WHITMAN — The Finance Committee is still working on hard numbers for Town Meeting Warrant Article 2, which funds the town’s budget, but members are working to meet as much of the School Department’s 11.5-percent assessment increase as possible within the levy limit.

Prior to the Tuesday, March 21 meeting, Finance Committee member Shawn M. Kain had presented Town Administrator Frank Lynam with a “brainstorming” list of potential cuts he wanted to discuss, which prompted a heated exchange between members.

Chairman Michael Minchello and Lynam calculated during the session that the town might be able to meet a 7.5-percent increase — 9 percent for Whitman including the student population shift — “as a starting point.”

That represents the town’s retaining non-mandated busing, a $365,000 expense to the town. They further calculated that, minus funds that would be needed to add crossing guards, about $320,000 could be added in support of schools if non-mandated busing for children within a mile and a half of schools was discontinued — bringing the assessment increase to between 10 and 10.5 percent.

Finance Committee member Charles Colby said the assessment calculations were a step in the right direction.

Discontinuing non-mandated busing is a decision Town Meeting voters must make, they noted.

“I’m trying to get to a fair number,” Lynam said, referring to Kain’s brainstorming memo. “You’re suggesting that we make significant cuts to town budgets in order to increase funding to the schools.”

Lynam argued that WHRSD is not cutting a dollar from its budget, but rather is adding $1.4 million to the town’s budget.

“You want to make it a percentage game and I want to make it a dollars game,” Lynam said.

Kain disagreed, arguing that while schools have increased slightly, other departments have increased budgets over the years, and suggested in his talking points memo that town departments be cut by 25 percent — $353,000.

“I didn’t know where the money would end up, so I wanted some contingency just to prepare for the meeting,” Kain said. “I do think if you cut a flat rate from the expense line, if everybody had to cut 10 percent from their expense line, that’s a departmental cut.”

Among his suggestions was reducing utilities costs and gave the example of cutting air-conditioning or heating use at the library.

“It sounds like you want to cut legitimate services,” said IT Director Josh MacNeil, later adding, “What you’re telling me is you’re looking to screw the town to fund the schools.”

“I would like to have discussion about, if the schools are sacrificing, but how are other departments sacrificing?” Kain said, noting he got his figures from the annual Town Report.

After listening to much of the discussion about Kain’s memo, Minchello, a former School Committee member, weighed in on the Finance Committee’s mission.

“What I have a problem with is that this committee is supposed to bring in a balanced budget and a fair budget and every comment you have made tonight is so one-sided for the schools,” Minchello said. “I have a problem with that. When we’re up in front of the town, we’re supposed to be making recommendations — it’s our credibility as a committee that’s at stake here.”

Kain’s recent comments at a School Committee meeting, which he made as a private citizen in support of sharing sacrifices town wide, were also criticized.

“If you don’t want to be on [the Finance Committee], walk out and go be an activist, because maybe you’re better suited for that,” said member Randy LaMattina, calling Kain’s comments a sign of “utter disrespect.” “This is government, where we need to look out for every person, not just one small group, and that’s what you’re doing and it’s obvious.”

Lynam had earlier asked how the schools are sacrificing with an increased budget. School expenses are included in the Town Report data.

Minchello and LaMattina argued at a 10.5-percent increase, the schools would be left with a $150,000 deficit that could be made up by moving curriculum materials out of the operating budget into an article.

“They don’t want to do that,” said Minchello, who later noted the current Finance Committee is now more supportive of the schools than it has been in years.

“We will support the schools to the extent that is fair and equitable across the town,” he said.

Among the sacrifices Kain listed in his memo for discussion was elimination of the assistant town administrator, pointing to a jump in administrator salaries from $86,000 to more than $200,000.

Lynam said those funds have also covered $51,000 paid a former employee. The memo also listed elimination of the assessor clerical position ($35,000), treasurer clerical position ($29,000), Council on Aging clerical position ($32,000 — two people), $30,0000 from library techs, and reduction of Lynam’s salary increase which is under contract.

“There are a few people who were successful in revaluing the job they do and being compensated for it, and frankly I’m one of them,” Lynam said. “I sacrificed over the last 10 years — and I can document where I have not sought increases when other departments got increases, and I did not seek increases in line with the market.”

His increase, at $7,000, still makes him the lowest-paid among his peers, and Selectmen had expected, and indicated to him they would have supported, more. Lynam also pointed out Assistant Town Administrator Lisa Green was also hired to help the office operate and prepare for his planned retirement.

