Whitman-Hanson Express

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WMS set as vaccine center

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WHITMAN — Whitman-Hanson Middle School will be set up as a COVID-19 vaccination center, according to a report on WBZ-TV Channel 4 Wednesday, Dec. 2. Volunteers are being sought to help staff the station and people will be receiving robocalls notifying them of when it is their turn to get the shot.

Fire Chief Timothy Grenno said the desigation was made during the H1N1 epidemic several years ago under a request from the Department of Public Health. About a month ago the DPH asked for modifications to the plans to make them drive-through.

“The Middle School has always been our spot,” he said. “They want us to be ready and be prepared, so that’s what we did and we sent out a press release for nurse volunters to help us staff it, and we’re getting a pretty good response.”

Access and traffic flow as well as remote learning days work well with the state’s requirements, according to Grenno.

Whitman is currently back in the red zone with 62 positives out of 1,228 tests (a 5.5 positivity rate) and Hanson has 33 positives out of 789 (a 4.18 positivity rate) for the week of Nov. 19-26.

Whitman cleared one of it’s three clusters last week, with two remaining, including one at Christo’s, which will remain closed until Dec. 11.

“We’re looking for volunteers right now who want to step up and be a big help,” Interim Town Administrator Lisa Green told the station. The centers will operate in the same manner as drive-through testing sites do now.

Gov. Charlie Baker said, in accordance with CDC guidelines, the focus will first be on high-risk individuals such as health care workers, nursing home staffs and first responders. Those shots could be available as early as next week and it could take until March to inoculate health care workers, according to the report, with the general population not able to receive it until spring.

COVID is also causing some changes to the upcoming special Town Meeting in January.

The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, Dec. 1, voted to change the special Town Meeting quorum from the usual 150 to 25 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and hold it in the Performing Arts Center at WHRHS.

“Under the new regulations that the governor announced back in early November, there was a question of whether public settings fell under the new ‘no more than 10 indoors’ [regulation],” said Green. She said it appeared that public government meetings appeared to still cap off at 25 people.

Gov. Baker’s COVID regulations allow towns to reduce town meeting quorums to as low as 10 percent of what town bylaws otherwise require.  Green, however, expressed concern about the effect such a drastic cut would have on important business such as the sewer force main replacement, especially in view of the fact that the Selectmen, Finance Committee and DPW Commissioners would also have to attend.

She advocated placing any reduction at no lower than 25, although she noted that East Bridgewater has eliminated their quorum requirement.

Town Clerk Dawn Varley would have to submit any reduction request to the Attorney General’s office for approval within 10 days.

Town Moderator Michael Seele said he had no objection to the reduction request, but asked what the procedure would be if more than 100 showed up.

“It doesn’t seem likely that we’d get 100 people, but you never know,” Seele said.

Chairman Dan Salvucci said the gymnasium is not likely to be available due to school activities, but Green said it would be free for an early evening session on a Saturday.

Selectman Justin Evans said technical link-ups to other rooms could help if a larger turnout occurred. Right now, Wednesday evenings, Jan. 6, 13, 20 or 27 are now being considered for scheduling. The town has until Dec. 23 to schedule a specific Town Meeting date.

Selectman Randy LaMattina favored pushing it to Jan. 27 out of concern over the recent up-tick in COVID-19 cases in town.

“Sixty days seems like an eternity considering what’s going on with COVID,” he said.

Salvucci questioned whether a four-article Town Meeting warrant required the presence of town counsel, since besides the force main, there are only unpaid bills to be voted. Town counsel is only available on Wednesday evenings during the week, but can also attend a Saturday session. Both he and Evans expressed concern about giving the DPW enough time to bid out the project in the spring.

Selectmen also discussed the burgeoning problem towns and school districts are seeing in fraudulent unemployment claims related to COVID-19. The board approved Green’s request to contract with Unemployment Tax Management Corp., to help keep up with the work.

“We’ve been inundated,” Green said. “They’re coming in in droves, and I was finding that trying to keep up with the numerous requests and paperwork required … I couldn’t keep up with it.”

The state can levy fines if paperwork is processed late. Towns have three days to deal with the notices. Green reached out to East Bridgewater for advice and was told they used UTM, which is also working with Abington and the W-H School District, among other entities being similarly victimized by the fraud. The corporation handles all paperwork (online), appeals, protests, other legal activity and auditing involved in the process. The service would cost Whitman $695 per quarter, Green said.

