve worked collaboratively in a better manner and we owe you a debt of gratitude.”
“It’s a committee of 10,” Howard said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do between now and then.”
Committee member Beth Stafford attended the meeting remotely via phone and member Steven Bois was absent.
The committee also heard a budget update, as new Cherry Sheet figures became available from the state since the Feb. 22 meeting.
District Business Manager John Stanbrook said school choice and charter schools are the two figures hitting the expense side of the fiscal 2024 budget.
“Those were general fund Cherry Sheet charges, state aid charges,” Stanbrook said, noting he had placed $200,000 as a place holder for school choise on Feb. 15, and it ended up being $208,962 – or an $8,962 increase to the budget. He had calculated $950,000 for district-wide charter schools, but Cherry Sheet figures put it at $1.19 million, up more than $240,000.
Under revenue changes, Chapter 70 funds went down by an estimated $18,000, while charter school reimbursement went up $40,000. He had caluclated regional transportation reimbursement at 90 percent when it was actually adding up to 87 percent. An error in carrying over non-mandated busing costs for both towns has also been corrected, at $8,000.
Operating budget changes – as a result of Gov. Maura Healey releasing her budget numbers March 1 for minimum local contribution also had minimum local contributions down slightly, while student enrollment rose a bit.
Hanson student count went from 1,344 to 1,390 and from 2,068 in Whitman to 2,180 for assessment percentages that shifted from 39.39 percent to 38.94 percent for Hanson and 60.61 percent to 61.06 percent for Whitman.
Hanson’s operating assessment would now be a 6.47-percent increase
Whitman’s would be a 7.70-percent increase on a $60,484,108.69 budget, which is a $249,276 increase.
The overall budget is up 3.41 percent over last year as of now, he said.
Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak said an update on hold harmless, which is decreased significantly, would be available Wednesday, March 8 after the budget subcommittee addresses it on Monday, March 6.
“The Cherry Sheet does reflect some change to hold harmless,” he said, noting Stanbrook was pretty accurate in his estimates.
While it has been cut to $500,000 because of the addition of universal free all-day kindergarten and low-income student costs into the foundation budget.
“That, for us is a benefit, really – going forward, not in FY ‘24,,” Szymaniak said. “We haven’t got much state aid in Chapter 70 because we’ve been at a $3.6 million or a $4.6 million hold harmless rate over the past couple of years. … Moving forward, hopefully, we will join the ranks of our next door neighbor Abington, getting $1.2 million in State Aid, Bridgewater-Raynham $3.2 million in State Aid in the future to help the towns out.”
A larger kindergarten enrollment because of full-day kindergarten, low income levels and the larger English learning population counts for the district in State Aid calculations and help get the district out of the hold harmless situation.
Committee member Dawn Byers said the larger enrollment didn’t exactly mean 150 more kids were added to the district.
“It’s a formula with the foundation enrollment where, a kindergarten student the prior year, was actually only counted as a half a student for enrollment numbers,” she said, explaining that the state looks at half-day kindergarten pupils that way for calculations. “Now they’re counted, enrollment-wise, as a full person.”
Stanbrook said the district’s 2022 excess and deficiency numbers have not yet been certified by the Department of Revenue, but he expects that information will be available by next week.
In other business, the district’s transportation department included the extra buses needed to realign the school start times between the elementary schools within the scenarios Szymaniak had presented the previous week, he announced, recommending using E&D to offset the cost.
“If we choose to not align the elementary schools, I have to go back to the financials about non-mandated busing,” he said.
While he wasn’t looking for a vote, Szymaniak said he was seeking three “asks” – to consider start times that give school-aged children more time at home; to align elementary schools to permit coordinated professional development with faculty and to add time to the school day.
Parents have been asking about the intent behind a longer school day, which he said could allow social-emotional learning as well as more instruction time. Some also noted that, as a financial decision, it is isn’t done, “where are we?”
Committee member Fred Small said he did not see how a decision could be made until all the information is available.
“I don’t know how you become Solomon and satisfy everybody at the same time, but without having all the information so we can make an informed decision, I just don’t think we can,” he said.
Vice Chair Christopher Scriven said finding the right decision is worth taking the time.
Committee member Beth Stafford said she felt very strongly that the elementary school starts would have to be aligned if the district is going to change start times.
Howard said the shortened Hanson bus trips can’t be sacrificed in the attempt to align start times.
