The building timers were shutting down the lights as the Whitman-Hanson Regional School Committee wound down a four-hour meeting Wednesday, Feb. 15 by voting to reject, by a 4-5 vote, a public documents request by School Committee member Dawn Byers.
Voting in favor were: Byers, David Forth, Fred Small and Steve Bois, Voting against were: Christopher Howard, Christopher Scriven, Hillary Kniffen, Glen DiGravio and Michelle Bourgelas. Member Beth Stafford had to leave the meeting early and did not cast a vote.
Byers had sought a salary line breakdown by position – not including names – building location and funding source for all staff in the district and supporting documentation in the FY24 budget.
“Everything that [Business Director John Stanbrook] gives you is uploaded the next day to the website,” Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak. “It will be attached to the budget.”
On Thursday, Feb. 16, Byers said she had received an acknowledgement “in the affirmative” of a previous public records request, which she made Feb. 8.
“No citizen needs to give reason why they’re submitting a public records request,” she said a few times during the meeting as well as after.
During the meeting, Byers read from a prepared statement that she had not asked for her name to be put on the agenda.
“The administration has the salary totals, and should provide the context behind how they arrived at those totals,” she said. “The budget policy itself gives a directive to provide a budget that is clear and understandable; Information retrieval in order to accomplish this is not a directive to the superintendent.
“My question is simply where the money is being spent in our budget,” Byers said, noting she had filed a FOIA request on Feb. 4. “The administration has the salary totals and should provide the context behind how they arrived at those totals.”
She explained that, in her accounting background, this is standard procedure, to reconcile totals with the detailed data. Byers said she has spoken with Jim Hardy at the Mass. Association of School Committees (MASC) about her request.
“Ironically, a member of this committee just unilaterally obstructed access to public record to ascertain my question was simply where the money was […] in our budget,” she said and sent another FOIA to the state.
Hardy, in fact described the action of putting Byers’ name on the agenda as “a bit harsh,” she said. “‘The information is public, it exists, and the district has to provide it,’” he informed her.
She said, as some committee members were observed rolling their eyes, that she was far from humiliated and would not stop advocating for educational equity and proper school finance. Byers said a similar request last year was complied with without question or hesitation and asked why things were different this year.
“We’ll go through the long version, then, if that’s what we want to do,” Howard said, adding that the budget subcommittee did not see the need, but was not entirely clear about the request and clarification was sought.
“We were really trying to understand how [the Hanover budget example] would help us,” he said, adding that Szymaniak explained Business Manager John Stanbrook was “very tight on time” and that it might be necessary to have a working group look at equity.
Howard, also reading from a prepared statement, said his understanding was that Byers had called Szymaniak to ask for the same information, after the budget subcommittee had discussed it for a second time, suggesting that if he did not provide it, she would make a FOIA request.
They decided it made sense to bring the matter to the full committee and not to do anything at the time.
Howard had consulted school counsel about the manner in which the email alleging obstruction made a public records request and was told that was not the proper way to do it.
“I encouraged her, as any other citizen, to make a public records request,” he said, adding counsel had advised that the will of the committee should direct the administration’s efforts.
Budget Subcommittee Chair Forth offered his perspective, saying that Byers’ January request was mentioned by the superintendent without specifying a name, as they discussed the line items and how they might be broken apart and presented as well as how it would work for transparency, optics and use of Stanbrook’s available time.
“I wanted to get more information and try to understand that committee member’s perspective more,” Forth said. “I did not ask the superintendent or Howard who that School Committee member was, because in February 2021, Ms. Byers had made a similar recommendation when the former chairman was in charge and wanted more transparency between line items.”
He asked Byers after the recent joint budget meeting with selectmen and finance committees if she was the one making the request and requesting her to email the example so the subcommittee could review and discuss it.
Forth said he didn’t think the subcommittee could make the decision to provide the information, based in part on the time constraints facing Stanbrook and recommended it be discussed at the School Committee level and decide whether it is something that could be implemented this year, or would have to wait until next year.
Kniffen, while saying she did not believe the request was “malintended at all,” said it could place teacher salaries in public view where tenured teacher salaries are higher and expressed concern about why the information was sought and how it might be used.
Howard said there have been other requests for information left to the will of the committee.
The information Byers is seeking is aimed at determining which teacher salaries might be shifted to ESSER funds in the budget.
While Hanson prints teacher salaries in its annual report, Whitman does not.
DiGravio said he understands the idea of having the line items available to provide data for a better decision.
“I don’t see any benefit in having [teachers’] names,” he said. “Is there any way that their names helps us make a better decision?”
Byers thanked him for the point and noted the Hanover example from her first request does not provide a single staff name.
Bourgelas asked how Byers was able to obtain the same information so easily last year, including names and asked why there was a procedural change. Howard said he wasn’t certain and wondered why it went before the Budget Subcommittee twice.
He said he felt very confident that if the same people were on the Budget Subcommittee last year, they would have handled it the exact same way.
Forth also said any questions about a disparity in salaries between tenured and newer teachers could be explained by the recent cuts in positions to balance the budget.
“It’s not a matter of teachers being overpaid, but they’ve been here for X-amount of years and the teachers who aren’t get pink-slipped, so I think that’s context, too, when you’re looking at the grand scheme of things,” he said.
Szymaniak’s said he did not recall what was different this year from Byers’ request last year.
“I get a lot of requests for a lot of information,” he said. “I do the best that I can to accommodate all 10 folks on the committee. I don’t remember that last year.”
Byers said it was not Szymaniak she dealt with last year, it had been Stanbrook.
He is also concerned about the culture surrounding the budget process.