“For everything that they’re going to provide, it’s really something I strongly recommend that we do,” she said.

Dollars For Scholars taking orders for gift cards

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Whitman & Hanson Dollars for Scholars will be processing orders for gift cards this holiday season as part of its fall fundraising drive. Interested individuals will be able to order gift cards from over 300 nationwide merchants. DFS will receive a commission for selling the cards while the recipient will receive the full face value of the gift card.

Due to COVID-19, DFS will not be holding an “in person” drop off or pickup location. If you would like to place an order, please call Mike at 781-252-9683 or visit the DFS website for an order form and a list of participating merchants. Order packets will be dropped off at interested individuals’ homes. Completed orders will also be picked up or may be dropped off in the locked box outside Whitman Town Hall.

Orders should be submitted on or before Tuesday, Dec. 8. All gift cards ordered are expected to be delivered by Dec. 12. Payments should be in the form of a check or cash.

Currently, DFS places gift card orders every other month for its board members. Members use the gift cards as gifts for family or friends or toward everyday purchases such as groceries, gas, prescriptions, and restaurants.

Proceeds from the sale will benefit graduating high school seniors in the form of scholarships at the end of the school year. For more information on the gift card ordering program, please contact Mike Ganshirt at 781-252-9683 or visit WhitmanAndHanson.DollarsforScholars.org.

Decking park for DFS

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WHITMAN — With COVID-19 taking a toll on social interaction as well as public health, traditional fundraising projects by organizations like Dollars for Scholars, which depend in large part, on in-person events, collections, have taken a hit.

“Every year we raise a lot of money for the seniors in Whitman and Hanson through fundraising and door-to-door,” DFS member Michelle LaMattina told Selectmen on Oct. 20 before their vote to support the project. “Obviously, this year it’s going to be very tough to fundraise because of COVID, so we’ve been trying to come up with some new ideas.”

LaMattina, whose daughter Claire raised about $17,000 for the Whitman Food Pantry “remotely” through a Whitman Strong yard sign effort, thought up a way to raise funds in a similar manner while celebrating the holiday season.

“We’re trying to make something exciting for the town to look forward to,” said. DFS volunteer Michelle LaMattina.

A Holiday Tree Lighting event begins from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Friday, Dec. 4 to Sunday, Dec. 6 and again from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Friday, Dec. 11 to Sunday, Dec. 13. Masks and social distancing are required and the public is asked to stay outside the gated area of the baseball field where the trees are set up except for display times.

Individuals, families, neighborhoods, clubs, organizations or companies to were able to sponsor a tree for $100. DFS provided the trees and lights, setting them up after Thanksgiving. Sign-up times were allotted to tree sponsors to come and decorate the tree to their liking, LaMattina said.

Monday’s wind-driven rain also delivered a blow to this new effort, setting the project back a bit, but the show must go on and — with organizers and volunteers working Tuesday to repair the damage.

Some, such as a Giving Tree featuring mittens and other wearables, had packaged them in zipper-close plastic bags. Others like the Fanilows of Hanson made certain their ode to Barry Manilow stayed decorated with wires. They wore red team T-shirts and Manilow face masks as they decorated their tree, situated next to a Charlie Brown Tree.

“He’s special,” said Jen Hickey or Manilow. “He’s not for everybody.”

“…And he wishes everyone a very Merry Christmas,” added Jean Dean.

Hickey said the DFS Committee gave each tree sponsor 90 minutes to do their decorating in small, distanced numbers.

“This was a great idea for fundraising,” one of the Fanilows said.

LaMattina said the response was overwhelming with 50 trees sold.

“If I had another 30, I could have sold them,” she said, noting people were calling her Saturday to ask about decorating a tree.

“Whether you want to drive around, if you want to get out of your car — but we will have DFS volunteers making sure there aren’t groups of people congregating,” LaMattina said.

State’s probe updated

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The School Committee heard an update on the investigation underway by the Inspector General and Attorney General’s offices at the Wednesday, Nov. 18 meeting, but questions remain.

Szymaniak said he emailed Committee member David Forth after the last meeting to request documentation he supplied the state as well as any contact information he had pertaining to the state’s investigation about the committee and towns. Forth returned the contact information he had, according to Szymaniak.

Committee member Christopher Howard asked for an update on what else Forth can supply. Forth replied he has contacted the state to determine if the Inspector General or Attorney General has any issues with his providing the information and would do so if they replied he could.