“They’re separate, but they’re linked, and I’m sorry if it’s confusing,” Assistant Superintendent George Ferro, noting it makes it harder to leave the meeting without guidance from the committee.
“What I’m hearing is you need more information and this isn’t happening in the next two weeks,” Szymaniak said.
Byers had questioned the legality – from an equity standpoint – of treating fifth-graders as middle schoolers in one town and elementary students in another, which makes it hard for teachers to collaborate for the benefit of their students.
“I think people are concerned about the equity and the life experience,” Szymaniak said, noting that he would have to consult with district counsel on the question of legality. “That was a decision that was made in 2018, and I would have hoped it was run by counsel because, again, the committee made this decision then, aligning the schools.”
Szymaniak was not superintendent at that time.
“We can consult counsel on that,” he said.
“I do know that a parent called DESE to ask about inequity in the district and DESE’s answer was, ‘Do you have a parent who’s an attorney in the district? They may want to file a lawsuit,’” Byers said, admitting that she did not know what statute would cover it. “That’s all I’m saying.”
She said, referring to data-driven decisions, that a 7:05 a.m. start time is also not healthy and asked what is involved in the $1.7 million line item as far as the bus routes cost is concerned.
Scriven asked for a scheduled commitment going forward, if the committee was not taking action at this time.
“I just want to rest assured that we’re going to chart a course, so to speak,” he said, including a suggestion that all students be bused.
Szymaniak said that, too, was something that could be done.
“I think we need a plan,” Howard agreed. “We started this conversation in the fall last year. Here we are today [and] we need a thoughtful plan. And, if that thoughtful plan is we need a third-party consultant, sobeit. … We need a clearly articulate and defined plan – without the pressure of this budget cycle.”
SST moves along MSBA process
HANOVER –An update on the school’s renovation and expansion program, being funded in part by the Massachusetts School Building Association (MSBA), as well as ongoing regional agreement revision, by the South Shore Tech School Committee on Wednesday Feb. 15, also expanded – into a discussion about the future of vocational education and how the school should prepare for that.
The district was admitted to the MSBA program about a year ago.
Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey had reported that the Building Committee has submitted a draft request for services document to the MSBA so that panel can hire a design firm for the project, expecting a month or so to pass before the MSBA takes action on it.
“The trajectory for 2023 is that we will probably spend from now through June going through the process of bringing the design team on board,” Hickey said. “By June … we’ll have formed our project team and the second half of 2023 will be focused on the design. We should be at the tail-end of this calendar year with first instances of models [and cost estimates for a new and/or renovated school].”
Visioning sessions with members of the school community are being eyed as a source for discovering what the district’s needs are. The models will give an idea of what this final project cost might be. An opening is eyed for 2028.
SST is anticipating that 55.16 percent of the total cost will be reimbursed by MSBA although the construction reimbursement amount has not been determined as of now.
“Towns want to come here if they don’t have vocational schools to go to, but yet there are kids who want to come to a vocational school to get an education,” Whitman representative Dan Salvucci said, pointing to Marshfield, in particular that has expressed interest in, and is negotiating to, join the SST region. “That’s the trend nowadays.”
He suggested the impact of that be considered.
“We may build a school that’s bigger … with a lot more space than we need for the students we have, but future needs…
That point was echoed by Scituate representative Jack Manning.
“I don’t know if you’ve been watching the news, but, of late, vocational ed has been getting support,” he said, holding his thumb up.
The comment came during another ancillary discussion of bills now before the state legislature on bills concerning access opportunity and capacity in vocational education. Hickey has recently sent a letter to area legislators concerning bills HD485 and SD1697.
“This bill seeks a lot of things,” he said. “But I do believe the timing is right to at least raise the issue.”
He recalled that committee members often speak of the days when regional vocational schools were opened in the 1960s and 1970s began with substantial state investment and not as much burden on the local towns.
“This bill attempts to do a few things,” Hickey said. “The most notable … is that it seeks to set up a program that puts at least $3 billion aside for brick and mortar improvements to regional vocational schools, county agricultural schools and high schools that have Chapter 74 programs.”
The funding source would be the recently passed Fair Share Amendment.
“In order for our schools to be modernized and expanded to meet state demand, capacity must be improved, and we should take an ‘all of the above’ strategy,” Hickey said, offering programs at night, programs to students who do not attend the school full time, and the school should get state funding for equipment.
The missing link is direct state funding to help taxpayers in the district offset the cost of a substantial capital project, according to Hickey.
