There are currently 31 students and staff in quarantine for COVID-19 by either Whitman, Hanson health boards, or the boards of health where teachers live, but no decision is being made right now on the future of hybrid learning.

There have been 12 positive student cases and one positive in the district so far, Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak reported to the School Committee at the Wednesday, Oct. 21 meeting.

“As of this week, we have 35 students coming out of quarantine and they all — or a large majority — were in a hockey cluster,” he said. “We’ve had zero transmission within the district. Our kids are abiding by the rules that we’ve set forward with the boards of health, with the Mass. Department of Public Health. We’re doing the right things.”

Szymaniak stressed there have been zero transmissions within the school district, and voiced frustration about color-coded risk assessments for communities issued by the (DPH).

He said he would look to the boards of health to make recommendations on whether or not students should stay in school if both towns in the district end up in the red zone.

“It’s not going to be a lone decision on my part,” Szymaniak said. “If they close us, it’s their decision.
He stressed he does not think a decision will be made without input from the regional school district. He is also concerned about the impact of surrounding districts — where some of W-H’s teachers reside — going to remote learning and their own children have no place to go while they are teaching here.

Szymaniak said he has conferred with area superintendents and all are now of the mind that schools are not affected as they are cleaner and safer than they have ever been.

There is a remote plan set to go if it is needed, however, he said.

“The concern I have is the state map,” he said. “We know Hanson went into the red last week, Whitman was in yellow last week.” Based on numbers reported after Columbus Day weekend, Szymaniak anticipates Whitman will also soon be in the red.

“What does that mean?” Szymaniak said, noting he issued a letter to parents and staff last week saying that just because the towns are in the red, doesn’t mean school will be interrupted.

Gov. Baker’s guidance of going to remote after three weeks in the red, has been followed by a contradictory message from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education that decisions should be based on internal data — not just on whether a town is in the red area.

“Right now, we have one week in the red in Hanson and we are a district,” he said, explaining that, if Hanson stays in the red it is almost like Whitman students are also in the red. “We’re not going to say to the Whitman kids, ‘Come to school,’ and the Hanson kids stay home.”

Szymaniak said lead nurse Lisa Tobin is practically working around the clock, even taking calls from parents at home during weekends.

“I’ve got to give praise to both boards of health,” Szymaniak said. “They are working their tails off with us.” Health officials have been calling the school, if necessary, in terms of contact tracing.

“If you’re six feet apart and you’re wearing a mask it is safe and parents and families need to know that,” said School Committee member Hillary Kniffen, who is also a teacher. She said 12 cases in a district student population of 3,800 students,  the risk is minimal.

In other business before the School Committee, school principals were afforded the opportunity to update the committee on what students are doing and what education looks like in a “COVID world” at their respective buildings.

“The most important part of our opening really has been that the kids are so excited, so happy to be there and we are, as well,” Conley Elementary Principal Karen Downey said, noting the special distancing and cleaning efforts under way to keep students and staff safe. “Kids are having individual supplies, as opposed to shared supplies, we’re cleaning the seats and the work areas in between [classroom changes] during travel time between classes.”

There are seating charts in all classrooms and special areas such as the lunchroom, and Chromebooks are cleaned and inspected by an industrial hygienist twice a week.

Indian Head interim Principal Gary Pelletier added that students are provided scheduled mask breaks and there are assigned seats on the bus and cafeteria.

Eucationally, he lauded the alignment of curriculum in all elementary buildings. New software, technology glitches and Chromebook capacity are among the challenges teachers are seeing.

Hanson Middle School Principal William Tranter notes that teachers rotate and students stay in classrooms all day — including lunch.

“None of us ever took the class, ‘How to Teach in a Pandemic,’” Tranter said. “Every day, we get a little bit better. We learn something, we figure it out, we make changes, and it gets a little bit better every day.”

Szymaniak said there have been no detentions or disciplinary issues at the middle schools.

“I think kids want to be here,” he said.

High School Principal Dr. Christopher Jones credited teachers, staff and students for making a flexible educational approach that is more focused on relationships with maximized learning with teachers, and constant communication a success.

Students at home are paired with students in the classroom to improve cohesion. All floors, except the main floor have one-way foot traffic.

They are struggling in terms of teacher workload and school culture, however.

Remote schooling principal Michael Grable reported that, “It’s been an interesting ride, so far.”

There are 316 students in kindergarten through grade eight in the remote program, learning at home full time, taught by nine teachers and five paraprofessionals.

HANSON — Two new officers were appointed, and Lt. Michael Casey was appointed deputy police chief effective immediately on the Hanson Police Department during the Tuesday, Oct. 13 meeting of the Board of Selectmen.

Police Chief Michael Miksch said the department had been functioning with a lieutenant as second in command for several years.

“What’s been happening in the area … is departments are renaming their number two officer,” Miksch said. “Their executive officer is the deputy chief.”

Besides the history of that position having been a lieutenant, Miksch said he hadn’t had the right person in the position to necessarily fill the title.

“I’m impressed with the amount [of knowledge] he has picked up, I’m impressed with his enthusiasm, he has a great way of dealing with the officers … he’s just been doing an outstanding job,” Miksch said.

He also noted that Casey has been doing the job, including working on policies and procedures in the department.

“If he’s doing the job, I think he deserves the title,” Miksch said. “That’s all it is right now, is a title. No one is asking for more money.”