He added that any time the Inspector General’s office has called him, they have not identified themselves by any particular name.

Small said he has called the IG and Department of Revenue and had no problem receiving permission to release contact identification.

Howard asked that the school district’s legal counsel be asked to remotely attend the December meeting to discuss legal options for obtaining the information. Szymaniak said both towns have also put their respective town counsels on notice about the issue as well, reminding the committee that all those calls come with associated costs.

He also cautioned the committee that the district will be looking at some administrators where interims are now serving and business office turnover where the town’s interim business manager will be leaving at the end of the year.

“The first thing [people do] is Google the district and they see the W-H Regional School District in the Express [about a] state investigation under finances,” Szymaniak said. “It’s going to be hard for me to get a quality person if this resonates into next spring, when we’re in hiring. We have to put this to rest some way or another.”

He also expressed concern that other administrators or teachers might leave.

“People don’t want to be involved in controversy,” he said. “This district is an excellent district and I don’t want anybody to be turned off by a headline.”

Committee member Dawn Byers reminded the panel that a Whitman selectman had also advocated an investigation back in July.

“This is not one person’s doing on this committee,” she said, noting she does not want to see the headlines, either. “There was a long period of time when certain statutory laws were not followed by this district, and a long period of time when funding was at seventh from the bottom out of all the towns in Massachusetts, so I agree answers need to come, but there are a lot of questions still to be answered.”

Small asked what other questions Byers had in mind, explaining when she appeared to take it as a cross-examination, that he was curious about whether her questions pertained to issues that had not occurred to him.

She then replied her questions centered on the district’s past financial policies that did not center on the state’s statutory formula.

“It’s not the fact that an investigation is going on, it’s the fact that we’re being told there’s an investigation [and] when you try to find what the status is, who’s handling it … it needs to be done as expediently as possible without the mystery of what was sent, [and] who was spoken to, if possible,” Small said. “That’s the frustration point I know I’m feeling and, I’m sure, others are feeling because things are so wide open and up in the air.”

Baker COVID policy causes confusion

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The School Committee on Wednesday, Nov. 18 supported the school district’s hybrid learning format in the face of what Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak termed confusion over Gov. Baker’s change of school reopening policy.

The committee agreed to wait until after the December break to make any decision about remote learning based on what data Szymaniak can amass on the potential impact of the proposed changes in that time.

The district will be reactivating its COVID team, as well, to look at the realistic feasibility of bringing students back to school full-time.

Baker urged a move to all in-person education “if feasible” for districts in lower-risk communities moved Szymaniak to ask the Committee to support the hybrid model. He noted some parents have already been abusive over the phone with district staff.

“We want to get our kids back in, but I also want to make sure they’re safe when they’re here and our teachers are safe,” Szymaniak said, noting Baker must determine if remote instruction will be offered at all next year.

“The biggest thing that we’re talking about is feasibility,” Assistant Superintendent George Ferro said. “That’s the question that’s out there in society right now.”

To meet the governor’s urging, evidence is needed that social distancing of less than six feet in school and on buses, is needed, according to Szymaniak.

Ferro noted that the district bus capacity is now 24 students on a 72-passenger bus.

“Their seat is still theirs,” Ferro said in response to Committee member Michael Jones’ question of what to do about families who sign a child up for bus transportation at the start of the school year, but don’t use it. “Whether they take it or not, as a regional school district, we really don’t have a say.”

Ferro said the district may also anticipate a shortage of drivers if COVID causes more illness and assigned seating makes contact tracing easier if a student falls ill.

Committee member Christopher Howard agreed with Szymaniak and Ferro’s approach, but said parents who have changed their mind about sending their child to school on the bus should advise the school district as soon as possible so their child’s seat can be reassigned.

Committee member Dan Cullity said the governor is “way off on this.” While Cullity favors full-time in-person school it is not feasible nor is it logisitically or financially possible right now.

“The governor’s own words were: Every district is going to be different,” Committee member Fred Small agreed. Small pointed to New York City’s announcement that all schools went to remote Nov. 18 this week after a 3 percent positivity rate in COVID tests. Hanson’s is 2.78 percent and Whitman is at 4.71 percent.

There are things at school — like hand-washing reinforcement and easier contact tracing — that is keeping kids safe, said Committee member Hillary Kniffen, who is a teacher, but students are also in the groove of a routine with hybrid instruction right now.

Placing desks at closer than six feet would require the purchase and daily cleaning of Plexiglas dividers and safety must be taken into account, placing accurate contact tracing at risk.