“That’s what this bill would do,” he said. “The state’s economy benefits when it invests in its regionals and its county agriculturals, and if the state’s willing to do that, local municipalities don’t have to make that tough choice [in deciding whether to construct a new building].”
Hickey said that is why the district has to build the most modern building it can afford, while projecting honestly to themselves what the increased operating costs could be.
MSBA has agreed to subsidize a new or renovated SST with enrollments between 645-805 students with the current 8 member district, or as many as 975 students with Marshfield becoming a member. The school’s enrollment is approximately 650 students currently with a waiting list.
“Very few building projects are taking an existing school population and projecting that it’s going to increase by a third,” Hickey said, noting several such projects are being built to serve a smaller population. “We are bucking that trend and we’ll know so much more by the end of this calendar year [about feasible options].”
With a little help from his friends…
WHRHS held an evening of art, music and raffles on Thursday, March 2 to retir benefit retired music teacher Devin Dondero, who has been diagnosed with cancer. The event was well-attended and raffle baskets donated by local businesses and organizations, as well as food prepared by culinary arts students were on sale to help defray medical costs. Retired music tacher Donald Legge and faculty band members, right, cranked out the “House is Rockin,”a Stevie Ray Vaughan classic as students in the audience cheer their performance, above. See more photos, page 6. Photos by Carol Livingstone
W-H reviews school start times
W-H school district officials presented a potential plan for how school start times are viewed, among other transportation topics, during their Wednesday, Feb. 15 meeting.
Start Times were changed in 2012 to help trim budget costs, in an effort to save money on transportation costs in a tough budget year. It was only intended as a temporary measure but has not been changed in 11 years, Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak said.
One option to changing start times again – moving middle school starts earlier, followed by high school and elementary school starts – would have required 13 buses and was rejected
“First of all, I can’t do it in the middle of the contract, secondly … my transportation director said, ‘You’re never going to get the drivers,’” Szymaniak Said. “First Student does not have those drivers right now.”
Of three other scenarios, would cost $10,000 per day more.
Despite some initial confusion over past discussions of the start time issue and agenda language, School Committee Chair Christopher Howard said no vote would be taken at the meeting.
The members of the Student Advisory Council, speaking during the meeting’s public forum, said their peers in W-H schools, particularly at Conley and Indian Head Elementary schools, a majority supported starting earlier – even before 7 a.m. – concerned that starting later would interfere with school activities.
Noah Roberts said the Council members had visited students at the elementary and middle schools to survey them on a number of topics, which they said they would report to the committee at another time.
“[Conley students] felt that having an earlier start time would allow them to do more social activities and participate in their schedule more,” he said. But Hanson students, were more split. The Council found that the students would love to participate in more after-school activities, especially those curtailed by COVID.
A proposed change – out of a range of options discussed by the School Committee – would change the high school day to 7:20 a.m. to 1:55 p.m.; middle schools to 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Conley to 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Duval to 9:35 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. and Indian Head to 9:05 a.m. to 3:10 p.m. with no additional cost to the district.
Before the start time change, the high school started classes at 7:25 a.m., elementary grades at about 8:30 a.m., with middle schools beginning their day at 7:45 a.m. The district ran 10 more buses at that time.
A past concern of Hanson parents that students were dealing with extremely long bus rides, it became apparent that drivers on some routes were stopping at every house instead of designated stops.
Szymaniak said that has been stopped.
“We started looking at different drivers who were accommodating different people,” he said, noting the school district did not have its own tracking devices to get a handle on it sooner. “I don’t want to throw it on First Student, but the driver shortage has impacted who we have. … If the kids say, ‘drop me off here,’ they’re dropping them off there.”
Szymaniak said he believes that having the right technology would stop it completely.
The current First Student contract stipulates that the district assigns the bus stops.
“But no parent’s going complain that their kid gets picked up at their house,” Committee member Glen DiGravio said. “That’s why it’s never been brought up.”
He admitted with a laugh that he complains about the time on the bus all the time, but is also happy his kid gets picked up at his house.
Another challenge to any change in start times is the need to align the elementary schools to a 6.5-hour day that the fifth-graders in Hanson have, Szymaniak said.
Committee member Dawn Byers said that is the most important aspect of the start time discussions.
“It involves zero expense increase,” she said last week. “Moving the high school start time also involves zero expense increase.”
Szymaniak said during the Feb. 15 meeting that the added costs came into play in attempting to align elementary start times.