He also said town employees, unlike those in the School Department are not allowed buyouts of accrued sick leave when they retire.

“That was a brainstorm contingency, based on where the budget came back,” Kain said. “I needed some sort of perspective.”

A former School Department IT employee, MacNeil said in the past five years the school’s technology department alone has increased the salary line by $100,000.

“These people deserve to be paid according to the industry standard, I get it,” he said. “But is that OK?”

Members of the committee also noted the lack of detail in the school budget with LaMattina pointing to the Police Department budget, which detailed costs down to $8.90 to Supreme Pizza for a prisoner’s meal.

“That’s how detailed we’re getting with every other department budget,” he said. “[The schools] give us general numbers and will not break it down.”

Minchello said the Police Department is under-funded and unable to fill shifts, the Fire Department is under-staffed because schools are not funded properly. A $4 million town-wide Proposition 2 ½ override — $1,200 more per $300,000 household per year — would be required “just to provide decent service.”

“I’m here because this town is in trouble, and that’s what Shawn started off with saying,” said resident Leila Donovan of Old Mansion Lane. “No one wants to get into us-vs-them.”

Lynam stressed Town Meeting is the appropriating body and makes those decisions and that the town has not supported town-wide overrides in the past.

11.5 percent hike in assessments

The School Committee voted unanimously on Wednesday, March 8 to seek an 11.5-percent increase in the assessments to Whitman and Hanson to fund a $2.1 million shortfall in the proposed fiscal 2018 budget. The committee was slated to meet at 7 p.m., Wednesday, March15 to certify the level-service budget.

Whitman’s assessment would be increased by $1,278,693 and Hanson’s would go up by $868,567. School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes reminded members that, once an assessment is set, it could not be set at a higher rate March 15.

A 3-percent increase would have totaled  $1.4 million for Whitman and about $640,000 for Hanson, with every subsequent 1 percent increase adding $186,718.

Whitman Town Administrator Frank Lynam pointed out Thursday, March 9, that the shift in student population actually puts Whitman’s share at $1,441,007. The cost of the shift is $162,314 automatically added to Whitman’s assessment and subtracted from Hanson.

“I understand why the School Committee voted the assessment they voted, and I have no idea how we’re going to come up with the money,” he said.

Hanson Town Administrator Michael McCue also said his town’s budget could not afford an 11.5-percent assessment increase.

“We cannot fund that amount even if we did nothing at all on the municipal side,” McCue said. “I still wouldn’t have enough money in anticipated revenue growth.” McCue said Monday that Hanson had proposed a 6-percent increase in the town’s assessment as reasonable.

The total operating budget increase is close to 4 percent. The complete school district budget can be viewed online at whrsd.org.

Insurance costs

According to District Business Services Director Christine Suckow, decisions to raise insurance rates made by the Mayflower Municipal Health Group steering committee on March 7, has again widened the budget gap by just over $245,000, offset slightly by an extra $18,000 from interest-bearing accounts  — to $2,154,779. It started out as a $2.8 million gap before the insurance increases, which would have brought the gap to $2.9 million.

The School Committee had closed the budget gap to $1.9 million on Feb. 15, with a vote to transfer $750,000 from its excess and deficiency account.

School Committee member Fred Small asked Suckow last week about the likelihood of any more financial surprises on the horizon, but she did not see any others looming.

“We don’t know that,” Hayes said.

If the governor’s budget proposal to return per-pupils state aid increases to $20 — back down from the $55 increase the district’s legislators had succeeded in obtaining last year — it would add another $137,000 to the deficit, Hayes said.

“I can’t see us going backwards,” Small said in making the motion for the 11.5-percent increase. “I don’t know what it’s going to take … I can’t see us — in good conscience, at least for myself — not voting for at least a level-service [budget].”

Lower ranking

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner noted that the latest numbers from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) show the W-H School District has slipped from 11th from the bottom in per-pupil spending to seventh from the bottom. The average per-pupil spending in the state is more than $15,000 a level that would translate to a $60 million budget for W-H. [See chart]

Frank Lynam suggested Thursday that a large school district such as W-H could be expected to spend less per pupil, as an economy of scale.

“We can’t go back,” said School Committee member Dan Cullity. “We fought too hard for what we got last year. We can’t go backwards and start losing everything again.”

“But we did go backwards last year,” said School Committee member Kevin Lynam. “I think you have to judge this on results in how close you get in moving the number forward. … If you assess where there’s no chance, absent a tax increase, you’re going to run the risk that you don’t get it at all.”