“I like Gov. Baker and I’ve agreed with a lot of what he’s done, but to give a blanket statement that’s going to direct what we do is a challenge for me,” Szymaniak said. “The safety piece for me is huge. The mixed message around three and six feet, educationally … that doesn’t sync when you’re trying to teach a child safety protocols.”

Logistics also present a problem for a district with 13 trailers stuffed with furniture cleared from rooms to accommodate Baker’s six-feet guideline. Facilities Director Ernest Sandland has estimated it would take 1,000 man hours to switch back.

Thanksgiving

Szymaniak also outlined the school district’s holiday travel policy.

Students and staff who planned travel over Thanksgiving to non-low-risk states “and I don’t know if there are any anymore in the country,” must quarantine for 14 days or provide a negative COVIS-19 test administered 72 hours before arrival back in Massachusetts before being allowed to return to school, Szymaniak reported. School Committee member Fred Small participated in the meeting remotely via telephone.

The test must be an FDA/EU-approved molecular PCR test, rather than a rapid test. The alternative is to obtain the test after returning to Massachusetts and quarantining until after obtaining a negative result.

One staff member recently ran into a complication with travel when New York was removed from the low-risk state list over the Nov. 14-15 weekend.

“I anticipate some people traveling,” Szymaniak said. “I anticipate some issues after Thanksgiving.”

He said that, while some districts are mandating quarantines, W-H is not doing so, but rather is hoping people respect the guidelines.

“I hope people are smart,” he said, noting a discussion with students on the issue led to his being asked to remind the public that little kids must still wear masks for dance or karate classes and other activities outside school.

“The second [message] was there are parties going on in Whitman and Hanson,” Szymaniak said. “There are large social gatherings at people’s homes with parents that they are allowed to have. ‘Can you please tell them to knock it off.’”

Students asked him to remind people to be smart about COVID because they want to come to school.

Large social gatherings in Scituate and Cohasset have led to schools returning to all-remote learning for two weeks.

Szymaniak reported there are three students now quarantining in the district and four had tested positive between Nov. 4 and 18.

There were 65 students in “various stages of quarantine” during those two weeks. And two staff members were positive during that period, with one still under quarantine.

Since the start of the school year, 22 students and three staff members have tested positive for COVID-19, Szymaniak said. There were a total of 122 students and 36 staff who had to be quarantined at some point, due to close contact with others testing positive or awaiting test results. Staff quarantines included pre-travel quarantines and those awaiting test results.

“Kids want to be in school,” Szymaniak. “I’m just asking people to do the right thing.”

There are already 521 students in remote learning by parental choice throughout the district, which averages between $2,500 and $5,000 per pupil if the district had to pay for the program.

“My concern is more parents are going to choose to move to remote, if we move to an in-person model, and we won’t be able to afford that,” Szymaniak said. There are 3,583 students who attend classes on in-person days within school buildings now, along with 38 out-of-district students.

Last year there were 33 home school students in Whitman and Hanson. In 2021 there are 96 signed up.

“I’m hoping some parents see, as we turn the corner, if we’ve contained [COVID] in our hybrid model,” he said. “There’s no student-to-student contact in terms of positive cases in the school yet.”

Szymaniak said he is hopeful the hybrid model has helped with that. Cases in the district have centered on a youth hockey cluster and a birthday party involving remote students or parents had tested positive.

Hanson again continues cannabis hearing

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HANSON — Impressed LLC’s proposal for a cannabis product manufacturing aspect of their cultivation business at the town’s industrial park took another step on Tuesday, Nov. 17.

A special permit hearing continued from Oct. 13 was held in a joint session between the Board of Selectmen and Zoning Board of Appeals, which, because of the number of people attending was held in the Hanson Middle School auditorium where acoustics, participants’ speaking through masks without using provided microphones and background noise made it difficult to hear for viewers.

The hearing, broadcast by Whitman-Hanson Community Access TV, concerned Impressed LLC’s application for a special permit for a marijuana cultivation and manufacturing business.

Project engineers reported on their responses to comments and questions from, town officials at the October hearing session, including information that a traffic study — not required by the application — has not been conducted.

Wastewater issues, odor mitigation, storm water retention, external security, parking and ease of truck access, as well as other concerns, were discussed by Selectmen and the engineering firm.

Selectmen Chairman Kenny Mitchell said he wanted to see an updated plan submitted to the ZBA before any final decision is made.