“My staff is fragile right now, and folks are talking about salaries,” Szymaniak said, noting every document that goes out is placed on the web site. “I’m a little protective of my people.”
He said the Budget Subcommittee is also new this year and he wants all information requests to funnel through there.
Whitman Finance Committee liaison Kathleen Ottina said she was one of the sources of Szymaniak’s frequent requests and thanked him for his response to her questions.
“It’s not to be snoopy, it’s to be able to answer the questions that people have,” she said. “You have a lot of major line item shifts that you’ve never had before – ESSER I, II, III, a lot of grants – a lot of moves taking place.”
She said she would advocate for the school budget, but needs information.
Kevin Kafka questioned the intent of the request.
“If you go in a data direction … then it becomes analytical, it becomes evaluative,” he said. “I just think we need to stay away from that.”
Kniffen said some teachers – such as gym teachers – are the only ones at a school.
“You don’t have to put out their names, people are going to find out,” she said. “Being a teacher right now is pretty miserable. We talked about morale last week, The public is always looking for something negative. … When we’re trying to get support for a budget, that’s not going to help at all.”
Byers had also objected to being listed on the agenda by name (simply as “Requests by Ms. Byers” with no other explanation).
“We’re at a little bit of an impasse on this one, so I didn’t want it to get in the way of the committee,” Chair Christopher Howard said, explaining that Byers had brought a concept of providing a line-item detail of every district employee’s salary to the Budget Committee a couple of times.
“I’m now putting this at, ‘What is the purview of the committee because I think we need to make clear if we’e going to create something or do something that’s going to take some time and effort.”
He did, however, defended Byers’ reaction to being specifically named on the agenda.
“I can recall two years ago where I felt unfairly targeted and harassed at times by the former chairman, who would put me on agenda items and executive sessions,” he said. “I feel like also today, in particular … more animosity in the room and I’ve seen a couple remarks I consider condescending to Ms. Byers. I don’t think that’s appropriate and anything we should be doing. We should be respectful as committee members.”
He said Byers had made a valid request.
Planning vote on new WMS
WHITMAN — The Select Board on Tuesday, Feb. 21 discussed the timing of a special Town Election in which to vote on a proposed new Whitman Middle School, as is required by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA).
Chair Randy LaMattina provided an update on the Whitman Middle School project, forecast to cost about $127.5 million for a grade five through eight school with an auditorium. The town’s portion is estimated in the range of $67.1 million to $73.1 million, depending on the MSBA reimbursement.
A website is being set up by the owner’s project manager, dedicated to straight information, with a lot of the documents presented at the Building Committee meetings posted to it, LaMattina said. The board voted to permit IT Director Josh MacNeil to link that site to the town’s website. MacNeil and Finance Committee member Kathleen Ottina have also been added to the Building Committee.
MSBA is looking to the town to hold a special Town Meeting that would later go to a ballot initiative on the project in November 2023, LaMattina said.
“What was discovered was there was no funding source within the feasibility study for [the special election],” he said. “We need to make arrangements to have that placed in the Town Clerk’s budget line.”
LaMattina said he discussed with the Building Committee that November Town Meetings and special elections are not really the norm.
Former Town Administrator Frank Lynam said the town has about $23,000 on hand in voter reimbursement from the state, which could certainly be a source from which to pay for a meeting and election. It would not require further appropriation.
“Is there a time frame in November they’re looking at?” Select Board member Justin Evans asked, noting that since there is a presidential primary in March anyway, it might make more sense to hold a special election at that time, since that is a high-voter turnout canvass.
“How specific are the MSBA guidelines?” Evans asked.
“What we have is, ‘Any time in November,’” LaMattina said.
“We will have an election already, being held in Town Hall which will probably have a higher turnout,” Evans said. “It makes sense to me to run a second ballot alongside the primary ballot, so every voter comes and grabs two and casts a yes or no on a new middle school.”
Evans said he wasn’t certain how a March 2024 ballot question would impact the school timeline.
LaMattina said he would send the appropriate emails to explore that option.
In other business, Whitman needs to use all of its renewable revenue, School Committee member Dawn Byers said during the public forum, prepared remarks about the town’s levy capacity.
“We are not doing that right now, from what I see,” she said “When you, the Board of Selectmen vote to set the tax rate and the tax levy in the fall, if you do so, and it is not at the full 2.5 percent as permitted by Mass. General Law, then the difference is called the excess levy capacity,” she said.
She recalled that she had stood at the podium in March 2019 to ask questions about a revenue problem, when residents were told that the town faced, when in fact, it was related to the tax levy revenue collections. Byers pointed to an excess levy of about $350,000 available and former Town Administrator Frank Lynam made corrections and was able to collect it.
“We see this online in the Department of Revenue Certified Data,” she said. The Madden report also referenced the correction done in 2020, Byers noted. “This is one more indication of Whitman’s need to use all of its available renewable revenue to balance its budget and other obligations.”
She also recounted how the Select Board approved a tax levy with only $10,000 remaining, and in 2022, that amount was $18,000. “[That’s] a major improvement, however it doesn’t erase the collection deficit from prior years totaling more than $4 million in tax revenue not collected,” she said. “Something looks off this year, as well. The excess is up to $278,000.”
Board Vice Chair Dan Salvucci reminded Byers that the board routinely votes for a property tax factor of one, meaning businesses and homeowners pay the same tax rate as recommended by the Board of Assessors.
Lynam explained that the excess levy is established when the assessor prepares the tax status for the town with the recap sheet used to calculate an estimated levy.
“The actual levy is not calculated until they receive all the certified values from Patriot and they complete all of the reviews in their office to enter into the DOR gateway system,” he said.