The move is a title change to better reflect the job Casey is doing and the responsibility of the job. It also allows better interaction with other police agencies.

“I’m not going to put another person in the lieutenant’s position,” Miksch said in anticipation of that question from Selectmen. “There’s no funding for that. Those badges and the name plate will go on a shelf somewhere.”

But, it would be a good placeholder for future discussion if the right person became evident, he said.

“One of goals, if I leave, is to make sure that you have some choices as to whose going to be the next chief,” Miksch said. “I think it’s the sign of a very successful organization if they can promote from within.”

Selectmen Chairman Kenny Mitchell said a succession plan is a good idea, and Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett agreed, but expressed concern about potential issues the town’s labor counsel should advise them about.

“Not being a Civil Service community, we’re not bound by any of those laws,” Miksch said, but added he does not have a problem with selectmen consulting labor counsel, if that makes them more comfortable.

FitzGerald-Kemmett argued for either postponing a vote for two weeks for an opinion, or approve it on condition of approval by labor counsel. Selectmen voted to approve it subject to labor counsel OK.

Regarding the new officers Miksch said that, when the 911 communications — which encompassed five civilian positions —were transferred to the regional communications center in Duxbury, he sought an additional four officers to keep the station open.

“[It] still brought me in with less of a budget than I had before [the dispatchers] left,” he said.

One candidate, who was supposed to attend the academy in January, did not meet the requirements and left another position open. He decided to seek a trained officer in another department willing to make a lateral move to Hanson.

“As you know from the news, there aren’t a lot of people banging down the door to become cops anymore, but we got about 30 applicants,” Miksch said. Out of those, only five or six met the requirement of having completed a full-time academy.

They also brought in 10 part-time officers for interviews. One of those, Robert Mansfield, stood out, according to Miksch.

“He grew up in Whitman, he’s a W-H graduate, he worked on the Yarmouth Police Department,” Miksch said. After a short time, he transferred to Oak Bluffs when his wife started a job on Martha’s Vineyard. He attended the Randolph full-time academy and as five years’ experience on the job and can be appointed Nov. 1.

Mansfield is a graduate of UMass, Boston and attended the Mass. Maritime Academy where he majored in emergency management.

Appointed to begin service on completion of police academy were: part-time officers Nick Kanarski and Kyle Barsani.

Kanarski has been a part-time officer in Hanson for more than 10 years, Miksch said.

“He’s another local kid,” he said. “He worked in IT for WHRSD when the previous police chief appointed him as a part-time officer.”

Kanarski has done details, “hanging around to do the training he needs to do every year to keep up” and has been willing to work emergency night details despite also holding down a full-time job, the chief said.

“Nick would be a great full-time and he wants a career change,” Miksch said, noting he would begin the Plymouth Academy Feb. 1. Kanarski has worked for the Secret Service is also a personal trainer and his IT background will be helpful.

“My guys’ idea of fixing the printer is smacking it with something and hoping the paper fits,” Miksch said.

Barsani became a part-time officer in Hanson about six months ago, has been an auxiliary officer in Whitman for the past year and is finishing college, working on a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. He is also a personal trainer and fitness instructor, at the Old Colony YMCA. He is expected to start the Cape Cod academy Jan. 4.

In other business, Selectmen voted Halloween activities in town.

Mitchell said it should go on as usual, with safety guidelines such as putting candy in bags to hand out.

“I really don’t see cancelling Halloween as a positive,” he said.

“It’s huge,” FitzGerald-Kemmett agreed. “I think people know that they need to be safe. … We’ve got little people who have had a pretty abysmal year, which is the understatement of the year, and this is some little amount of joy they can get before we’re all shut in for the winter.”

“Cancelling Halloween is out of the question,” said Selectman Jim Hickey, who has spoken with younger parents in town, who plan to accompanying their children to ensure social distancing.

“My house is going to be ready,” he said. “So, if somebody comes at 2 in the afternoon, I’m going to be ready. If somebody comes at 8 o’clock, my light’s out.”

Hickey and FitzGerald-Kemmett suggested touching base with the school district to reinforce safety issues with middle school students.

“If you’re at home handing out candy, wear a mask,” Selectman Matt Dyer said. “If you’re out trick-or-treating, wear a mask.”

WHITMAN – In a frequently tense discussion, the Board of Selectmen voted to again table discussion on the fee agreement for environmental site work during its Tuesday, Oct. 6 meeting. The delay allows time to invite state DEP officials to schedule a visit to the board to discuss the issue.

“The issue at hand is whether the town should be looking at and assessing the conditions for the property at 602 Bedford St., which we know to be contaminated, and we know has a substantial file at the DEP,” said Town Administrator Frank Lynam.

The town sought a grant from MOBD to fund a Phase 2 assessment of the property in order to identify and ascertain the level of contamination, what the contaminants are and what would be involved in moving to the next step — estimating the cost of returning the property to useful condition.

“It would help us to put the property back on the tax rolls,” Lynam said, making it clear that, unless Selectmen decide otherwise, the town has no intention of taking ownership of the property. “The tax title action, which was advertised a few weeks ago, is a lien mechanism that has to be employed by the town in order to ensure its right to collect the taxes that are unpaid on the property.”