“We’re close,” Mitchell said. “You guys talked about a lot of stuff, and I personally want to see that updated plan.”

“It’s great that these plans appear to be compliant and he’s done a sanity check on them. … We want to make sure what we approve is actually what’s built and that the systems are the same,” Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said agreeing that suggested plans need to be verified, especially in areas such as odor mitigation where the community would feel the impact. “Our responsibility is to the folks that live nearby, so that they’re not having to smell that 24/7.”

She advocated a peer reviewer, chosen by the town and paid for by the applicants to ensure that Mitchell agreed.

Selectman Matt Dyer suggested the board was getting “carried away” a little bit by demanding third-party review.

“Impressed LLC, in their best interests, want to make sure [an air purifying system] is installed properly, they want to hire professionals to do it. It’s kind of like having a Chevy mechanic trying to discover what’s going on in a Kia. Are they going to be able to say ‘with this piece of equipment, you activated this right or you activated this wrong.’”   

Mitchell said Dyer was entitled to his opinion, but maintained that odor is a “big factor in this.”

The company agreed to the peer review and the hearing was continued to Dec. 15.

Correction

The headline on the story about the de-regionalization committee in the Nov. 19 issue of the Whitman-Hanson Express [“Hanson de-regionalization panel votes to disband”] was inaccurate. The committee was not disbanded, but has temporarily suspended it’s work until a consultant can be hired to help with the study.

Tri-Town area salutes veterans

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ROCKLAND — Like most everything else since March 13, the Tri-Town Veterans Day observance was different this year.

The annual parade honoring Abington, Rockland and Whitman veterans was canceled over the summer, and replaced on Wednesday, Nov. 11 by a memorial ceremony, broadcast on Whitman-Hanson Community Access TV, outside Veterans Memorial Field at Rockland High School.

Participants included Veterans Agent for Rockland and Hanson Tim White, who acted as master of ceremonies; Air Force Col. Joseph Morrissey a Rockland High graduate; and members of the veterans organizations from Rockland, Whitman and Abington.

“It was not an easy decision for us to make not to have a parade, but under the circumstances, we all felt that it was the proper thing to do for safety and health reasons,” White said.

After an opening prayer was offered by Navy Chaplain Lt. Kristy Coburn.

“When the need was greatest, these brave men and women stepped forward to defend our freedom and, for that, we are eternally grateful,” she said. “Help us today, in the midst of the most challenging time in our history, to give proper honor and appreciation to those who served the cause of freedom.”

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited and the national anthem played before Col. Morrissey, assigned to the Hanscomb Air Force Base, delivered the keynote address in front of the memorial and stadium dedicated to Rockland’s veterans.

He recalled playing youth football at the stadium where he would gaze on the names engraved in the large bronze plaques, not old enough to understand what the meant.

“In the winter of 2017, while in Iraq, I was brought back to this stadium in my mind,” he said. “As I stood on the tarmac and watched flag-draped coffins that were being loaded on C-130s on their final flight home, those same goosebumps (he had felt during the national anthem at football games) returned to me.”

He noted there are memorial street signs throughout Rockland and the updated memorial outside the stadium was dedicated.

He said that kind of respect and town cohesion are why he and his wife chose the town as the place they wanted to live and raise their children.

The Rockland Police Honor Guard fired a ceremonial salute followed by “Taps” and a closing prayer by Lt. Coburn.

Hanson de-regionalization panel votes to suspend

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HANSON — The Hanson De-Regionalization Feasibility Committee has voted to disband because its mission to investigate the possibility of dissolving the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District is beyond its capacity.

The Board of Selectmen heard the decision as part of an update on the committee’s work during its Tuesday, Nov. 17 meeting at which they authorized Town Administrator John Stanbrook to explore the cost of hiring a consulting firm to take over the work.

“While we have very skilled, passionate and dedicated people on this committee that have been working tirelessly, the intricacies of a valid feasibility study are beyond our varied skill set, especially when acquiring the necessary data has become difficult and, at times, impossible,” committee member Kim McCoy read from a letter from the panel, which has been meeting since Sept. 23.

The committee has recommended that Selectmen hire an unbiased consulting firm that would have more authority to obtain the information needed to make a legally, fiscally and educationally informed decision.