He suggested the committee consider where the money comes from, advocating that non-mandated busing be reconsidered on the Whitman side in order to save about $400,000 in order to consider an override next year. Busing changes are a decision towns must make.

“It eventually gets to the point where it doesn’t make any sense to spend money on buses that are taking kids to schools that don’t teach anything,” he argued.

School Committee member Robert Trotta, meanwhile, said the committee should refuse to retreat on any vote for an 11.5-percent increase.

“It seems like we always come up with a number, and then we listen to the town side — and I understand their dilemma — and we acquiesce,” Trotta said. “I don’t think we can acquiesce this time.”

“It’s high time the towns fund the schools for what we need,” agreed Committee member Alexandra Taylor, noting the state will not be increasing Chapter 70 funds.

Small, however, said he was cognizant of the fact that the towns have a limit to their levy capability under Proposition 2 1/2 and limits to their tax base and commercial growth.

“It’s up to our communities at the same time to decide to come out and support this budget,” Small said. “To be honest with you, I’m ashamed that I’m talking about 11.5 percent. … there’s so much that we don’t have that it’s sickening and it’s wrong.”

Hayes said if the 11.5-percent increase doesn’t come this year, the gap will be bigger next year.

“Let the people of the towns decide what type of school district they want to have,” Hayes said. “I don’t see any other choice.” He said even closing Maquan next year, if that decision is made, will only help close the gap in that year’s budget.

Town challenges

Town administrators argue that town budgets have nowhere left to cut in order to direct more funds to schools without being forced to eliminate services.

“I have no way to cut $1 million,” Frank Lynam said, noting that the only area the town has left in which cuts can be made is in salaries. Many Whitman departments have not increased their expense line in 10 years, he said.

“I can’t cut [Administrative Assistant] Laurie [O’Brien] by 6 percent,” he said. “I can cut her salary by 6 percent, and I will do that the day the teachers agree to take a 6-percent cut in salary.”

McCue also said town department budgets are close to the bone.

“My understanding is several years ago they cut the Highway Department significantly and they’re still at those levels,” he said, noting police and fire budgets are also close to minimum acceptable levels.

“I’m in the middle of negotiations with our unions,” McCue also said. “The other unions look at what is happening on the school side and I need to be fair to our people, and I will be fair to my people. The money is what the money is.”

But some residents advocated March 8 that other departments should feel some of the financial pain they see going on at the schools.

“We’re all here to stand behind you and educate people in town and spread the word,” said Leila Donovan of Whitman at the School committee meeting. “Nobody wants to get into an us-vs-them situation, but for other departments in town, they are getting a higher percentage than the state average.”

Frank Lynam argues the situation calls for a concerted effort.

“We all have to find a way to make it make sense, because there isn’t enough revenue to fund these increases and there is no plan that we can set that will raise our revenue to that point,” he said.

Others at the March 8 School Committee meeting outlined what the current situation means on the classroom level.

Feeling pinch

Whitman Middle School Principal George Ferro said even an 11.5-percent assessment increase would maintain a cap of between 50 and 60 students able to study Spanish, the one foreign language the district now offers. Most South Shore middle schools also offer French, Latin and Chinese, he said. Related arts classes at WMS would remain at 34 to 36 students per class.

“What you’re talking about is just to get where we are today and today is difficult,” he said.

Hanson resident Jim Hickey, a candidate for the Board of Selectmen, said the W-H schools have enabled his children to go on to become, among them: a civil engineer, a sound designer and a research scientist.

“Hanson is worried about Hanson 200, which is in 2020,” he said. “I’m not the smartest person in the room — I could be the dumbest — but to me, education is the most important. I think, as a committee, whether the town accepts it or not you have to vote for 11.5 percent.”

Chris George of Whitman said it is a shame that either town would look to celebrate anything that deals with town pride while failing to adequately fund the schools.

“We should be ashamed of where we are,” he said. A Rockland native who used to look up to W-H schools, he said he now feels he made a mistake in moving to Whitman.

“We need to keep academic teachers in the classroom at any cost,” he said, suggesting sports and other programs should be cut first.

Looking closer at Maquan options

In view of recent forecasts for continued declining enrollment, the district’s options regarding Maquan School’s future were discussed during the Wednesday, March 8 School Committee meeting, but delayed a vote on the proposal until the meeting scheduled for 7 p.m., Wednesday, March 15.

It has been estimated that such a move could save between $800,000 and $1 million by closing the Hanson elementary school, which could not be done before fall 2018.