The DOR calculates the numbers for us. At the time this year’s special Town Meeting convened, the town didn’t know what the levy was. Two weeks before the tax classification hearing the town was reported to be $268,000 over the levy limit.
“We have no control over what is calculated until it’s presented to this board,” Lynam said, adding that there are methods that can be used to capture that additional levy. Typically towns will underestimate revenues in an effort to increase the amount of the levy to back into the total number. “But in this particular instance, we didn’t know what that number was,” he said. “I’d love to be able to capture it, but I’d have to have the tools to do it.”
LaMattina said Byers had mentioned the issue before and asked Lynam to explain 2013 again – the year National Grid caused a ballooning of its personal property taxes.
Lynam said the town had been struggling to come up with numbers then, too, while dealing with a payment on the police station inside the levy. When he plans a budget, he said he asks the assessor for estimates of growth and numbers for the increase in the levy on Proposition 2 ½.
“In 2013, we were told our growth was … $240,000,” he said. “No matter how we looked at it, those were the numbers we had. We didn’t see the $1.1 million until the night of the classification hearing. … I was really taken aback by that number. It was a huge number. We were actually stunned.”
The funds were all in utilities, which changed last year, which used to send a letter to the town stating increases in assets and personal property. That became the basis for the tax, according to Lynam. The letters, date-stamped in January, were never presented to the town through the entire budget cycle.
“We had no idea that kind of growth was out there,” he said. “We didn’t know about that until it was too late to do anything with it.”
It was personal property growth that best estimates showed it would be gone in six to eight years, but it increases real estate assessments increase to maintain the levy when the personal property values drop.
“There’s no vote by anyone, there’s no action by anyone, it’s just a consequence of balances,” he said. “There’s no provision for reducing your assessments unless all of the numbers drop in value. It was an unfortunate situation. It was crazy, actually.”
Select Board member Shawn Kain said he would be looking into the issue and said he appreciated her willingness to ask hard questions.
To help the town recoup needed revenue, Byers has also suggested the town consider increasing the lease on the Self Help Inc.-operated Head Start program building opposite Whitman Park at 168 Whitman Ave.
Self Help is a nonprofit agency operated out of Brockton that also manages a fuel assistance program among others.
She noted the property could be valued at potentially $1 million.
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fantastic program,” Byers said. “It’s one of six locations in southeastern Mass., licenced by DEEC and supports low-income families throughout the year. You will not find a greater supporter of early childhood education than myself – I’ve gone on record about that.” But, she said, her concern is not about the programs provided by Self Help to the community, but whether the town can afford to “give away a building for free.”
Byers said the building is a valuable revenue stream the town may be letting slip away while telling taxpayers the town can’t afford other areas of a budget.
Burst pipes worse than thought
HANSON – Sometimes the damage you can’t see is worse than that you can see.
The Hanson Multi-Service Senior Center has found that to be the case after pipes frozen during this month’s polar cold snap resulted in a flooded floor when those pipes burst.
Director Mary Collins had planned on some repairs, covered by the town’s insurance and the ability to use the rest of the facility because the rest room was still useable, would mean no interruption of services to the elder population.
Then came some bad news – followed by some good news – that changed Collins’ plans.
The bad news: “We’re on the road,” Collins said last week. “We had some damage done by water as a result of a pipe that burst during our last cold spell.”
The good news: That road is leading to Camp Kiwanee’s Needles Lodge, which had been offered to the center initially. Programs will begin at Kiwanee on Monday, Feb. 27.
“We’re incredibly grateful to Dori Jamieson, who is the administrative assistant as well as the Camp Kiwanee Commission, for reaching out and offering the facility” she said, also extending thanks to Select Board members, Town Administrator Lisa Green, and the police and fire departments for their assistance.
“They have been instrumental in staying on top of it,” Collins said. Facilities Director Charlie Baker and Senior Center custodian Mal Hession reported the burst pipes at 5:30 a.m., Monday, Feb. 6 to her and turned off the water to prevent further damage. Security cameras showed the pipes had burst at about 6:30 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 5.
“Because he was so quick about the phone call, I was able to reach out to Charlie Baker and he, in turn, called the plumber,” she said. “When I arrived that morning, the plumber was already here.”
She also said local Inspector Kerry Glass has also been incredibly helpful.
“To me, it’s a testament to how our departments work so well together,” she said. “The library has been incredibly supportive of us in general, because they know how much everything that we do here means to us.”
Collins had been initially concerned about damage to the walls that she could see.
“But then, there was a lot of other things that we couldn’t see,” she said.
Hanson’s insurance carrier, MIIA came quickly to assess the damage by a claims adjuster, who, in turn had a remediation team travel to the center to conduct tests.
“That’s when we realized how widespread it was,” she said.
Water damage will require complete replacement of some walls, while others only sustained damage as high as a few feet up from the floor.
“They speculate that it will be about a two and a half week period that we will be at Camp Kiwanee,” she said. “Plans are in place with Camp Kiwanee as well as our IT Director Steve Moberg, He’s been on top of it and has made arrangements for phones and our computers, so we don’t anticipate any stoppage of services that we can provide.”
All regularly-scheduled services and programs will continue as usual.
The library has also had to make decisions about certain activities that used the Senior Center on weekends, Collins said.
An animal program that had been planned for the Senior Center on Feb. 24 had to be moved to the smaller library Community Room.
“It may be a tight squeeze for them, so that’s where the concern is,” she said. “This has impacted everyone, but – again – we will be available by phone. We are going to continue to provide our services Medicare applications, you need to discuss fuel assistance, we’re there.”