Assistant Town Administrator Lisa Green prepared a proposal to represent the town in that request through the courts. Green noted that the fee agreement covers the Regal property on South Avenue as well. A previous court action allowed access to Regal for only 180 days and a refilling is necessary to continue a Phase 3 site assessment there.

Tracey Costa, a licensed site professional with Ransom Properties and who has worked with the town before, but is not currently under contract with Whitman.

“The timing is really something to consider because we really don’t know next year what the Mass. Development funding mechanism will look like,” Costa said, noting there is also an opportunity to apply for an EPA Brownfields Communitywide Assessment Fund. “You really want to be able to attract developers to the site.”

The assessment would not only determine the level of contamination, but also would outline cleanup options, according to Costa. But in conducting an assessment, the town is obligated to cleanup the site if imminent hazards are found.

While that is not likely, she said, it is built into the language of the fund.

Finance and Building committees member David Codero, who has an environmental background, has brought up concern that the town may by moving forward in a manner that flies in the face of state and EPA guidance in terms of future cleanups.

“What they are proposing is to do an investigation on a property we don’t own, and my concern is that is opening the town up for liabilities if they don’t put mechanisms in place through the attorney general’s office and through DEP in order to protect themselves from any liability,” Codero said. “What type of liability does a non-owner have when going onto somebody else’s property?”

Costa said that access would have to be acquired through an administrative warrant. Codero said that must be done upfront to avoid full liability.

“What we are voting on is a fee agreement with a law firm that will take are of the issues that David is concerned about, am I misunderstanding that?” Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski said.

Green agreed that was the issue at hand.

“It is to motion the land court to allow the town access to the property to conduct the site assessment,” Green said.

Selectman Randy LaMattina disagreed.

“There are some people trying to get something passed that clearly don’t have an idea of what they are doing,” he said. “I’m not speaking of Ransom, but I’m speaking about liability issues on this town — the property — we’ve been given misinformation as a board and I’m going to take an opportunity to clear it up.”

LaMattina noted there are two purposes for cleaning brownfields — reuse and redevelopment — and a team should be in place to handle it as the projects are started rather than “randomly start poking holes in property you don’t even own.”

He countered Green’s response to an email from Codero that brownfields grants cover legal fees. They are, instead, a specialized area of contaminated site cleanup that are highly litigious and involve a tremendous amount of legal work, LaMattina said.

“Those will not be covered under any brownfields grants,” he said. “That’s a cost that this town better be prepared to absorb. …We have no plans for reuse and redevelopment.”

He also said that, while heirs to the property have not taken title to the property, they have never renounced ownership of it. It also has a handful of liens and judgments against it totaling more than $5 million.

“Before this town saw any money, that’s where the money would go,” he said. “There are liability issues. We can’t overlook them for the fact that this sounds good, and unfortunately I think that’s what we are doing.”

He moved that the issue be tabled until the DEP can come meet with town officials about it.

Green countered that she has done a lot of research and did not go forward with her response to Codero’s email without doing so, granting that she is not a brownfields expert.

“She’s doing it wrong,” LaMattina said, occasionally cutting off others. “Plain and simple, she’s doing it wrong. … This is not the way brownfields are supposed to be handled.”

Green said Mass Development has never told her she was pursuing the grant incorrectly.

Selectmen voted to allow Green to pursue the grant a couple of months ago and are now looking at a fee agreement to complete that.

Lynam said the EPA spent $1 million on the Regal property to make it accessible for development before running out of money, noting LaMattina made some points well.

“You can’t have a development plan unless you know what it’s going to take to develop that property,” Lynam said. “One of the things that comes into play is, what is it going to cost to clean it?”

He said this was the first he had heard that DEP is willing to come talk to the board.

“I think we ought to say, ‘Thank you, and come on out,’” Lynam said.

COVID update

In other business, Lynam discussed Gov. Charlie Baker’s new guidelines for the continued reopening of state businesses.

“The only concern I have is that, as we start opening up, we’re seeing the numbers climb pretty much every day,” he said. “Today was low with 340-something, but I’m just hoping that people hold it together and do what they need to to keep it under control, because it would be a shame to move backwards.”

He said he met with the VFW and Board of Health during which an agreement was reached to halt meat raffles and motorcycle poker runs until further notice in the interest of public health.

Bezanson asked whether Selectmen or the Board of Health would be taking a position about Halloween activities.

Lynam said that would be up to the Board of Health, which will be issuing an advisory on it.

“The [state Department of Public Health] DPH has been emphatic in recommending that there be no door-to-door trick-or-treating and, while we technically can’t restrict that activity, we can certainly issue an advisory that we don’t think it’s in the best interests of the town to conduct that activity,” Lynam said.

HANSON — The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, Sept. 29 continued discussion on a request by the Old Colony YMCA to lease of Needles Lodge at Camp Kiwanee for use as a learning pod for children whose parents have to work during remote learning days. [See related story below.]

“I’m supportive of this, but the devil’s in the details on the agreement we enter into with them,” said Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett.

Town Counsel Kate Feodoroff said she adjusted language in the request to refer to it as a license rather than a lease.

“The interesting part about it is that what they are intending to do is set up a place for remote learning,” she said. “This is allowed by executive order of the governor.”

Towns must appoint someone to inspect proposals, including running CORI checks on all employees, as well as certification that health requirements are being met among other responsibilities.

FitzGerald-Kemmett questioned whether the town should be responsible for such employee background checks.