He said that, while students at the high school want later start times, but many they have also said they don’t want to leave for the day past 2 p.m. Athletic Director Bob Rodgers has assured Szymaniak that, if high school students get out by 2:30 p.m., he can get student-athletes to games.
Committee member Fred Small asked if any start time change would have to be bargained with the teacher’s union. Szymaniak said it would be a bargaining point.
“What’s important is that we talk about the facts vs. the myths,” Byers said. “Talk about science, and the wellness of students.”
She said the issue included considerations of social-emotional wellness as well as physical health and nutrition.
“If the science says they should start later, then we should go with science before we go with the kids saying what they want,” Vice Chair Christopher Scriven said, noting he did not want to discourage students from voicing their concerns.
“We’re focused on the start times, but the CDC recommends ‘reasonable curfews’ at night for students,” said Committee member Michelle Bourgelas. “What time are these kids going to bed? … High school kids can be parented.” She also expressed concern that, in the interest of ending the high school day in time for sports, other extra-curricular activities lose out.
Any school start time has to be bargained with the teacher unions, Szymaniak said, but the School Committee first has to make a decision on a change.
“What no one wants to admit is that we are hurting kids,” Byers said, advocating an 8:30 high school start time student health and well-being. “We are intentional about that … the 7:05 a.m. [high school start] can’t continue.”
Committee member Hillary Kniffen said elementary school kids who do extra-curricular activities are not being included in the conversation.
“Might I remind everybody we are dealing with children,” she said “The kids who will be in fifth-grade next year, were in first grade when the world shut down [during the pandemic]. These are kids who have not had the opportunity to develop responsibility and social skills and things [that other] children had because they’re older.”
She advocated educating all families on the potential effects of school start times, because the high school students seem to be the primary focus of concern.
“I am 100-percent in favor of getting healthy start times for all of our students, but I think we have seen some tunnel vision and we need to … get out there with the solutions to this problem,” Kniffen said.
DiGravio agreed that there is no ideal solution, but argued if parents send their kids to bed early enough to get eight hours of sleep the start times are workable, noting the average start time in the state is 7:50 and in the country at 8 a.m. For high schoolers.
“It’s a lot of money and a lot of moving parts for 20 emails,” he said. “How many people truly want this besides voices we hear here? I’m not sold.”
Start time issue aside, Committee member David Forth said it was good to see the 20 to 30 emails from parents on the issue.
“Since I’ve been on the School Committee, there’s very few instances that I’ve seen parental outreach that much,” he said. “They took the time to reach out to the School Committee and voice their opinion. It’s nice to have their input, it’s nice to have student input, and these are things we haven’t had much of in the past.”
Howard calculated that, if the latest they want an elementary school to let out is 3:30 p.m., then the earliest they can open is 8 a.m.
“We know the early part,” he said. “There’s certainly a concern about starting school too early, but we need to understand the back-end.”
He concluded the committee needs more information from more people.
Parent Chris George of Whitman stressed that circadian body rhythms were the concern for healthy students, noting while school events in the lower grades start before 7 p.m., high school events are another matter.
“We have school-sponsored, high school events that go until late at night,” he said. “If we’re not willing to move the start time, are we prepared to tell Bob Rodgers he can’t have a 7:30 p.m. Basketball game? … Those are the things that you need to start doing if you can adjust the front [end].”
George argued moving the high school start time affects the most amount of kids and is the best choice for the current situation, but it has to come with a long-term plan. His kids, who no longer go to school in the W-H district both get up after the high school bus has come and gone in the morning and they both play sports and enjoy after-school activities.
Another parent said the survey sent out focused on high school students, but felt the other grades have not been sufficently considered.
Whitman looks to ATA to aid Carter
WHITMAN – Now that Whitman has a new town administrator in Mary Beth Carter, the work begins on finding an assistant administrator.
“Now that we have a town administrator, I think we need to move to get the assistant in place sooner, rather than later,” Select Board Chair Randy LaMattina said at the Tuesday, Feb. 21 meeting.
He suggested a small committee, consisting of a couple of selectmen, a department head and Carter, undertake the screening interviews after the job is posted
Vice Chair Dan Salvucci asked if the board was interested in looking at an assistant administrator or going with a previous suggestion of changing plans and hiring a human resource officer.
“I think we’re going to go back to the ATA,” LaMattina said. “But, I guess we should probably discuss that.”
Salvucci agreed that an assistant administrator would be the best option.
“When down the road, it’s time to retire, it’s part of your job to teach the person – that is, your assistant – to be able to take over, if that’s our choice,” he said. “I’m always one for promoting from within.”