Meals on Wheels will be delivered to Kiwanee for preparation and packaging for volunteer drivers to distribute from there. Pre-packaged meals have been ordered for the Tuesday and Wednesday congregate lunches, held at Kiwanee.
There is handicapped parking available, and assistance will be available and visible, Collins said.
The company contracted by MIIA to do the repair work will come in and do the required demolition of damaged area, removal of debris and the rebuild, starting Friday, Feb. 24, when they will start identifying what needs to be moved into a storage pod.
Hanson begins WHCA contract talks
HANSON – People may complain about their cable bill, but they seem to value the services of the local cable access channels – especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, when people felt isolated during the health restrictions on public gatherings.
The Hanson Select Board held a public hearing with Comcast Communications LLC of Massachusetts during its Tuesday, Feb. 7 meeting regarding renewal of the Whitman Hanson Community Access contract with the town of Hanson.
Select Board member Ann Rein was unable to attend the meeting.The process aims to identify the future cable-related community needs and interest in reviewing the contract under the current provider. The current 10-year contract expires June 1, 2025.
“It’s required to start this renewal process well in advance because of all the formalities that need to take place,” Town Administrator Lisa Green said. Attorney William Sullivan, who represents the town in the renewal process took part in the hearing to go over the specifications.
“Never has community television and the assistance they have provided to both towns – Whitman and Hanson – and the Commonwealth … has it been recognized as such an essential part of the community,” he said of the cable access company’s service during the COVID pandemic. “Those were [among] the essential workers who allowed democracy and government to continue.”
Without it, for several months, local government would have ceased.
Cable access has continued to see public access coverage of government activities make up more of their schedule.
“If you show me a community that has strong local television, I’ll show you a town that works together toward democracy as its goals,” Sullivan said.
He has worked with Hanson during the two previous renewal processes and said his role is to determine how the federal cable law incentivizes both sides to figure out what’s important for the town to negotiate a license.
Comcast began as a small local company whose employees “understand localism,” according to Sullivan.
WHCA-TV executive director Eric Dresser made a presentation on the history of the access channel’s service to the town. He has been with WHCA since 2017. Hanson had 2,292 subscribers out of 10,639 residents as of 2021, and Whitman had 2,160 subscribers out of 15,121 residents in that same year.
Established in 2002, WHCA has gained a production truck for live TV programming, outfitted auditoriums for town meeting broadcasts and moved to tapeless production during that time.
Hanson Veterans’ Agent Timothy White said WHCA provided the ability for him to honor the community’s fallen when public health restrictions on the number of people allowed to gather in public during COVID threatened the event in 2020.
“It was a very difficult situation,” he said. “We really didn’t have clear or set guidelines on what to do, we didn’t have a parade. … The ability to project [that year’s program] and send that out to the community was huge … WHCA was a great partner on that day and every day.”
Indian Head Elementary Principal Dr. Joel Jocelyn said he has also had a very beneficial and constructive partnership with WHCA, which has taped events at the school so the community can see what type of programs are offered.
“But, even more than that, it’s valuable in enhancing the leadership skills of some of our students,” he said, noting the fourth-grade student council members have been able to learn about for their own video work. “You can’t put a price on something like this.”
Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak told the Select Board that the 10 members of the School Committee, representing both towns, unanimously endorsed WHCA.
“Being a [school administrator], I live in a world of Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook, and I think ‘old reliable’ is TV,” he said. “It’s a real medium for us to get our message out. … They’re professional. They’re always unbiased in how they approach things and they’re always available.”
Carlos Caldas of 87 Waltham St., asked if the town has a cable committee, which Select Board Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said the town does not have, and what has Comcast offered. FitzGerald-Kemmett said the negotiation process had not yet reached that point.
Caldas said he should like to serve on any Cable Committee the town might establish and has undergone the ethics training.
FitzGerald-Kemmett said it might be a good time to establish a subcommittee for the negotiations, but Select Board Vice Chair Joe Weeks said the board had dissolved the committee last year, when Caldas was the only active member.
“I think that was an opportunity for us to, before we talk of removing things, figuring out how to utilize talent appropriately, and we never circled back to it,”: Weeks said. “To me, it makes sense that, if we have people who are willing to help out in some way, if we already had a foundation that existed … maybe it’s worthwhile to come back to it.”
FitzGerald-Kemmett said at the time people expressing an interest in applying, thought they were actually applying to the W-H Cable Access board,” she said, asking Sullivan what he saw in other communities.
He said there are varying degrees of acitivity with cable committees around the state.
“There are a lot of things a committee could do,.” he said. “The best committees are those that stay together in some way [during] the 10-year period.”
The Select Board will discuss reviving the Cable Committee at the board’s next meeting on Tuesday, Feb.21.
Whether or not that committee is re-establish, Select Board member Jim Hickey recommended getting Caldas to advise the board on what would be best for the town. The Select Board agreed to that.
Historical Commission member Teresa Santalucia also voiced support for WHCA for its help with an interview project recording the memories of Hanson residents as part of the town’s 200th anniversary project.
WHCA has also covered her family’s Red Acres Christmas Sing event for several years.
“You’re finding in the aftermath of COVID that people are feeling disconnected and isolated, and sometimes that connectivity, even if it’s just through cable, watching an event or meeting, does help people feel a little bit more connected,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.
Green also expressed support for WHCA, in her role as a private citizen who hosts a Halloween car show to benefit Dollars for Scholars.
“It’s a great way to see … what went on in their neighborhood and community,” she said.
FitzGerald-Kemmett said WHCA’s broadcasting of events and meetings in both towns helps inform Hanson residents about their partner town in the regional school district, as well.