“After facing multiple roadblocks in obtaining the necessary documents to prepare financial reports and other analysis, and after analyzing the level of detail in the East Brookfield feasibility study — which is a 27-page document — it’s become apparent that our volunteer, part-time, citizen group is not equipped for a task of this complexity,” McCoy read from the letter. “There are too many components that have to be considered in order to make an informed recommendation about de-regionalization for a group such as ours.”

The committee has “reviewed various documents and brainstormed ideas of what information and documents we would need” to fulfill its mission of making a data-driven decision on whether it makes sense for Hanson to split from the district.

They acquired some documents from the district, but the information was not complete enough to form a “full picture,” of the cost of educating Hanson students within the district according to McCoy.

The committee was also unable to obtain Pembroke’s feasibility study involved in successful de-regionalization efforts. It was able to obtain that paperwork from East Brookfield, however.

“Please know the committee is not making this recommendation lightly and without a heavy heart,” McCoy read.

The committee also pointed to the audit of the school district Hanson and Whitman have funded as a source of important information, but Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett questioned how much information from it would be useful and how much a consulting firm would cost the town.

Selectmen Jim Hickey said he would approach Stanbrook to issue either an RFP or obtain at lease three bids. Hickey was the Selectmen’s representative on the De-Regionalization Feasibility Committee.

“These people [on the committee] are dedicated and we’re trying, but the last two times that it actually worked was in East Brookfield and in Pembroke, and they both had [consulting] firms that did this,” Hickey said, estimating the cost of the entire process would run in the millions of dollars. “For seven people, no matter how dedicated they are and how much time they put in, we just can’t give it what it deserves.”

FitzGerald-Kemmett said the decision makes sense because the volunteers have full-time jobs and lives, suggesting the consulting firm could work with the de-regionalization committee.­­­­

“Know we know what we don’t know,” she said.

McCoy reported that the Pembroke consulting firm is no longer in business, but the firm East Brookfield used is and the committee has reviewed its website.

“You guys still may be needed if we’re ever able to hire a firm,” Selectmen Chairman Kenny Mitchell said.

Hickey said the approval process is too far away after that to venture any guesses.

“We just want to get a price on what it’s going to cost,” he said. “These guys are champing at the bit just to get answers.”

School resolutions questioned

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The School Committee voted 5 to 4 — members Fred Small, Dan Cullity, Mike Jones and Chairman Bob Hayes — with member Christopher Howard abstaining, to support a Massachusetts Association of School Committee resolution on inclusion and diversity in school curriculum.

Those opposed expressed concern over what was described as the “narrow language” of the resolution.

The committee also voted 8-2 against supporting a resolution permitting 16-year olds to vote in municipal elections. Members Dawn Byers and David Forth voted to support it.

Byers, who was to be the W-H delegate to the MASC meeting held via Zoom Saturday, Nov. 7, was urged to speak to the concerns of the committee members who opposed or abstained on the matter. Amendments are possible from the floor during the meeting.

Committee member David Forth said the window for amending resolutions has closed. Small expressed concern that doing so could be in violation of the open meeting law.

“I just think it’s unfortunate that this congregation of people — it’ll be on record that W-H School Committee did not support this initiative,” Vice Chairman Christopher Scriven said of the inclusion and diversity resolution. “I think that speaks to something.”

“My fear is, you support something like this and you have people that are forgotten in the wind,” Small argued. “There should be no place for racism in our society today. Period. We should do everything we can to give a diverse, proper education to every student.”

Byers asked those voting against or abstaining to forward her a summation of their objections and she would present them.

A paragraph urging a curriculum teaching the history of racial oppression and works by Black authors and works from diverse perspectives, drew the most criticism from opponents.

“I think it is too narrow of a picture,” Small said. “I think it, while definitively there is no place for racism in our schools or in our lives, I feel it’s very narrow and doesn’t address the racism that many different classes face and I can’t support a resolution that would be so narrow in scope.”

Small instead argued that races to be included in instruction be specified.

He cited the Japanese internment camps during WWII, and anti-semitism, among other issues that are not addressed.

“All we’re trying to do is support this effort,” Scriven said, noting he has no problem with the resolution and believes the schools should do everything in their power to hear all voices.

“If this is the start of what you’re looking for, Mr. Small, to include more voices, then I feel we should absolutely support it,” Scriven said.

Member Hillary Kniffen said language of inclusion and diversity within the resolution addresses the populations Small spoke about.

“I don’t see this as being singular, I see this as equity, diversity,” she said agreeing.

Byers read part of the resolution — which concludes with “all lives cannot matter until Black lives matter” — into the record.