But he suggested “extending the position” to include other things such as grant-writing and in this day and age, a human resource officer can be very important.
“I’m wondering if a person can do both,” he said.
LaMattina said grant-writing and human resources were included in the desired skill set of the original ATA position.
“I think the job, combined with the town administrator job is complex and is multi-layered,” Select Board member Shaw Kain said. “I have full faith in [Carter’s] leadership, that for me, I’m primarily going to be leaning on your recommendation – your skill set, the skill set that’s necessary to do the job.”
He said that identifying the person who can work best with Carter is the recommendation he’s looking for in an ATA.
Select Board member Justin Evans, who served on the last two selection committees, said the HR director/grant writer position didn’t draw quite the same pool of applicants as an ATA.
“At least my experience over the last year and a half doing this, we got a bigger candidate pool when we put it out as an ATA even though it was larger skill sets we were looking for,” he said.
Evans and Selectman Dr. Carl Kowalski volunteered to serve again on a search committee as did Fire Chief Timothy, along with Carter.
Salvucci asked if administrative assistant Laurie O’Brien should also sit in on interviews since she would work closely with the new ATA.
“I don’t like the idea of somebody working under somebody hiring them – their potential boss,” LaMattina said.
Kowalski said he wanted to hear Carter’s preference for the search.
“This is going to be your crew,” he said.
“I was thinking of an assistant town administrator that would have grant-writing [skills],” she said. “I would like to see grant-writing and procurement as well as to help me with the other duties that I have, as well, on my plate, and some human resource work, as well.”
She said the town had done that in the past.
Carter will compose and post the job description and salary range for the board to review and vote on at its next meeting. The committee will review the applications and chose some candidates to interview with an eye toward recommending, through Carter to the board, for final interviews.
COVID update
In other business, Clancy, in his regular COVID-19 update, said that as of Feb. 21, there had been an additional 41 cases in Whitman out of 313 tests conducted – for a positivity rate of just over 13 percent.
“It’s only gone up four people from the previous week,” he said. “We seem to remain constant in that area. We haven’t had any significant spikes, but we have been climbing.”
He said the COVID team is monitoring the situation closely and will advise the Select Board if anything drastic changes.
Civil Service list
Deputy Police Chief Joseph Bombadier received the board’s approval to call for a Civil Service appointment list for two new department hires.
The potential hirees have served in part-time roles at the department since 2017 – Robert Hoey is a 13-year as a supervisor at Massasoit Community College as well. Patrick Hickey has been working for the department as a reserve officer, filling in shifts.
“They’re both great candidates,” Bombardier said. “They both meet all the criteria and we’re asking for you to move forward with the process. … They’re the only reserve officers we have left and, after they’re gone off the list, we don’t anticipate ever having reserve officers come back because there’s no mechanism in place anymore because of the post commission. There’s no part-time academy.”
Comfort dog
The Select Board also voted to accept the Police Department’s proposal for a community resource dog.
“This is a project we’ve been contemplating over the last couple of years,” Bombardier said. “We think there’s some value in having a community resource/comfort dog.”
He said the move is growing in popularity among police departments for its value in addressing the need for communication with some communities, such as autistic people. Hanson has had one for about a year, and Plymouth and Hanover just obtained comfort dogs.
Whitman is working with the same company that Hanson did – Golden Opportunities for Independence (GOFI), of Walpole – which provides the dogs, provide training (a two-year process) and takes care of initial medical expenses for the dog.
Bombardier said a resident has approached the department about donating some money toward the project, a $5,000 donation that would cover about 25 percent of the cost, and the Plymouth County DA’s office has grants the town could apply for to help further defray costs.
“They have assured us we will be at the top of the list for an upcoming grant [$5,000], if we so choose,” he said. The other half of the cost would need to come from fundraising, but Bombardier said other departments have said the public is more than willing to donate.
The dogs live with their handling officers and retrofitting cruisers is less expensive than police dogs, which must be in running vehicles for the air conditioning when they are not working. Comfort dogs are only in the vehicles long enough for transport.
Police Chief Timothy Hanlon wants to award the handler’s role through a bid process with criteria officers need to meet in order to apply.
Benefit aids ailing retired teacher
In June 2022, as the school year wound to close, the senior class members were not the only ones looking ahead to the next step in life. W-H music teachers Devin Dondero and Donald Legge were also ready to close the books and try something new.