Dresser said WHCA serves more than 200 nonprofit groups, 43 departments and committees – broadcasting 412 government meetings since 2018. They have covered 82 events at the schools over the past 10 years, as well as 1,400 unique programs produced by their staff.
WHCA also devoted time and resources for extensive information about the pandemic and coverage of events during COVID.
“We remain ready to stay dynamic and ready to pivot for whatever might come in the future, and with sufficient resources … we stand ready to continue to proudly fulfil our mission statement,” he said.
More information, as well as opportunities to comment are still available on the WHCA website, whca.tv.
Whitman eyes building needs
WHITMAN – Facilities Manager Todd DeCouto asked the Select Board on Tuesday, Feb. 7 to consider hiring an additional full-time maintenance person for town buildings, as he described an stutter-step approach to the maintenance work in town during the years he has worked there while other town departments are experiencing custodial and maintenance needs as well.
“I can talk about how maintenance has started to warp since I started about 15 years ago to where we are today,” DeCouto said. “It’s been a big change.
His responsibilities when he began working for the town were to maintain Town Hall, including cleaning and snow removal. At that time, there were also part-time maintenance workers at the library, Police Station and the Council on Aging. After three years, those positions were eliminated, and the work combined under DeCouto’s job description.
A full-time maintenance person was hired about three years after that, which made his job a lot easier, he said, even as he still had responsibilities for some work in the other buildings.
“Then that dissolved and I went back to taking care of all the buildings,” he said.
An outside company was then hired for a couple of years, DeCouto outlined, as he remained the contact point for department heads.
“That dissolved, and then it fell on me, again,” he said about another three-year period during which he averaged about 60 hours per week, aided by a part-time associate on the weekends who helped with snow removal.
“Now, with the position that I’m in, the part-time maintenance associate went into the full-time union, but it’s a lot of buildings to cover for one person,” DeCouto said.
While the Police Department still has an outside company come in three days per week for the building that takes a minimum of 30 hours a week to clean and maintain, DeCouto said his job is still difficult.
“It’s definitely not a want, it’s an absolute need,” he said of his request for another worker. “I know money’s tight, but it’s definitely something we do need.”
He said a full-time hire at-will person could fill the need, as well, doing custodial work at the library – which is a 20-to 25-hour job – and the Senior Center is another 10- to 15-hour job.
“To be truthful with you, we probably need a full-time and another part-time, but, I know that’s not going to happen,” DeCouto said.
Vice Chair Dan Salvucci asked if there was anything in the library, police or senior center budgets from which funds could be used to fill the positions.
“If the Police Station is hiring outside, and we eliminate that and hire somebody for the town that would take care of the Police Station … does one offset the other?” he said. “I’m just asking.”
Police Chief Timothy Hanlon said part of the issue is control.
When they’ve needed DeCouto he’s been able to come in, but some of the outside vendors the department has used were also doing work at the DPW, Council on Aging, Library [and] no one was certain where they were or what they were doing, Hanlon said.
“When they came in a bare minimum and showed up, we were kind of thankful,” Hanlon said. After the pandemic the department determined they needed someone on a more permanent basis, which is what we did, and they’re working out fantastically, so I don’t want to change that as far as custodial service goes.”
Maintenance, on the other hand, is lacking, he said, saying that as the 11-year-old building ages, more maintenance needs will crop up. DeCouto said the station’s backup cooling system has failed a couple of times and needs to be replaced and the HVAC control systems need to be upgraded.
The town is barely keeping up with the needs of the library, Town Hall and senior center to “give them the attention they need – that they deserve.” DeCouto said.
Select Board member Justin Evans asked if the department’s outside cleaning service was CARES Act or ARPA-funded or built-in to the budget. Hanlon said the funds were built-in.
Fire Chief Timothy Clancy said his department has been “single-handedly” keeping DeCouto busy during that week, as well as ongoing projects.
“The problem becomes, he’s only one person,” Clancy said. “I think Todd will agree, I can probably keep [him] busy 40-plus hours a week, just at my station.”
Chair Randy LaMattina asked DeCouto to put together a job description and salary ranges so the board could further discuss it at the next meeting. He said the market is tough for finding someone qualified to perform the maintenance work the town needs.
Interim Town Administrator Frank Lynam said the reality of the situation is that this is not a year to add [personnel].
“I can’t remember the last year that was a year to add,” he said. “But we’ll address the needs as best we can.”
“I just want to put it on the radar,” DeCouto said.
In other business, the board reached a consensus against supporting a request to place vending machines at Memorial Field to be used by teams that play there.
Lynam said he had some minor concerns centering on the installation of power and the potential for vandalism, which has been seen there from time to time. He reached out to DPW Parks and Highways Superintendent Bruce Martin for his opinion and he had similar concerns as well as the potential for empties being left strewn on the ground.
“I’m just not too sure it’s worth taking that step,” he said, noting most kids today bring their own reusable bottles of beverages to drink such as water or Gatoraid. “My observation is, it’s a solution looking for a problem. I rarely see kids unprepared for a couple hours of baseball.”
LaMattina said his concern was that the request was coming from a private vendor instead of one that would roll over funds into a town league. Lynam said his understanding was it would do that.
“It seems like a highly motivated guy who’s willing to do a lot of work to make something like this happen,” Select Board member Shawn Kain said. He said, while it doesn’t seem like exactly the right fit, with the right connection with an organization like WSBA, a solution could be reached.
Lynam said he has seen a lack of respect for facilities at Whitman Park.
“It’s sad,” he said. “I’m not adamantly opposed to it, I’m just not sure it’s a good idea.”