“First of all, we have concerns about the budget gap, so doing something right away could be very helpful with the budget gap,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner. “As we began to look at what it would really take to shut a building down … it appeared that if you were going to do cost savings, you would need to do it over a period of time, or your up-front to do it quickly could almost offset the savings.”

Any decision to close the school would affect the town and district’s decision on whether to continue seeking a statement of interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) for further repairs or replacement of Maquan.

“These are decisions that are going to have to be made, if not this week, then sometime before statement of interest time,” Gilbert-Whitner said.

School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes said a slower pace could also help Hanson town officials develop a plan for the Maquan building.

“If we give the town enough notice, they may be able to get a desirable tenant,” he said. “They may be able to come up with a great use for the building and it may be some savings because this boarding up or closing down or draining boilers might not even have to happen if the town gets a little bit involved.”

Members of the School Committee met with Hanson Selectmen on Feb. 28 to discuss the budget picture, and the Maquan issue was part of that discussion.

“I would look at the town of Hanson as our partner,” agreed School Committee member Fred Small.

Gilbert-Whitner’s biggest concern is the lack of space to do it right now. The forecast decrease in enrollment at Indian Head will also not be fully felt until the 130 fifth-grade students move to grade six at the end of this school year. Only 96 students make that transition the following year.

The enrollment decrease will then be seen from kindergarten to grades three or four, with projections for continued low enrollment beyond that and is consistent with other towns in the area as well as state and nationwide due to a dip in the birthrate.

Direct impact

“It would be very disruptive to Maquan to rush this,” said Committee member Christopher Howard, who has children at Maquan and knows teachers there. “It’s a lot of changes in a very short period of time.”

Savings would be realized in projected repair needs should Maquan be closed, however. There is currently $5 million in repairs on the capital matrix for Maquan School, according to Gilbert-Whitner. The $5 million would come off the matrix, and repairs would be “much more incidental,” in the period during which the school would be taken offline if the decision is made to close it, she said. There would also be cost savings if duplication of staffing is not needed, Gilbert-Whitner said, noting that is another area where more time would be helpful.

“You really need time to let people know these sort of things could be happening, and also could they be assigned somewhere else in the district and just what that may be,” she said. The regulations governing ages of students placed in the same building, as well as van transportation routing, are also a concern to be considered regarding special education students.

Pluses and minuses

With one less school, there could be savings in custodial contract and utilities costs as well, according to District Business Services Director Christine Suckow, who also cautioned there would be some costs involved in the process should the school be closed.

Classrooms to be used for kindergarten pupils would require the installation of bathrooms at Indian Head School if the children are moved there — a job that cannot be done in-house, according to Facilities Director Ernest Sandland. He said the work could also take some time.

A more in-depth study is required before pre-school classes can be moved, as well.

“Our thinking about this — and it’s still very preliminary — is that there would probably be savings that would happen along the way as you begin to start to take the building offline,” Gilbert-Whitner said.

Whitman’s recent experience with return of the Park Avenue School is not equivalent as that building was used mainly for storage at the time and Maquan is an active school.

Sandland said plumbing for boilers and sinks at Park Avenue had to be fully drained and the exterior had to be securely boarded up.

“It wasn’t overnight that it happened,” he said.

WHITMAN — Voters at Town Meeting May 1 will likely be asked to fund additional work at Whitman Park to meet the state’s handicapped accessibility regulations and avoid steep fines against the town.

The Board of Selectmen discussed the request Town Administrator Frank Lynam will likely seek within the special Town Meeting’s warrant before it convened a hearing concerning a dog complaint at the Tuesday, March 7 meeting. Selectman Daniel Salvucci was absent.

Lynam said he and a few other town officials met last week with the Architectural Access Board (AAB) in Boston regarding park accessibility, which has different standards than the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

“There were some misunderstandings and we have received direction from them and are providing feedback,” Lynam said of the AAB. “Within 30 days, we will provide mapping and and a schedule and will begin the work following appropriations at Town Meeting.”

He noted that the town has an order from the AAB that, if the work is not complete by Aug. 1 or town officials have not provided them with a request for an extension, the town will be subject to fines of $1,000 per day.

“I assured them they had our attention and that we will be taking all appropriate steps,” Lynam said. He plans to seek funding from free cash at the special Town Meeting so work can begin as soon as possible.

One of the AAB’s rules of accessibility is that all playground equipment must be accessible to wheelchairs.  Lynam said the work should cost about $50,000, but if the playground requires a path entirely surrounding it, the cost could go as high as $90,000.

“We’re going to seek direction from the AAB,” he said.