Life, sometimes cruelly, has other plans.
Shortly after his retirement, Dondero was diagnosed with late-stage bladder cancer.
Tonight, Thursday, March 2 – from 6 to 9 p.m. at the high school library – the Fine Arts Department at WHRHS will host a fundraiser to help defray some of the medical expenses involved in that battle with cancer.
The concert, art raffle and reception – which Dondero plans to attend, according to Instrumental Music Teacher Brian Rowe.
Rowe asked that anyone who finds themselves in close proximity to, or wishing to greet Dondero at the event, wear a mask to protect him from further illness. Dondero had just received medical clearance to attend on Monday.
“As a school community, that has been devastated with the news, of his health, because he’s probably one of the healthiest and most athletic guys I have ever met,” Rowe said. “He’s one of those guys, where his health is his wealth and music is his passion.”
Both Dondero and Legge, at the time of their retirement, planned that the next chapter was a chance for more opportunities to perform — jazz trombone for Dondero and guitar for Legge — as they awaited, bringing their musical journey full circle.
Both majored in music performance, and taught to pass on their love of music.
They would be giving some lessons, yes, but performing was their main focus. Dondero, who also plays bass, is part of a blues trio for bass, but said the trombone gigs pay better.
“I think we realized at the stage of our development here as music educators, it was the time to go,” Dondero said at the time. “For two very important reasons — it’s going to be better for the department because now they’re hiring three people, which is really good because that means the department will take a huge step forward.
“Devin was a respected member of our school community and was especially beloved by his music students,” said Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak. “Although his diagnosis is devastating, I’m hoping this event can ease some of the fnancial stress that he and his famiy are feeling.”
Rowe is one of those younger people, taking Dondero’s position at W-H.
“To see a guy go through something like this and battle with cancer again,” Rowe said.
Dondero had faced cancer once before and beat it.
He said the school community learned of Dondero’s illness a couple weeks ago, noting his students felt the full brunt of the sad news when they returned to school after their weekend.
“Definitely the morale of the band room was low,” Rowe said, noting he and new choir director Gregory Daigle along with the parents’ organization, W-H Friends of Music, the idea for the benefit evening was developed.
Rowe described the event as an evening of raffles, art and music.
Baskets made from items donate by local businesses and organizations will be raffled as well as student artwork from design classes. Culinary students are creating refreshments to serve and sell, as well, and music students will be performing.
“Anybody can take part,” Rowe said. “It’s a raffle-oriented occasion and we are also providing a live QR code we’ll be sending out to parents and the community that they can donate virtually through, in case they are unable to attend.”
The event will be taped for rebroadcast over WHCA-TV and, Rowe hoped it could be livestreamed on whca.tv.
‘We’ll be having a great night of music, art and food that will [honor] a guy who worked so hard to bring fine arts to the community,” Rowe said. “The students who are performing today and are giving their time, are really a product of his hard work and his dedication to the community. This is really a great testament to him for what he’s brought to us and we’re hopefully going to make a sizeable dent in some of his medical costs – to keep him happy, keep him healthy for as long as we possibly can.”
Hanson petition seeks road acceptance
HANSON – The Select Board voted at its Tuesday, Feb. 21 meeting, to accept a citizen’s petition to lay out three private ways as town roads and to refer to it the Planning Board as part of the process of obtaining a Town Meeting vote.
The petition involves Alden Way, Gray Lane and Stringer Lane.
“Those three roads right now in the neighborhood are private roads,” Town Administrator Lisa Green said. “We have received a citizen’s petition for the town to accept these as public ways.”
Citizens petitions go before Town Meeting for a vote, but there is a legal process that must be followed, including that the Select Board vote its intention to lay out the roadways as public.
“Regardless of what you vote here tonight, because it’s a citizen’s petition, it still goes on the [Town Meeting] warrant,” she said. “Depending on your vote here tonight … during Town Meeting, when the citizen’s petition comes up, town counsel will speak regarding the status of the petition.”
Environmental Partners has conducted a study of the roadway conditions including drainage, and what it would cost the town to make improvements to drainage.
Town Highway Director Jamison Shave has also provided a letter outlining costs should the town accept some of the town’s private ways as public, based on a visual assessment. There will also be legal costs involved because of deed work required.
Once the Select Board votes to accept, the petition goes to the Planning Board to begin their process.
“Once that process takes place, the next process would be Town Meeting,” Green said, followed by counsel establishing easements and deeds, if necessary.
“Obviously cost is a factor,” Select Board Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said.