Hanlon said town security cameras can provide a limited view of the area.
Hanson reviews regional pact talks
HANSON – The Select Board discussed progress of the Regional Agreement revision, expressing support for a two-thirds vote for all measures before the School Committee.
Select Board member Jim Hickey reported on the Regional Agreement Subcommittee meetings he and Town Administrator Lisa Green attend, during the board’s meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 7.
“Last night, we just finished going over the “Big Seven, I would call them,” Hickey said of the main issues being discussed, at the meeting they attended on Feb. 6.
Those included, bus schedules, leasing and statutory assessment method, among others.
“Right now, it seems like a good round table of discussion,” he said, noting that what School Committee Chairman Christopher Howard is looking to do, is put together the language so he and Green could bring it back for the board to review.
“One of the major concerns is the number of School Committee members, where they have six and we have four,” Hickey said. “It’s been talked about to make all votes two-thirds [to pass].”
He said that he had stated at an earlier meeting that one problem is votes cast by way of how members thought their individual towns would want, instead of what is best for the district.
“I thought that was wrong,” he said.
Votes should be cast with an eye to what is best for the district and its students and faculty.
“That was my concept of the two-thirds vote,” Hickey said.
Select Board Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said she agreed with the two-thirds vote, asking what the downside could be for Whitman.
“It sounds like there’s some disagreement, but everybody’s being cordial,” she said.
“Oh, absolutely,” Hickey said. “It’s very cordial.”
“It’s very good dialog and conversation,” Green said. “Also, pointing out the areas that could lead to confusion, especially capital costs – what’s an emergency cost and making sure language in the agreement corresponds and is in agreement with language in leases.”
Select Board member Joe Weeks, who agreed with the two-thirds vote, asked if there had been any push-back, and Hickey replied that there had been.
“I’m hoping the Whitman Selectmen will kind of look at it again,” he said.
“I think if anybody put themselves in the place of the Hanson taxpayers, they could see that it was a difficult pill to swallow,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said asking what the downside would be for Whitman. “And we have swallowed it, but we’re just looking for an acknowledgment, … and a feeling as though the playing field is level.”
She said she strongly doubts School Committee members vote solely for the interest of their town, but added the two-thirds removes any doubt“I’m not going to be diplomatic about it, but mistakes have been made in the past … but we’re trying to fix [it], for people that take our places in the future” Hickey said, adding that includes frequent review of the agreement – perhaps as often as every three years.
MOVING ON UP:
Hanson Pack 34 held its Blue and Gold Ceremony Thursday, Feb. 2, during which 15 Cub Scouts crossed over and become Boy Scouts. Above, – Blake Miller received his Boy Scout epaulets At left, Brady Adams crosses over to Boy Scouts See more photos, page 6.
Courtesy photos, Craig Guido
WHRSD holds budget hearing
The W-H Regional School Committee held its public hearing and budget presentation on the fiscal 2024 budget on Wednesday, Feb. 1.
The current budget figure of $60,510,901.43 for fiscal 2024 represents a 3.45-percent increase over the final operating budget of $58,492,314 for the current fiscal ’23 budget.
“The budget I present today aligns with the district’s strategic plan, the School Committee goals and what we believe provides a quality education for the students of Whitman and Hanson,” Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szimaniak said. “What you will see tonight is a level-services budget.
But he is willing to move the financial needle, if the School Committee wants to do that.
Szymaniak said he has also included options for increasing services and “enhancing the educational opportunities” for students.
“This budget is different from the budget presentations in December and January, and I assume this is not the final iteration of the district budget,” he said.
Gov. Maura Healey’s state budget does not come out until March 1, as new governors are given extra time to assemble their first spending plan.
Szymaniak gave a Powerpoint presentation, answering questions from the committee and pubic attending.
The four points of the disctrict’s strategic plan are: ExSEL (Excellence in Social Emotional Learning), a Pre K-12 system of teaching and learning, safe and secure school environments and community engagement.
The School Committee’s focus areas are: Early college and Innovation Pathways, robust related arts curriculum in kindergarten to grade 12, improving school culture and climate ad an examination of school start times. The strategic plan initiatives included in the FY24 budget presentation are an adjustment to school start times, inclusion of a K-8 robotics and foreign language with implementation of Spanish in grade 8.
A presentation on transportation costs will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 15, but the cost of aligning elementary start times in one of three scenarios, could cost as much as $148,666.72 more than the proposed budget of $1,759,984.88. Excess and deficiency would be looked to in that case.
The deadline for sending the school budget to the towns is March 16, with a certification vote slated for March 15.
A major unanticipated cost to the budget is a 14-percent potential increase for private and public special education placements. Szymaniak said administration has recently learned there is a potential for two out-of-district placements to be moving into the district under the new budget year.
“It could be 14 percent,” he said, noting Business Manager John Stanbrook had included a 3-percent benchmark in the budget for the increase. “But, I’m also not confident that it’s going to be 14 percent, so this number of $650,000 is not in the budget.”
He pulled it out of the budget, where it was included in December and January, and has placed it as a separate line item that the School Committee will have to provide guidance in funding, using either excess and deficiency (he sees it as a one-time cost), or fiscal 2025 Circuit Breaker funds could be used.
Szymaniak is estimating that retirements planned across the district could save $313,937 in replacement costs at lower salaries. ESSER III funds used in the fiscal ’24 budget are $67,000 for BCBA (?), $125,000 for English as a second language teachers and $260,000 for interventionists as well as $300,000 for paraprofessionals. ESSER funds expire in fiscal 2025.