“I don’t want to minimize the burden on the town, but there’s a burden that’s been placed on the town by this executive order,” Feodoroff said. She noted that the town would have the same inspection responsibilities for private organizations offering the service on public property.

“We do have a private business in town that just got approved for the same exact thing,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said, referring to the Boss Academy learning pod. “I don’t know if we fully appreciated that there was a liability that flowed to the town.”

Boss Academy worked with town inspection boards to ensure that all necessary documentation was in place, she said. It also received approval from the state’s Department Of Early Education and Care (DEEC).

“I don’t think it’s a liability, I think it’s just an obligation — an additional task,” Feodoroff said.

FitzGerald-Kemmett said Boss Academy already does CORI checks on its staff, but Feodoroff said the town is supposed to fill that role for learning pod approval.

“I thought it was a strange, strange thing myself,” Feodoroff said Selectmen could approve the lease request contingent on her speaking to the DEEC about potentially outsourcing CORI checks as was done with the other business.

Selectman Chairman Kenny Mitchell said he was not comfortable voting on the request until more information is available.

“We could do it as quick as Saturday morning if we get all our ducks in a row by then,” Mitchell said.

Selectman Matt Dyer also voiced concerns about the dependability of the internet connectivity at Camp Kiwanee and whether Hanson students would get preference in enrollment.

“We have other vendors up there that are there throughout the week,” Dyer also noted. “Are we pushing current vendors out? Are we displacing them?”

Mitchell said the yoga program is looking into using space at the library.

Dyer also said compensation concerned him — $2,500 per month plus 25 percent of the enrollment fee, while the town charges $5,000 for a wedding, which only uses the space for four hours. He also urged calculation of utilities costs to determine if the Y program will enable the town to break even.

“They’re going to be there in the winter, when we typically don’t have the heat going full-blast five days a week from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “That’s going to be a significant cost. … I’d be surprised if $2,500 per month is even going to cover our heating costs during the winter.”

She said she wasn’t against the proposal so long as the YMCA covers the cost of the additional fiber optics installation and winter heating expenses and the $2,500.

Selectman Jim Hickey said the $50 per child cost could bring the YMCA as much as $50,000 a month.

“They’re going to pay us a drop in the bucket,” he said. “There’s a lot of questions.”

In other business, Selectmen discussed the Finance Committee’s vote against recommending an article to change the tree warden from an elected to an appointed position could lead to more costs down the road in view of the need to hire an experienced certified arborist.

Mitchell said that was a concern he shared and suggested more research on the issue was needed.

The position can remain elected until the next election and can also be raised again at the May Town Meeting, Town Clerk Elizabeth Sloan said.

Selectman Matt Dyer suggested placing the duties under the purview of the Highway Director.

“I really like that,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “It addresses FinCom’s concerns … we have a unique opportunity, right now, to modify what that job description is.”

For that reason, the board let the article stand.

WHITMAN — The Board of Selectmen voted to back Board of Health decisions about COVID-19 regulations concerning food service and public gatherings as well as authorizing the purchase of ionizing devices to clean air circulating through HVAC systems in town buildings.

At the same time, Town Administrator Frank Lynam offered to discuss meat raffles with health officials and VFW representatives, and the board tabled the issue of motorcycle poker runs vs. rolling “political rallies” to its next meeting.

Selectmen also voted unanimously to extend temporary alcohol licenses under which bars may operate during the pandemic within the governor’s limitations. The licenses expire at the end of the month.

Health regulations

“The problems we have been facing recently have been compounded by a couple of events that have occurred,” Lynam said. “It has been a difficult time for every business that’s operating today under COVID. Most everybody is working with us — although they’re very frustrated about it. …  But, at the same time, the Board of Health is really the deciding factor on what can and can’t be done under COVID.”

VFW Manager Al Rainey had sought permission from the Board of Health to hold a meat raffle, as has been allowed in Abington. Whitman health officials ruled against the request and Rainey brought the request before the Board of Selectmen.

“We’re following the guidelines,” Rainey said. “It’s an entertainment piece that were giving for outside and inside dining.”

He said the VFW is allotted 99 spaces for dining, arguing it is not an “outside event.”

Staff walks among diners showing the packages of meat up for raffle.

He accepted the health board’s ruling against his request until he noticed that Abington was allowing meat raffles, and asked again to determine if state rules had changed.

“The town has a vested interest in not seeing COVID blow up here,” Lynam said. “Wherever they’re getting crowds, wherever they’re getting a lot of people moving around and doing things, they’re getting infections.”

He argued having people walk around, selling tickets and taking money is a “high-risk operation.”

“I don’t disagree with you,” Rainey said. “Money is one of the dirtiest things around.”

“The why would you want to do it?” Lynam said.

He said they are a business that follows the guidelines, but does not have the capability to accept credit cards.

“Where is the level playing field between the two towns?” Rainey said.

“I don’t care what Abington does, Al,” Lynam said. But he did offer to set up a meeting with the health board and VFW to discuss the matter further. The VFW agreed to aide by any decision the Board of Health makes.

Selectman Randy LaMattina said Abington and Whitman are two different fields and the board has to support the Board of Health. He also said the cross-contamination posed by handling money between tables was a concern.

Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski agreed with LaMattina.

“I don’t question the Board of Health,” Kowalski said. “They know what’s going on in town and they take this seriously.”