“It’s hard to estimate those costs because it’s going to be based on easements, possibly acquired land, things like that,” Green said. “If necessary, we may have to have surveyors go out there just to make sure the property lines are correct, to establish the frontage on each of the roads.”
Green summarized that the three roads could represent “considerable costs,” noting that the recent taking of the Sleeper property cost the town more than $13,000 in legal fees.
“I do want to remind you that the Sleeper property is not the ‘poster child’ for costs,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “We had people who had died [and] we had to research their heirs.”
Green said that would represent a “worst-case scenario” to provide an idea of what the town could face.
“We don’t know what we’ll face when we look at titles,” she said.
She asked Green to seek out an estimate from town counsel.
The entire process must be completed 45 days before Town Meeting
Vice Chair Joe Weeks asked why all of that must be completed before Town Meeting.
FitzGerald-Kemmett said town counsel would argue the town had not legally followed the process for road acceptance, regardless of whether or not it is spurred by a citizen’s petition.
“You can’t circumvent what the regulations are for going from private to public [roads],” she said. “Town Meeting is going to ultimately decide, that’s how it should be. We just offer up what we think is in the best interests of the town.”
Planner Tony DeFrias said the process, is required by law and is strictly outlined.
“These aren’t formalities, but they must be followed strictly, and there’s even a court case regarding it,” he said.
Selectmen, in deciding to support the citizen’s petition must submit it to the Planning Board, which has 45 days to review it and any documents pertaining to it. They must make some kind of recommendation back to the Select Board, who would then have another meeting to move it on to Town Meeting. Within 120 days of closing the meeting, the town has to work toward getting easements, any road or easements required.
“Where I can get expensive long-term easements or second mortgages,” DeFrias said it could mean extra steps at the bank, but that must go through attorneys, but once it is accepted as a private way it gets priority for maintenance over other unaccepted roads and attains town funding for maintenance need, becoming eligible for state Chapter 90 funds.
Shave has determined the road is in “pretty good shape.”
Busing costs eyed for W-H district communities
The wheels on the bus may go round and round, but budget dollars are needed to grease the wheels, and the question school district and town officials are grappling with is where those dollars will come from and how they will be spent.
The School Committee, discussed transportation costs, school start times and the effect changes might have on the budget during its on Wednesday, Feb. 15 meeting. No decisions have made on the issue yet, as the governor’s budget is not expected until March 1. Incoming governors receive extra time in which to compile their inaugural spending plan.
School Committee Chair Christopher Howard noted at the Wednesday, Feb. 15 meeting, that the conversation was a continuance of summer discussions and Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak’s goals for the year, as they heard a presentation on how both issues effect the district budget.
“Tonight is all about trying to share a little bit of a plan, or a potential plan for how the district looks at transportation, which would include start times, as well as how we transport both mandated and non-mandated students,” Howard said.
He explained he had received several emails concerning a vote on school start times that evening, which did not take place, but stressed it had never been included on the meeting’s agenda.
“That may happen,” he said, explaining committee members could always make a motion during the meeting. “But it’s a transportation update in the superintendent’s presentation.”
Committee member Dawn Byers argued the emails could have been a reaction to a previous budget presentation centering on three transportation and start times scenarios the committee might consider.
Szymaniak said some numbers included in the original presentation and discussion about start times had been incorrect.
“We have adjusted those in the budget package we’ll be talking about later,” he said. “This is, by no means, the be-all-end-all.”
The presentation inclusion of language from regional agreements (1991 and 2018); School Committee transportation policies; MGL CH. 72 S.7A; current transportation procedures; inconsistencies in the procedures; options and recommendations and how start times effect transportation.
“We are under the ’91 agreement, but I think it’s important that I clarify what was in the 2018 agreement that we voted and has been taken back in being passed over in Whitman,” Szymaniak said.
The 1991 text of the Regional Agreement requires the district to provide student transportation with the cost apportioned to Whitman and Hanson as an operating cost, with the committee determining each year whether the district will fund non-mandated busing. In 2018, the agreement was revised to define which students come under non-mandated busing, requiring the School Committee to subtract transportation reimbursement from cost to the district, with the remaining cost apportioned to the towns based on student population.
He said if the Committee makes any changes moving forward in this fiscal year, it would have to change policies governing bus scheduling and routing, walkers and riders, the school bus safety program and student conduct on buses.