“The goal and objectives for FY 2525 will be to drill down, after three years of data collecting, [to learn] how well the interventionists worked in the district and if they’re a necessity moving forward , or how we could pare down that,” Szymaniak said. “I know that’s a big number, but it’s a number we’re going to be working on moving into this school year.”
Interventionists were hired to help students struggling after the isolation of remote instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic. The efficiency of paraprofessionals will also be studied.
State and federal student support guidelines also inform district programs.
For STEM and robotics trough grade eight, the options are to conduct if through library class at elementary schools with pre-constructed curricula of iRobot ($30,000) for K-2 and Robotifi ($25,000 online programs) for grades three to eight, and revamping middle school ccurriculm to create a solid foundation for high school instruction. The additional cost to move the district forward is $55,000.
Foreign language options are: an approach with independent student work augmented with part-time teachers for a cost of $98,400, or adding three Spanish teachers and two reading teachers between the two middle schools at a cost of $335,000 to add.
“I don’t know if we can hire three Spanish teachers in this current climate of teachers – they’re few and far between,” Szymaniak said. “I’m also looking at a potential building project in Whitman, moving between a grade alignment.”
He said he’d prefer phasing the language program in through an online presence, but noted that was a discussion for another time.
But W-H is no longer at the bottom of per-pupil spending in the state.
“We’re not at [the per-pupil spending level] of the area communities yet, and I don’t know if we’ll ever be … but it’s important that we are still behind,” Szymaniak said. “Most of our league-mates in our athletic league, and most of our colleagues on the South Shore [spend more].”
Committee member Fred Small said state officials are anticipating a revenue increase of 1.6 percent, rather than the larger percentages of recent years, and that projections should be cautious. “We’re talking about how much we’re going to get in reimbursement,” Small said. “But we’re also a year behind on reimbursements, but yet we’re factoring in those funds.”
Chair Christopher Howard said the Budget Committee had been discussing that issue.
“It’s not going to help us for this year, but it kind of speaks to the one-time offset,” he said.
Small said that if the Committee was sure a reimbursement was definitely coming back, then the special ed increase would be a proper use for one-time money.
“But it’s not in here, anywhere,” he said of the budget and presentation
Committee member Dawn Byers commented on Szymaniak’s assessment of teacher morale and it’s impact on the budget.
“I have a teaching staff whose morale is teetering,” he said. “Things are difficult in the classroom. Things are difficult with our students.”
Students are returning to school with socialization issues following the pandemic, acting differently. Parents are also different, while they have always been respectfully demanding, there has been an increase in the attitude that “I want an answer now,” he said.
“It’s not bad, it’s just different,” he said.
Szymaniak said he wanted to avoid presenting a budget that residents attending would feel there is no way they could succeed with, and have teachers fear layoffs.
“We pink-slipped 62 people while we were home during COVID, and I don’t want to do that again,” he said.
Byers said the new state Secretary of Education has already been speaking about the importance of working to stabilize, heal and transform.
“I feel that’s where we’re still at,” she said. “When you say staff is panicked about pink slips, I don’t think we’re at all near that, nor should we.”
She said the towns, having received the MARS report on funding formulas, officials know where they stand.
“We know that best practices for finances in municipalities is that they should take care of their largest budget first, and the schools are the largest budget,” she said. “Absolutely. They should be. It’s education. It’s the future. I can’t at all participate in any type of false narrative, if we get there, that the town’s can’t afford our education budget. It is important and we are nowhere near providing what our students and staff deserve.”
She asked Szymaniak if he had anything in writing pertaining to what is being done with the savings to the budget from teacher retirements.
“As I said before, the numbers I had in December were off,” he said. “Salary increases moved the budget needle to 5.5. That $300,00 went right into making sure this budget was around a 3.5 target [increase], pushing it forward.”
Small said the committee should try sending a Student Success Budget again.
“It’s not up to us to go over the town’s budget and try to tell the town, ‘You should cut this, you should cut that. You have too many police officers, you have too many firefighters.’ They have their budgets and they have what they’re doing for a reason,” he said. “We know there’s a guidance for us, at least in Whitman, and if we can live within a guidance … I would hope we can make a case for everything we want.”
Whitman, Carter reach TA contract
WHITMAN –As they welcomed a new town administrator – set to start work on Feb. 21 the Select Board heard a sobering update on the state of the town’s finances from Budget Subcommittee member Shawn Kain.
Former Treasurer/Collector Mary Beth Carter has accepted a contract proposal to become town administrator, interim Town Administrator Frank Lynam announced during the Tuesday, Feb. 7 Select Board meeting.
“I’m already loading up her email,” he joked. “While I’ll be happy to assist in the transition, I’m looking to that light at the end of the tunnel [so I] can go back home and do what I was doing when I was doing nothing.
Chair Randy LaMattina thanked Lynam on behalf of the board and the town for coming back.
“I think, for the transition, you’re going to make that as smooth as it possibly can be,” he said.
“I’m excited for the town,” “Lynam said. “We’re moving into a new era [with] a different focus and I have nothing but confidence in the board’s selection of Mary Beth Carter.”
Carter thanked the board, as well.
“I truly appreciate your confidence in me,” she said. “I have known many of you for several years, and a few of you for over 19 years. You know my work ethic – and it has not changed. I will work tirelessly as an agent of the Board of Selectmen to carry out mandates and policies set by you.”
She pledged to work collaboratively with department heads, boards and committees to assist in the preparation and final presentation of the budget for fiscal 2024.
“I am really looking forward to being back in Whitman,” she said.
Budget review
Kain began the meeting’s work with a report on the town budget status and the Budget Working Group’s progress, noting it would take a couple weeks to fully update Carter so she can give her feedback for future action.