Park pathways were also discussed at the AAB meeting. An AAB member has been to the park to assess the work done on the walkways and has found the pathmix used to be acceptable, Lynam reported. He said the material would, however, require more maintenance by the DPW. One-third of the park pathways still must be resurfaced in that ongoing project.

Dog hearing

After a 40-minute hearing, presided over by Assistant Town Administrator Lisa Green — who is an attorney — Selectmen voted 3-0 to accept her recommendation that a Rhodesian Ridgeback/boxer mix dog owned by Erin Curran be registered and licensed in town, but need not be declared a dangerous dog. Animal Control Officer Lisa McKay was not present at the hearing.

“I feel that both parties are at fault here, at some point, for different reasons,” said Selectman Brian Bezanson, who also owns multiple dogs. “We all need to remember that we have to keep our dogs under our control at all times. … I would like this to be a lesson to the rest of the community.”

Curran, of Boston, said her boyfriend Peter Cerino of 5 Oakdale Farm Road has been keeping the dog, named Maddie, since Curran suffered a knee injury last fall. Maddie is a 65-pound, 9-year-old dog. Cerino’s yard is not fenced in, but he said Maddie is always kept on a lead when out in his yard.

Scott and Lisa Godbout of 6 Oakdale Farm Road had filed a complaint under MGL Ch. 140 Sec. 157 and Whitman’s Dog Control Regulation XXVII Sec. XI stemming from two incidents in July and November 2016 between Maddie and the Godbout’s Schnauzer/poodle mix Tucker. The Godbout’s 8-year-old dog weighs 16 pounds.

Both parties agreed that Tucker was off-leash in Cerino’s yard during a July incident and that Maddie was off-leash during a November incident, in which the dogs tangled while Godbout was walking Tucker on a leash. Whitman’s regulation requires dogs be under an owner’s control at all times.

Where the two sides disagreed centered on the amount of supervision over the dogs in each incident.

Curran alleged no one was with Tucker when he entered Cerino’s yard in July and got in between Maddie — tied to the deck — and a neighbor’s dog as they were playing. Lisa Godbout insisted she was present when her dog and two others entered Cerino’s yard to play with Maddie, and that Maddie had attacked Tucker without provocation. The Godbouts did not raise an issue with that incident because their dog was off-leash at the time, and Curran had agreed with that decision.

“We really wanted to address this as neighbors and not litigate and I think we have resolved that, mostly,” Scott Godbout said, noting he had hoped to avoid reporting either incident. “This situation has never been a personal matter. We think it is our responsibility, as neighbors, to do our part in maintaining the safety of the neighborhood.”

Scott Godbout said he was walking Tucker on the leash when Maddie came out from between cars and pounced on his dog on Nov. 22. He was bitten trying to separate the dogs, and treated at South Shore Hospital where he received antibiotics, but no stitches.

Curran said Maddie had been frightened by a smoke alarm when food was scorched in the oven and had squeezed out of the house through a sliding glass door, opened slightly to air out the kitchen. Her dog ran toward the Godbout’s house, where Scott had testified Maddie had come out of nowhere before the dogs tangled.

Curran said her dog’s wounds from that incident appeared to be defensive and that Tucker had initiated the fight.

“As a dog owner, I take my responsibilities very seriously,” Curran said. “I’ve invested in Maddie’s training.” That training included Canine Top Performance Canine Camp in Reading.

Curran and Cerino have paid vet bills for Tucker, bought a muzzle for Maddie and a gate for their deck at the ACO’s request and that McKay had opined that her dog is not dangerous. Curran’s presentation included a packet of documentation including 12 affadvits from trainers, public safety officials and other neighbors who maintain Maddie, a therapy dog, is not a dangerous dog. She said prior to July, and since November, Maddie has had no other incidents with other dogs or people.

She also testified the Godouts “knowingly and voluntarily” signed an agreement to waive legal claims against Curran and Cerino following their payment of about $3,000 to pay the Godbout’s expenses.

HANSON — After holding public office in one capacity or another since 1977, Selectman Bruce Young has decided to retire — opting not to seek re-election this May.

He provided the Whitman-Hanson Express with a statement about his decision before the board’s Tuesday, Feb. 28 meeting, but made no public comment on it in the session during which much of the discussion centered on the schools and municipal budget outlook.

“I will be ending my service to the Town of Hanson in May, but will still actively participate as all good citizens should, staying informed and attending town meetings, and will be happy to share my knowledge and experience with anyone who may have a question,” Young stated.

Besides the Board of Selectmen, he has served on the town’s Finance Committee, Historical Commission and Board of Water Commissioners. [See Letters to Editor, page 12].