Small said that language should be changed to reflect that all lives matter.

Howard said there would likely be broadly supported, but said there is some “challenging language” within it. He noted that he found difficulty with the term “systemic.”

Cullity agreed.

“When you start specifying one race over all other races, that’s racism in itself,” Cullity said.

“Say we all had a word that we didn’t like … do we get the spirit of this?” Scriven asked. “Is this even binding or is this just to show that we’re conscious of these particular issues?”

Scriven said that, as far as he could tell it is a non-binding document.

“Are we going to nit-pick it or are we going to say this is a pretty good idea?” he said.

Howard noted that abstention was always an option.

“Someone took the time to write these words, and these words do matter to me,” he said, noting the MASC will use the resolutions to lobby on Beacon Hill.

“If we vote in the negative, or abstain, I feel as though we miss an opportunity for the bigger issue at hand,” Scriven argued. “I think it’s incumbent upon us to support any efforts toward diversity and equality.”

He said that, while it’s not necessarily going to be perfect, the district would be on the right side of the issue.

Kniffen said the purpose of public schools is inclusion and that should be focused on.

Voting age

Forth supported the 16-year-old vote resolution, saying the youth vote in the 2020 election was at record numbers, according to Harvard Institute of Politics exit polling.

“It seems to be a growing trend and more people are being invested in civics education, they’re trying to understand what’s going on politically,” he said, noting he registered to vote at 16. “I do feel there would be more engagement, especially at the local level.”

Forth argued the measure, if successful, could inspire more young people to become invested in local government.

Kniffen said it would align with the civics course work that students in would have to take in 2022, but as someone who interacts with 16-year-olds on a daily basis, she said she has a lot of concerns.

“There’s a lot of responsibility that comes with placing a vote and I just don’t know if a 16-year-old has that maturity,” she said, stressing that she was not making a blanket statement.

Small said that, since people cannot enter into a binding contract at 16, or buy a vehicle or obtain a credit card.

“There are many things you are not allowed to do as a 16-year-old,” he said. “There are federal rules and regulations that are imposed on [them], and I just don’t know if it will be the wisest thing. A vote is a privilege, a vote is a precious thing.”

The U.S. Constitution, however, describes “the right to vote” in Section 2 of the 14th Amendment, and imposes a penalty on states that abridge or deny “the right to vote.” Exceptions outlined in the document pertain to questions of citizenship or criminal conviction, which some states have challenged recently.

Small also questioned the capacity of people that young to take voting seriously or fully understand all the ramifications of it. He also said schools need to do a better job of teaching civics.

Resolutions opposing MCAS and high-stakes testing; supporting state funding for COVID-19; supporting federal stimulus spending for K-12 education; retention of Medicaid revenue; limiting U.S. funding for private schools during COVID; membership of a school committee member on the DESE board; providing equity for LGBTQ+ students, faculty and staff where gender identity is not listed as a protected class in federal laws; and monitoring of student attendance during the pandemic were supported unanimously.

Mystery probe debated

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The state is investigating the school district and both towns committee chairman and vice chairman were alerted by member David Forth on Friday, Oct. 30, according to Superintendent Jeffrey Szymaniak, who also received the letter.

No one seems to have a clear idea what the subject of the investigation might be, however.

Forth said he had reached out to Inspector General and the Attorney General’s office in August about the process “if the committee needed to look into having an investigation or have the state get involved.”

The Inspector General followed up with him a couple of weeks later, requesting documentation from him, which he provided.

“A couple of weeks after that, they called to just inform me that the investigation was referred to the Department of Revenue and that the DOR is investigating the towns of Whitman and Hanson and the school district,” Forth said. “That is, honestly, all the information I have. … I didn’t ask for it, request it, but I was informed of it. They asked me for documentation, so I provided it.”

Committee member Fred Small asked what documentation was provided, but Forth said he was not certain he was permitted to say.

“I don’t want to do anything that could get me in trouble with the state,” he said, noting he was not even sure his complaint carried the weight to ignite an investigation. “How they went about that choice, I do not know. You would have to ask them.”

Member Christopher Howard made a motion, in the spirit of transparency that Forth provide the committee with any and all communications he has had with any state agency pertaining to the school district.

Forth, who said he wanted the school district and committee officials, as well as town administrators to know about the investigation, also indicated he would comply with the request for documentation if the state agencies involved would allow it.