“We’re looking at the excise tax and the trash [fees], and because we’re through January now and we have an indication of what the first commitments were,” Kain said, noting that 75 percent of excise taxes were collected in the first commitment in January. “We have a pretty good indication of where we’re at, and surprisingly, we’re doing really well.”
He thought there would be a dip in excise tax revenues, but so far collections are $140,000 over what was collected by this point last year, pointing to estimates on both excise taxes and trash fees moving in the right direction.
Expenditures are showing this year is a “bit of an anomaly” for contract steps and lanes because of recent negotiations, he said, particularly in the fire department where an unusually large number of firefighters reached their 20-year mark.
“Big picture, again we’re looking at our level service,” Kain said. “When we look at level service, and that does include some of the salaries that we’re talking about … and the schools’ at 5 percent [assessment increase], we’re really close to a balanced budget.”
He is concerned that the town side still doesn’t know where the school budget will end up, however. Town figures are estimating 5 percent, but it looks like it would be more, Kain said, noting School Committee member Dawn Byers questions about what the town can afford.
“She talked about a false narrative, meaning that there is a little bit of confusion in the community about this,” he said. “What we can afford … of pretty much what we can afford within the tax levy.”
He said Byers is suggesting the town consider what it could afford if it didn’t take into account the tax levy and just compared it’s education costs to other towns, saying it’s “a different kind of big picture argument.”
“For us, one of the things that we really need to consider is what we can afford within the tax levy,” he said, where the Madden report was clear that 5 percent, or up to it, was what could achieve a balanced budget along with level-serviced town expences.
“For me, it still seems relevant that that 5 percent is still a good number to use,” Kain said.
Right now, with numbers coming in from the schools and department heads, the budget gap is a little over $1 million.
Lynam said the town is “kind of downplaying” the impact of the 5 percent on the town. While he agrees with the analysis that consultant John Madden did and that the town needs to support education, the 5 percent absorbs every dollar of revenue the town grows – and then some.
“That’s the type of thing we have to keep in mind,” he said. “We continue getting additional revenue from other local receipts, but at some point in time, just like the 3-percent budget growth started to become unattainable at the district level when we had state support and it faded, we are now building a budget that’s going to be difficult to maintain, even at 5 percent with the efforts we’re making.”
He said it was more critical that they jointly growth and expenditures to make the budget work, because voters will be the ultimate arbiters of how much will be spent.
“We have to start looking longer and harder at things,” he said.
LaMattina requested that Lynam meet with Hanson Town Administrator Lisa Green about the reality of what they are dealing with, because he is concerned that the School Committee has not yet voted a budget ceiling.
“It is frustrating that there’s a lot of things that possibly could be added between now and then that we will not be able to fund in this budget,” he said.
Lynam also expressed concern that the town has been financing capital improvements through free cash.
“That’s not always going to be possible,” he said.
“This is a really valuable, document guiding us going forward,” Select Board member Justin Evans said. “If we can … continue this process every year, it’ll help shape how we look at the whole budget cycle.”
He noted that town budget increases are also nearing 5 percent and cautioned that, if the town wants the schools to control budget increases, the town should do so as well.
COVID report
According to Fire Chief Timothy Clancy’s regular COVID-19 report, saying he is hopeful that the town’s numbers will follow predictions that numbers should be going down shortly, adding the town is still “not doing too bad.”
Over the preceding week, however, Whitman saw 35 cases among 291 tests performed for a 12.02 percent.
“We see a significant jump of almost 4 percent in the positivity rate, but also realize that’s not always accurate. It’s based on seven additional cases and we did less testing.”
He said health officials would continue to watch the numbers and keep selectmen advised.
Burst pipes at senior center
HANSON — The Hanson Multi-Service Senior Center sustained “extensive water damage” due to a burst pipe during last weekend’s sub-freezing cold snap, according to Select Board Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett, who has arranged an alternative site for senior programs while repairs are being made.
Senior Center Director Mary Collins, however, told FitzGerald-Kemmett they can “make do” during the month or so it might take to repair the damage.
FitzGerald-Kemmett said security cameras indicated the pipes burst at about 6:30 a.m., Sunday night
She contacted Camp Kiwanee Commission Chair Frank Milisi to obtain permission to offer use of Needles Lodge for the Senior Center. Melisi agreed, she said, noting the Kiwanee staff is there from 8 a.m. To 2 p.m., anyway, and the building is handicapped-accessible. Hanson Middle School also sustained some flooding from burst pipes, she said. There has been no damage to the Hanson Library.
Health Agent Gil Amado and Local Inspector Kerry Glass inspected the damage Monday and determined, since there are still bathrooms available in the connected library building, some programming can still be offered.
“Frank’s telling me don’t worry, he’d love them to use the [Camp Kiwanee] building,” she said she told Collins. “I left it with Mary and Frank are going to connect and talk about whether she’d be better off there, or whether she could hold some programs there and have some at the senior center.”
South Shore Tech Superintendent Dr. Thomas J. Hickey, whose carpentry and electrical shop students had just recently completed a project creating an office space where Senior Center staff can offer confidential health insurance consultations, said the school would be willing to help with repairs if they can.
“I’ll ask my off-campus projects [director] to look into it,” Hickey said. “The only thing that could possibly get in the way would be if the town has an issue with insurance, but it’s worth an ask. If we can help them out, we certainly will.”
Hickey explained an insurance company might require other measures under their coverage, that would take precedence. He confirmed on Tuesday afternoon, that insurance requirements would, indeed, prohibit his students from offering assistance.
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