“I understand and respect his decision,” Selectmen Chairman James McGahan said Wednesday morning, lauding Young’s status as an invaluable member of the board. “His knowledge is exceptional on government policy and procedures.”

McGahan said he hopes Young will, indeed, remain active in town affairs as a private citizen.

“He will be missed,” McGahan said.

Young’s retirement reduces the field of candidates having taken out nomination papers to four — incumbent Selectman William Scott, former Selectman James Egan, CPC Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett and former Recreation Commission Chairman James Hickey. None have yet returned nomination papers ahead of the April 4 deadline, according to Town Clerk Elizabeth Sloan.

Young indicated Wednesday morning he wanted to make his decision known in time to give other interested candidates enough notice to allow them to take out nomination papers ahead of the March 30 deadline.

Among the career highlights he outlined in his announcement, Young stated he has played a role in guiding Hanson through the first two years of Proposition 2 ½ without major financial or town service problems; he also

• Established the first combined position of Treasurer Collector;

• Established the Priority Repair Committee following the defeat of a proposed new school project in 2014;

• Established the first recall law and the town administrator position (then known as the executive secretary to the Board of Selectmen);

• Established the first Water Department Master Plan and

• Established the first certified historical survey of town properties.

He has also worked on efforts to preserve the 111-acre Smith-Nawazelski Conservation Area and the placement of the Camp Kiwanee historic District and District School House No. 7 on the National Register of Historic Places.

School budget

In business before the board Tuesday night, Selectmen heard an update on the WHRSD fiscal 2018 budget from School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes and Business Services Director Christine Suckow. School Committee members Christopher Howard, Michael Jones, Fred Small and Dan Cullity also attended the meeting.

Following the transfer of $750,000 from excess and deficiency as well as $13,000 in interest-rate income from district bank accounts and $50,000 from the self-funded school lunch program toward utility costs, the shortfall for a level-service school budget is now $1,914,754. Projected revenue is expected to be short by $869,767.

“It’s not unique to Whitman-Hanson,” Hayes said. “This budget shortfall is pretty much the norm in the school districts around the state — some are worse, some are in better shape.”

At this point, Whitman-Hanson would require a 10.5-percent assessment increase — $1,167,502 from Whitman and $793,039 from Hanson —to fully fund a level-service budget, Hayes noted. Assessments are set based on student population as of Oct. 1 each year.

State representatives Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, and Geoff Diehl, R-Whitman, are co-sponsoring a bill to again raise the state’s per-pupil increase in Chapter 70 aid from $20 to $50 — and are working to change wording in the state law to make $50 the required minimum annual increase. Last year Cutler and Diehl’s efforts yielded a $55 per-pupil increase, which brought the district an added $137,000.

“A level-service budget means bringing back exactly what we have today, not adding anything,” Hayes said. The proposed budget as unveiled Feb. 1 is up by $1,857,987 — a 3.95-percent increase over the current operating budget. Final figures for state aid are not available until the state budget is finalized in June. Town Meeting is Monday, May 1.

The School Committee will be continuing work on the budget during meetings at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 8 and Wednesday, March 15 in the WHRHS library. Hayes urged the public as well as interested town officials to attend any School Committee meeting, all of which are open to the public.

“We don’t have hard firm numbers, there’s no way to nail it down,” Hayes said. “This is a work in progress.”

Cuts being considered include a possible closing of Maquan School by fall 2018, which could save about $800,000 in fiscal 2019, split sessions or cutting the athletics programs, which could save about $200,000 for a program that costs $400,000, but brings in $200,000 between fees and gate receipts.

“It’s a balancing act, because we don’t want to put in more money to fix the school if this is going to be the ultimate choice,” McGahan said.

Town budget

Hanson’s Town Accountant Todd Hassett also reviewed the town’s budget outlook, as the fiscal 2018 budget is currently looking at a 5.49-percent increase, or $24,727,978. The current town budget is $23,441,725.

“As Mr. Hayes told you, this is a work in progress much like the school budget,” Hassett said. “We still have article requests that have not been submitted — the deadline is … March 10.”

He also noted the Capital Committee has just begun reviewing capital requests.

The bottom line for net sources available for appropriation is currently at $23,047,573 with expenditures projected at $23,047,573 — leaving $1,004 unspent.

The levy limit is now projected at $18,390,443 with the 2 ½ percent increase of $459,761, but new growth revenue is down $298,037 to $175,000 as estimated from the trend in new building permits. Total stabilization funds are projected at $670,869 and state aid, or cherry sheet receipts is expected to increase by about $806,000 with local receipts going up by $77,500 to $1,727,750.