Selectman Dan Salvucci said he trusts that the Board of Health does take things seriously, “but it’s not six months ago.”

Kowalski took issue with that characterization.

“It’s not six months ago, no,” he said. “We’re about to hit into late fall/early winter, and if you think things are going to get better — magically — then, you’re dreaming.”

“I’m hoping so,” Salvucci said.

Lynam noted a motorcycle event held over the weekend at the VFW, which drew estimates of about 600 motorcylists, in no way permitted social distancing when the maximum outdoor crowd limit if 50 people, or eight per 1,000 square feet.

“That stuff can’t continue and, I think if they heard it from the board rather than me or [Fire Chief Timothy] Grenno, or [Health Agent] Alexis Andrews, they might have a better understanding of it’s the direction we have to go in,” Lynam said.

Police Chief Timothy Hanlon also attended the virtual meeting to discuss events that require police presence and traffic control, that discussion was later tabled for further consideration.

A request for an upcoming poker run prompted the discussion.

Sunday’s America Backs the Blue run had started as a fundraiser for the Michael Chesna family but then turned into a political statement, Hanlon said.

“Our problems are two-fold,” he said. “The gathering that occurred Sunday was way over the [social distancing] limits, so you have to balance the right to assemble against any COVID-related issues such as not wearing masks, not social distancing and having a gathering over a certain number of people,” he said. The Police Department likes to be able to help charities with traffic control free of charge, but he noted it adds to the budget burden.

Hanlon said he would like to see a permitting process to help the department know what to expect, as some of the motorcycle runs sometimes come with no advance notice.

Grenno said the Board of Health had taken a strong line of no motorcycle runs because of the social distancing guidelines and concerns.

Air filters

Lynam said he and Grenno met with WHRSD officials last week to discuss the systems, which generate ion waves that attach to the coronavirus in the air and kills it, as well as airborne bacteria.

“These things have been going gangbusters for the last 90 days,” Lynam said, noting W-H spent $160,000 installing the devices in the schools.

Grenno has received a proposal to install the devices in all town buildings for about $40,000, reimbursable through the Plymouth County COVID funds. They would be placed in HVAC vents — three or four would be required in some buildings — to help create a healthier environment and monitoring the air quality.

“It kills strep, it kills TB, it kills COVID,” Grenno said. “It kills all kinds of common, known viruses and bacteria out there.”

He advocated installation in all town buildings not only for better air quality, but for peace of mind, as well.

The manufacturer also sells the devices for home use, saying the only negative feedback they had received was from a man who could no longer smell his bacon and eggs cooking in the morning.

“It works that good,” Grenno said, adding that the schools also report a noticeable difference in air quality. “It’s just a freshness throughout the building.”

The devices have a 20-year life expectancy and reduce the frequency in which air filters need to be changed. Some filter grades are so thick, they also tend to burn out HVAC system motors.