Among the inconsistencies in busing policies, all Hanson students qualify for a bus ride to school, but Whitman students do not; Whitman’s school route maps are outdated; Non-mandated bus zones differ from state guidelines and Whitman uses crossing guards but Hanson does not.
Options to consider include busing all kindergarten students; discontinue busing all students living within 1.5 miles of a school, regardless of grade level; allow Hanson to continue its current busing all students policy; allow Whitman to bus students according to the state guidelines of between .75 and 1.5 miles of a school; change the walking distance to agree with the state guidelines; and busing all students living within 1.5 miles from a school.
“If we bus all kids, Whitman numbers go up $28,000 and Hanson numbers are actually reduced [at about $46,000],” Szymaniak said. “These are different numbers, but I think it’s clearer and it buses all our kids and we don’t have to worry about “routed” roads, we don’t have to worry about sex offenders, we don’t have to worry about using crossing guards
Szymaniak’s recommendations were to bus all kids.
The district is currently budgeted to spend $1,671,748.24 on mandated busing and $264,041.76 for non-mandated busing. The split between the two towns for mandated busing is 60.6 percent – or $1,013,246.61 – for Whitman and 39.9 percent – or $658,506.63 for Hanson. The cost for non-mandated busing is divided by town as Whitman paying $211,270.41 and Hanson contributing $52,671.35.
Reducing the non-mandated radius for busing to a half-mile or less radius from a school would mean only 94 students in the entire district would be affected, Szymaniak said. The total cost for Whitman would be an additional $7,593.07 over fiscal 2023. For Hanson’s nine students the added cost would be $964.42.
That number increases to about 935 students if the radius is expanded to 1.5 miles, which would mean an additional $221,268 for Whitman and $45,447 for Hanson.
“That’s almost a break-even of where we’re at for total non-mandated busing for this year,” he said.
The number of kindergarten students is unavailable right now. He argued that towns would be “financially OK.”
“It’s not a huge increase,” he said. “It’s much better than what we used to send the towns when we did the per-pupil piece. This is all based on mileage and it works out for our district costs.”
Committee member Fred Small asked what the cost difference would be to bus all Whitman students.
“It seems like it would be negligible,” he said.
“It would be,” Szymaniak said. The estimate is that would cost $17,000 more then the $211,000 it is anticipated to cost Whitman for the proposal.
“To me, it’s a win-win if the town can save money and we can provide transportation [to all our students],” Small said.
Committee member Dawn Byers asked for clarification between the two busing scenarios for Whitman.
Szymaniak said the difference was between grade levels included in the options and whether the non-mandated busing limit is a half-mile from a school or all students are bused.
“My recommendation is we bus all kids,” Szymaniak said.
She also indicated a precise number of buses and ridership that are included in the $1.769 million to First Student would clarify that no buses are being added.
The division of cost within the Regional Agreement surrounding mandated busing also concerned her.
“Whitman is paying a substantially large cost of this transportation when we only have 43 percent of the riders,” she said comparing that with a traditional 60/40 split based on population or 43 percent of Whitman students actually riding the bus compared to 57 percent in Hanson.
Member Glen DiGravio asked if the aim of no walkers in Hanson applies to his son who is “right down the street” from the school he will attend next year.
“He can walk if he wants,” he said. “I see walkers all the time.”
“He can choose,” Szymaniak said, noting that the numbers include eligible riders.
“I’m trying to understand,” member Michelle Bourgelas said. “If we’re trying to get everyone to ride the bus, how are we not needing more buses?”
Szymaniak said the district has never told towns how to fund it by a percentage split between towns, instead using a per pupil basis, based on mileage.
“Whitman has always taken ownership of their [non-mandated] students, and Hanson has always taken care of theirs,” he said. “The Regional Agreement Subcommittee is talking about that busing language and is bringing it back to their boards.”
Whitman Select Board member Shawn Kain, who is also a teacher and parent, said he wants to see more students walking and fewer on the bus because it is healthy exercise and well as money-saving to walk – and exercise also helps social-emotional interaction between kids.
A parent who had attended a previous School Committee meeting because of the length of bus rides in Hanson and that effect on student’s behavior, said she has already noticed an improvement on the bus ride. It has gone from about an hour to a half-hour.
“There are less issues,” she said. “My children are home quicker because there isn’t an issue with bus drivers knowing where they’re supposed to go.”
She also said there is more consistency of drivers on the route.
Hanson Select Board member urged all boards and committees to make decisions with an eye toward 10 or 15 years down the road, when they may not be serving anymore.
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