Hassett has placed $250,000 in the free cash capital/other account, the minimum baseline, which brings available funds to $1.2 million.

“We’re not really in a position where we can put a lot of recurring revenue toward our capital needs yet,” Hassett said.

General government spending is being cut by 3.51 percent, as was done for the current budget.

Hassett has projected an increase of 3.91 percent for all school spending, including W-H, SSVT and Norfolk Aggie assessments. Public safety is up by 1.01 percent, not including contact negotiations, and public works up 6.19 percent — largely due to shoring up expenses to repairs and maintenance.

“They’ve historically been under-budgeted for a lot of their operating expenses and have really been handcuffed as to what they’ve been able to do for the town,” Hassett said of the Highway Department increase.

“You’ve spent the money anyway, historically,” Town Administrator Michael McCue said of supplementary spending at fall town meetings to cover shortfalls.

The Water Department has proposed to add another position and the financial effect of water main and water tank improvements have also begun to show up in the budget, but Hassett does not foresee an effect on water rates.

Recreation budget is up 8.21percent as the full year of salary and benefits of a new director is reflected in that budget. McCue, Scott and Recreation Chairman Rachel Gross are interviewing candidates this week.

Anticipated health insurance increases are also a concern, Hassett said.

School panel looks ahead to assessments

The School Committee is taking a close look at the assessment increase they are seeking from Whitman and Hanson to help close the fiscal 2018 budget gap.

Revenue will be short by $869,767, with expenses at $1,857,987.

The $750,000 transferred from the excess and deficiency account at the Wednesday, Feb. 15 meeting narrows that gap a bit — from $2,727,754 to $1,997,754.

“I do anticipate being able to put money back into E&D, but at this time of year, it’s very difficult to figure out how much that will actually be,” said Business Services Director Christine Sukow. “We don’t know what the next few months will be with utilities and snow, and we have so much personnel movement that that’s a real volatile area, as well.”

Excess and deficiency is depended on to fund financial emergencies during the fiscal year and is replenished from unspent funds calculated into utilities and maintenance on a worst-case scenario basis. Town free cash accounts work in a similar way, Sukow said.

The assessments to each town was tabled to another meeting to give the district time to see what cuts can be made, giving the committee a better idea where they stand. They must set an assessment by March 15 — 45 days before town meetings.

“There are certainly adjustments we can make, but we need to get a sense of where you all think you’re going to set the assessment,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner said.

Every percentage point in the assessments add $186,782 to the budget. Completely closing the gap by operating assessment increases would require an increase of about 10.5 percent ($1,960,541 — $1,167,502 from Whitman and $793,039 from Hanson). The towns are assessed based on population, with Whitman paying 59.55 percent and Hanson paying 40.45 percent.

“I don’t want to make an assessment and then whittle it down,” School Committee member Robert Trotta said. “We just can’t do it anymore. Whatever assessment we make, we’ve got to stick with. What that is, I’m not sure myself, but there’s no way we can settle for 3 percent like we have in the past.”

School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes said he did not think setting the assessment now is wise without more work on the budget being done.

School Committee member Fred Small, who chairs the facilities subcommittee, suggested separating out capital items.

“I can see [Gilbert-Whitner’s] concern that it would be a tremendous risk that, if we took a curriculum item and separated it out and it didn’t pass — what do you do?” Small said. “But at the same time, what do we do with a $1.9 million deficit?”

Suckow said she and Science Curriculum Director Mark Stephansky have met with the materials publisher to determine if it can be financed over three or four years to help save money. She has also called them back to ask about four or five-year financing.

“I’d be very hesitant with curriculum,” Gilbert-Whitner said. “I’d be much more in favor of reducing the cost impact to this budget by spreading it out over time.”

“We’re struggling just to have just to have the same services as we have this year,” Small said, noting that the two towns are not near the target share the state wants to see for local school spending. “We’re not moving forward. … We’re fighting just for level services.”

He advocated formulating an option through which the towns can decide whether they want to back educational progress.

“Give us level services at Town Meeting and then decide how far forward you’d like us to go,” he said. “I think we need to step forward.”

Hayes indicated it would require a 10.5-percent assessment increase to fund a level-service budget.

“At this particular point, we’re not even talking about level services, we’re talking about cuts,” Hayes said.

Hayes estimated it would mean cutting about 33 positions.