How did we get here?
Whitman and Hanson select boards met jointly with the WHRSD School Committee via virtual Zoom meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 15 to review the history of town assessments in support of the regional school district.
“After we discuss that and get clarity, the object is to make sure we have systems in place so that it doesn’t happen again,” Whitman Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski said of the mistakes made that caused division between the towns in recent months. “What happened was unfortunate and caused each of the towns to see each other with suspicion and that’s not how the towns have behaved in the past.”
Kowalksi said the object is also to ensure that the new Regional Agreement Committee continues with its work.
Whitman Selectman Randy LaMattina outlined a timeline of the issue, which he has researched.
“We got lost in the effect, and didn’t get a solid explanation of the cause, and that’s my goal this evening,” LaMattina said.
He said his timeline has been verified by emails, meeting videos and minutes, and public record beginning with the 1993 Education Reform Act, which put in place a statute regulating how assessments are calculated.
“This was never addressed in any Whitman-Hanson agreement up until this previous year [when it] was finally the first year we’ve handled it correctly,” LaMattina said. He noted the confusion stemmed from a feeling that the alternative — or per-pupil — method was an illegal one.
“That absolutely was not an illegal method,” he said. “But what we clearly did not do was follow the statute.”
The towns should have been made aware they were using an alternate method and been afforded the opportunity to vote on the method used.
LaMattina said he didn’t know why the discrepancy played out since 1993, but noted the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) provided some clarity in 2007 with and a memo affirming the correct process and their position in response to questions from some school districts.
“We don’t know who got that [memo],” he said.
An “erratic fact pattern in the filing of year-end reports” at WHRSD began in 2012.
Whitman resident Christopher George began to question the process in May 2016 through an email to former Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner. George, active at the time in the pro-override Save Our Schools group, had included a link to the 2007 DESE memo in his email. Both George and School Committee member Fred Small have both said there was a follow-up discussion between George and Gilbert-Whitner.
In 2017, Gilbert-Whitner reached out to School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes about the need to revise the “antiquated” regional agreement that referred to closed schools and other outdated information. The Regional Amendment Agreement Committee was then formed and worked on doing so from 2017-18.
“This was obviously where a lot of our answers can be found and a lot of very deep questions start to come from,” LaMattina said.
Representatives of the Mass. Association of Regional Schools (MARS) attended the committee’s first meeting Sept. 25, 2017 in which the assessment method was mentioned as a “significant issue,” and stated the district “currently uses the statutory method.” It was stressed that to use the alternative method that the district was, in fact, using “both towns would have to vote on it each and every year,” LaMattina noted.
On Aug. 14 LaMattina called MARS representative Malcolm Reid to ask why they assumed WHRSD was using the statutory method.
“We asked Christine (referring to former Business Manager Christine Suckow), and that’s what she said she used,” Reid replied, according to LaMattina. “She was using a formula, but the numbers were wrong,” Reid told him.
“There was obviously not a nefarious intention,” LaMattina said he determined from his conversations with Reid. “It appears that, at this time, we had somebody employed by the school district that didn’t have a full understanding of what she was using.”
MARS representative Stephen Hemman on Aug. 17 told LaMattina Suckow was using her own hybrid assessment method, which did not use the minimum local contribution. A fact Hemman found out in a meeting with Suckow and Gilbert-Whitner.
LaMattina said the error was never mentioned to new district administration, and it continued for two more budget cycles. Hemman and the MARS assistant director came to W-H in June 2019 to meet with Hayes and Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak “where an actual pen to paper was put to Christine’s numbers and it was fully discovered what she was doing wrong at that time,” according to LaMattina.
School Committee member David Forth stressed that, while both the former business manager and superintendent were named in the meeting, the problems surrounding the assessment issue were in place for years before them.
“To blame these two people is just a narrative that’s being pushed,” he said. “I think you could say they were part of the issue, but this goes further back.”
Through the summer of 2019 “quite a bit of infighting” between the towns had started to take place and the school district began an investigation on the former business manager. In 2016-18, year end reports had reflected the alternative method and were “very erratic” in previous years, LaMattina said.
He asked Hayes whether the schools, indeed had followed the statutory method all along.
“If the answer is no, what are we going to do as partners to make sure this doesn’t happen again?” LaMattina said.
“I think everyone is much more schooled on it now, than they were in the past,” Hayes said, noting the district has a new business manager who is taking a different approach. “It depends on the correct information of those statements.”
Kowalski said he was not certain that the purpose of the meeting was to ask questions like that and asked Szymaniak if LaMattina’s assessment met his understanding of the issue.
“What we really need to do is look forward more than look back, and have some reassurance that we have systems in place that that can’t happen again,” Kowalski said.
“The timeline that Mr. LaMattina has presented is the timeline that I’ve been able to track back,” Szymaniak said, who took the helm at WHRSD in July 2018. “When things come from DESE they’re addressed to superintendents and charter school leaders, so that they’re covered. Business managers might have been on this one, but it usually goes right to the superintendent’s office and at that point, it was Dr. John McEwan, who was the superintendent.”
Whitman’s passing over the Regional Agreement article in May 2018 is when questions arose for him.
Forth, who also researched a timeline, starting in 1978 when funding cases began to process toward regionalization. He stressed that the regional agreement was intended to be reviewed every five years. He said Kowalski, who was chairman of the school committee in 1993 should also have been aware of the assessment issue.
“I don’t understand why we waited until 2016-17 to update a regional agreement that should have been updated every five years since ’91,” Forth said.
School Committee member Dawn Byers said when she began researching the issue, she was cautioned that proceeding would “tear the two towns apart.”
“I was intimidated, people tried to silence me, and I was lied to and told that we were using the statutory method,” she said. “I knew these numbers were exactly why these two towns were having budget issues.”
She said there has been a generation of students in W-H who have suffered as a result.
Szymaniak agreed that, going forward, the agreement should be reviewed every five years and joint meetings with finance committees and selectmen should be used to increase transparency in budgeting.
Hanson Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said she is questioning the checks and balances in this situation.
“To say that this is blowing my mind would be the understatement of the year,” she said. “We have got to make sure that people are held accountable.”
An open line of dialog should have been opened with town officials as soon as the problem was discovered.
Small advocated a clear action plan for the budget process and assessment going forward, including a complete audit.

WHITMAN — The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, Sept. 8 voted to proceed with the purchase of a new ambulance to be submitted as a COVID-related expense to the Plymouth County Commissioners for reimbursement.

Town Administrator Frank Lynam said the Commissioners have told towns that they wish to finalize distribution of federal COVID grant funds in October and transfer funds from communities that have not spent all the money they received to financially overburdened cities and towns.

Whitman already has two reimbursement claims pending, and Lynam said, the purchase of an ambulance — the sole use of which for the duration of the pandemic is for the transport of suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 — is potentially a good move for the town. After the pandemic ends, the ambulance would become a fleet vehicle.

The cost of about $334,000 which may still leave the town with additional funds, depending on the claim from the school district to cover its COVID costs.

“We are slated to purchase an ambulance in two years,” Lynam said. “In fact, we put aside $150,000 in this year’s appropriations toward the purchase of the ambulance, so it seems to me that it would be advantageous to do that.”

The town must buy the ambulance before the county would reimburse for it. Two other county communities have purchased emergency response vehicles and received reimbursement, Lynam said.

“While we know there is some risk associated with this, we know that if we don’t do this, in FY ’22 we’re going to be looking at putting up more money for that same ambulance that we would then be purchasing,” Lynam said.

Joining the Zoom meeting, Fire Chief Timothy Grenno said the federal guidelines for the funds spell out that the money is intended to support purchase of equipment for medical or emergency transport.

“That’s what these departments are hanging their hats on,” Grenno said.