Small said the committee should be permitted to have access to the same information as other parties to the investigation unless the agencies have specifically indicated is was privileged.

The committee voted 9 to 1, with Forth dissenting, to have the information provided.

“I haven’t been notified from the state,” said Szymaniak, who contacted town administrators in Whitman and Hanson about the matter. Neither had heard of the situation.

Whitman’s interim Town Administrator Lisa Green said her town had not received “notification from any state agency regarding an investigation.”

She put town counsel on notice and reported they, too, had received no notice from any agency.

“You noted that there was an ongoing and an active investigation, however none of us have received any notice of any type of investigation, which is highly unusual for the state,” Green said to Forth.

Hanson Town Administrator John Stanbrook also said he had not been notified, either.

“I’m a little bit baffled by the whole thing, and I hope we can have some sort of explanation,” said Stanbrook, who attended the meeting remotely.

Meeting in-person Wednesday, Nov. 4, the committee was cautioned by Chairman Bob Hayes that it could be switched back to virtual meetings if Gov. Charlie Baker determines that is necessary because of the increase in new COVID cases. Small also attended the meeting virtually for the second time in as many sessions.

Szymaniak called district legal counsel on Monday, but he has not yet received notification from the state.

Committee member Mike Jones asked how long Forth had been on the committee. When Forth replied five months, Jones noted this was the second occasion an issue raised by Forth resulted in a “house full of lawyers.”

“What’s going on, man?” Jones asked.

Forth countered that Jones had no right to address him directly and accuse him of causing some sort of chaos.

Hayes also reminded members to address each other through him.

Green, an attorney who has, in the past, done business with the Inspector General and AG’s offices as well as the DOR and the Division of Local Services, said “Something is not making sense here.”

“If you made a phone call to a state agency, and you made a complaint, they’re going to investigate it,” she said. “But you sit here today and say you do not know what type of documents they asked you for or [are] you not revealing the type of documents they asked you for?”

“Am I being cross-examined right now?” Forth countered.

Green replied that she was asking simple questions as a representative of the town of Whitman, which is one of the subjects of an investigation they have little to no information about.

“This is not an accusation, we’re asking you simple questions that you are not answering,” she said. “If somebody calls me and says, ‘I want your tax return for 1982, I want a copy of your marriage certificate, I want a copy of your birth certificate,’ these are documents. For you to sit here and say you do not know what type of documents were requested …”

Forth interrupted saying there was no request for specific documents, but rather for any documents he had in his possession and would be willing to supply copies to the towns.

“I’m not withholding anything,” he said. “I just don’t want to sit here and say, ‘Oh I gave this document and we look into it [only to find] I actually gave a different document.’”

He said he did not know whether or not the towns had been contacted.

Szymaniak expressed his frustration that Forth didn’t tell him, the chief executive of the district until Friday afternoon, Oct. 30 “that there is an ongoing investigation of our district and I have no idea what that is.”

He ticked off issues that would raise alarm is the subject of investigation: budget, academic, MCAS.

“Did we do something wrong?” Szymaniak said. “When I asked you on Monday to follow up, I got nothing from that, so I don’t even know what agency is looking at us right now.”

Forth said he was assuming it pertains to the budget because the Department of Revenue is involved.

Szymaniak said Forth has another records request filed with the district, which Forth said is unrelated to the investigation. The cost of records requests are $25 per hour plus copy costs, which would be billed to Forth as the requesting party.

Member Dan Cullity asked if Forth was asking as a citizen or a member of the School Committee when he called the AG office. Forth said he told state officials he was calling as an individual and was not reporting a complaint, only asking what the process would be.

Cullity said if Forth got a call back, he must be considered the one who filed a complaint.

“They just don’t come out to somebody and say, ‘Hey, by the way, we need documentation,’ unless you called to put in a complaint,” Cullity said. He added that the School Committee can’t afford to go chasing down rabbit holes and asked if Forth was going to continue to act as a citizen or a member of the School Committee.

Forth maintained that the state’s call for documentation led him to believe they were already investigating the district. Howard asked why Forth was informing them about the issue.

“I’m just trying to be on the same page,” Forth said.

Committee member Hillary Kniffen asked how “wasting a half hour” on the issue helps educate children during a pandemic. Jones asked what the issue involved is.

Forth said his issue was with the assessment and school funding formulas were done correctly, but stopped short of confirming that is the state’s investigation.

“He honestly believes that, after calling the state, the state just calls him and starts randomly asking these questions,” Jones said.