“I see no problem in it,” said Selectmen Vice Chairman Dan Salvucci, who conducted the meeting in Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski’s absence. “Where there’s a number of towns that are doing it, why wouldn’t we?”

Grenno described how the Fire Department operated in the spring during the first wave of COVID cases, noting that a second wave is forecast by some health experts for this fall.

“We have two primary ambulances,” he said. “One … which has the powerload stretcher, which is a stretcher that keeps the attendant away from the patient, and that is the recommended [ambulance] for COVID.”

One ambulance was designated as the “COVID truck,” Grenno said.

“It was draped in plastic and parked out back, and that truck only went out on COVID responses,” he said. “That forced us to put the reserve truck into service.”

That ambulance, a 2008 or 2010 model has an old stretcher and HVAC system — and is the one the department had already planned to replace next year.

“We actually ran three ambulances, but one was designated as the COVID truck,” Grenno said.

“I don’t question the purchase, I think I was the one actually advocating the purchase of one this year,” said Selectman Randy LaMattina. “I know these take months to spec out … do you know what’s the order time, the lag time to get it? When do we actually pay for it?”

Grenno said the dealer he works with has a demo that fits the department’s needs and specifications that can be delivered to the town as early as next week.

As a COVID-related expense spent from a COVID account from which the town expects to be reimbursed, no town meeting is required to authorize the expenditure, Lynam said.

“This is great planning,” Selectman Justin Evans said. “I think it’s a great use of the funds to get ourselves a couple of years ahead in our ambulance replacement plan.”

He wanted to make sure the schools or other department did not have unaddressed COVID needs.

Lynam said there is currently more than $1 million available in the COVID fund right now, and while he expects to see a significant figure from the school district, “They’re so wrapped up in scheduling, I can’t get a number out of them.”

The chairman of the Plymouth County Commissioners has informed towns that he wants all reimbursement requests in by Oct. 1, in order to begin reallocation to other communities by Oct. 2.

“There are so many resources out there for federal funds and federal resources out there right now, that it’s actually pretty crazy,” Grenno said. “When this money dries up, there are grant opportunities out there for PPE and stuff like that.”

Grenno said he now has enough PPE right now if things do get bad this fall.

If the ambulance reimbursement is denied a town meeting would be required to authorize the balance of what is needed to pay for it, Lynam said.

Library trustee

In other business, meeting jointly with the Library Board of Trustees, the two boards elected Margaret McEwan to fill a vacancy until the next Town Election. It took two ballots as the boards’ votes were tied between McEwan and Katherine Getchell.

“I feel as though I’d like to give back to the community,” said McEwan, who has lived in Whitman for more than 40 years. “Both my family and I have used the library extensively, and at this time in my life I thought it’s an opportunity to give back to a community service that’s meant a lot to me.”

Getchell also pointed to a desire to contribute to the community as a lifelong Whitman resident who recently retired from WHRHS.

“I read all the time and am a huge patron of the Whitman Public Library,” Getchell said, noting she has joined a couple of groups at the library. “I like to participate in what the library has to offer.”

Getchell has also been active in the Arts Council and Whitman Youth Football.

While he carried the towns of Whitman and Hanson, U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III lost the Massachusetts state primary to U.S. Sen. Edward J. Markey on Tuesday, Sept. 1.

Election officials in both towns said early and mail-in ballot activity was heavier than ususal, as was in-person voting on Tuesday, Sept. 1.

“We had almost 2,000 mail-in ballots,” said Hanson Town Clerk Elizabeth Sloan. “Everything is going very smoothly today.”

Whitman saw 31 percent of the town’s 10,800 registered voters cast ballots in the primary. There were 68 absentee ballots and 1,772 early voting ballots cast. In Hanson, where election workers had been counting votes until after midnight, there had not yet been information on the percentage of the town’s 7,769 registered voters who cast ballots.

Kennedy garnered 1,385 votes to Markey’s 1,133 in Whitman and eaked out a narrow margin 909 to Markey’s 899 in Hanson.

“We may have lost the final vote count tonight, but we built a coalition that will endure,” Kennedy told supporters.

In other races on the primary ballot, U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch won his Whitman primary vs. challenger Robbie H. Goldstein 1,783 to 679.  He took the 8th Congressional district with 66 percent of the vote over Goldstein’s 34 percent with 76.5 percent of the votes counted Tuesday night.

The other contested race on the ballot, state Sen. Mike Brady topped Brockton City Councilor Moises Rodrigues 1,581 to 793 in Whitman and 1,173 to 510 in Hanson on the way to a district-wide win in the 2nd Plymouth & Bristol.

“The age of incrementalism is over. Now is our moment to think big,” Markey told supporters Tuesday night. “This election is an undeniable mandate for action, and it is our young people who will lead the way,” Markey said.

He noted that progressive issues such as universal health care, an end to systematic racism and passage of the Green New Deal are among the urgent issues requiring bold action.

“The time to be timid is past,” he said.

Congratulating Markey after conceding Tuesday night, Kennedy pledged his support for Markey in the months ahead of the Nov. 3 general election. For his part, Markey committed to “talking with and working with Kennedy to make the lasting, meaningful change that I know that we are both committed to.”

“The senator is a good man, you have never heard me say otherwise,” Kennedy said of the contentious primary contest. “It was difficult at times between us … elections often get heated.”

Local Markey supporters — W-H School Committee member David Forth and Finance Committee member Rosemary Connolly — spoke about the Senate race while sign-holding for Markey in Whitman Tuesday morning.

“I’m feeling good right now,” Forth said. “I think we have the momentum on our side — hopefully, things turn out well.”

Forth said he thought recent online negativity between supporters of the two candidates would motivate people to vote no matter who they support.

“The polls have shifted to Markey right now, but before it was pretty close,” he said. “I do think, whether it’s negativity going to Kennedy or going to Markey, I feel their voter base is going to feel motivated to come out because the want to prove the other side wrong.

Forth, 19, spoke about political veteran Markey’s appeal to younger voters.

“He has been there for awhile, and I think that’s one of the things that’s discouraged some people that have a progressive outlook … but, for the most part, I think he’s supported young people, he’s supported what’s best for the community, he’s supported older people.”

Forth said the bottom line is that Kennedy has never given a reason why he should be supported over Markey other than the latter not being visible in Massachusetts, but Markey’s legislative record speaks to progressives.

“If you’re a Sanders supporter or something like that, you would align yourself with Markey,” Forth said. While both candidates accept super PAC money, but the sources of Markey’s funds are not connected with oil companies or other other sources that “go against progressive ideals.”

Connolly said, as a town official as well as a constituent, she finds Markey’s accessibility a plus.

“When I have an issue with things, I can call up Markey,” she said. “[He] picks up the phone and listens.”

HANSON — While fiscal 2020 was a “favorable year, financially” with revenues nearly 3 percent over budget, an override is seen as likely to be necessary for fiscal 2022, Selectmen were advised during their Tuesday, Aug. 25 meeting.

Town Accountant Todd Hassett met for his quarterly report via telephone with the Selectmen who gathered in a socially-distanced manner at Town Hall.

“Fiscal ’22, even despite what may go on with state revenues, will be extremely challenging for us absent an override or some sort of major change going forward,” he said. “We need to start some preliminary planning so we get the message out to the community. … It’s important to get ahead of this early.”

The fiscal 2021 budget is balanced, “despite some moving pieces” on the revenue side, Hassett stressed.

“The actions that Town Meeting approved [did not produce] a shortfall,” he said. “We have a balanced budget.”

While there have been about $90,000 in unused reserve funds this year, Hassett said that is unusual and traceable to the COVID shutdown this spring. Town Meeting had also used $450,000 in free cash to support the operating budget.

Fiscal 2021 revenue estimates at Camp Kiwnanee are down to $142,000 — compared to $218,000 in fiscal 2020 — as event cancellations continue to require refunds.

“Although the sign-ups for future events at the lodge seem to be rebounding, a lot of them are pushed into the next fiscal year,” Hassett said, advising the $142,000 be held in case the camp’s operations need to be shored up. “We’ll cautiously watch how this year progresses.”

The transfer station, meanwhile, exceeded revenue forecasts by about $30,000, mostly from the three-year sticker sales, meaning a decline will be seen in fiscal ’21 as disposal costs continue to rise.

Selectmen also heard an update on the former Maquan School.

Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett noted that the reuse committee has been investigating the possibility of using it for senior housing despite hurdles ranging from town administrator turnover to COVID.

“I just wanted to get a sanity check, because we are definitely in very different economic times than we were when we originally talked about this,” she said.

The “backup plan,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said, was the $1 million approved at a recent Town Meeting for demolition of the building.

A formal request for proposal to contractors for possible reuse — to be able to say all avenues were explored — have produced early returns indicating people were looking for the town to invest in a sewer system first, among other services.

“We’re not spending any money for somebody else to make money off of that property,” she said. “Everybody said [in a town survey] wanted to retain the property.”

Both the library and senior center have spoken about the need for expansion.

A consulting firm had also advised the reuse committee that lease of the property would bring in only between an estimated $800,000 and $1 million because of the site work and engineering planning needed.

FitzGerald-Kemmett asked for a vote from the board on whether they wanted to sell the property.

“I say definitely don’t sell it,” said Selectmen Chairman Kenny Mitchell.

Selectman Matt Dyer said whether the property is used for a library or senior center project, a comprehensive plan is needed on how to best use the space.

FitzGerald-Kemmett suggested the Maquan property dovetails well with proposals for the reuse of the Plymouth County Hospital site.

The board also heard a quarterly report from Fire Chief Jerome Thompson who noted the department is answering multiple calls 15 percent of the time, arguing that supports the need for a full staff of four firefighters at all times.

Aggressive maintenance programs keep buildings and equipment in good shape, he said.

Thompson credited his department for its response to COVID-19 despite guidance from state officials that sometimes changed daily. Since March 1, the department transported 68 cases of suspected COVID and 14 confirmed cases.

“I want to point out that there could have been more confirmed [cases] that we don’t know about,” he said. Even suspected cases required the use of full protective equipment and a 30-minute cleaning of the ambulance on return to the station.

“It changed everything we did,” Thompson said. “It pretty much affected all aspects of out operation. … And it will for the foreseeable future.”

PPE supplies from the state are in good shape so far, he noted, but cleaning supplies are hard to come by.

FitzGerald-Kemmett also lauded the fire and police departments for the — sometimes controversial — rolling birthday parades in which they participated this spring.

“It helped people mentally at a very bad time,” she said.