“It’s going to be staff cuts,” Gilbert-Whitner said. “We have met on this over and over again. If you look at the increases, it’s staffing and health insurance — it’s people.”

She argued that, for a district 10th or 11th from the bottom in per-pupil spending statewide, it is not an outrageous budget, and noted that finance committees have asked if the schools are looking for an override.

“I think we have to say to the citizens, ‘Are you looking to an override?’ because I don’t think we can go through this year what we went through last year,” she said. “We were hammered in Hanson.” In 2016, Whitman narrowly defeated an override and Hanson rejected it by a 2:1 margin.

Assistant Superintendent of Schools for Human Resources, Safety and Security Patrick Dillon said a review of the average teacher salaries in surrounding communities shows in the 2014-15 school year — the latest for which state numbers are available — W-H is at $78,000 and the state average if $76,000. The local average in the region is $77,700 in a range of from $72,000 to $83,400.

“We’re right in the middle of the pack,” he said.

The level-service budget includes a $778,065 increase for contractually obligated faculty salaries: an added ESL teacher ($66,552) due to an increase in the district’s ESL population; three teachers added from last year’s transfer from excess and deficiency ($170,223) to address class size and $58,195 to cover decreased funding of a 21st Century grant that funds an at-risk student program at the high school, — totaling $1,073,035 — according to Suckow. Retirement assessments are increasing by $227,129. Health insurance is expected to rise by at least 10 percent, with more information available in March.

“We’ll be lucky if it’s 10,” Gilbert-Whitner said.

Contracted services are also going up in price. Utility costs are up $3,560 and transportation is up by 4 percent or $57,563. Curriculum costs are up $220,000 and a free pilot program at the middle schools expires in June. Elementary-level costs for supplies, based on enrollment, is up $769 for replacement materials.

On the plus side, the recent refinance of the high school building reduced payments by just over $22,000. School choice costs for students going to other districts is down by just over $50,000 as only eight students are going to other schools — down from 16 last year.

Committee discusses the effects of possible cuts

The School Committee discussed on Wednesday, Feb. 15 the ramifications of possible cuts to services and facilities use the W-H Regional School District is considering in the effort to close a $2.8 million shortfall in a level-service budget for fiscal 2018.

“There’s a lot of discussion that, when I mentioned Maquan closings, double sessions, eliminating the sports program or staff reductions, that that was threatening,” School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes said. “That’s this committee’s charge. This committee is here to come up with a budget. There is no threat. It’s something we have to look at.”

Before the end of the meeting, the committee voted to transfer $750,000 from the excess and deficiency account to help close the gap, but more difficult decisions remain.

At the Feb. 1 budget roll-out, Hayes said the panel will have to “take a serious look” at how the district operates and may have to consider eliminating high school athletics, closing the Maquan School and consolidating those students into Hanson’s Indian Head School, staff layoffs and double sessions to save money.

“All of those things are on the table,” Hayes said Feb. 1. “This is not ‘we keep coming to you and crying wolf,’ this is serious. Every year it gets worse and worse and worse.”

Closing the Maquan Elementary School in Hanson could save an estimated $800,000, but even if that option is accepted, school officials said special needs programs would need until September 2018 to make that kind of move. Maintenance costs associated with Maquan since 2012 have amounted to more than $600,000.

The savings could break down to about $135,000 in academic staff salaries — one teacher and three paraprofessionals through retirement and attrition — and $245,000 annually in the reduced number of administrators and nurses required. A nominal savings of $3,000 to $4,000 could be seen in technology needs. The bigger savings is seen in the $141,000 from SJ Services — as there would be one less building to clean — as well as $152,000 in facilities maintenance costs and $50,000 annually in insurance, according to Assistant Superintendent of Schools for Human Resources, Safety and Security Patrick Dillon. He looked at existing capacity and declining enrollment in his study.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner said there are 130 students in the fifth grade at Indian Head right now, with only about 110 in grade four and about the same in lower grades in Hanson.

No appreciable savings would be realized from special education changes or transportation costs and some $45,000 annually would be lost from space now rented at Maquan to North River Collaborative and a one-time cost of $15,000 would be involved in moving classroom equipment.

“It looked as if trying to close it for this upcoming fall of 2017 could create more disorder and chaos than we would be able to manage,” said Gilbert-Whitner. “If the building were to go back to the town, they could possibly rent it to North River Collaborative, which would be a revenue source, but clearly up to the town.”

Special Education Coordinator John Quealy said moving programs to other schools in the district would take some time and must adhere to laws governing age disparity of students in the same building. Changes must also take into consideration the effect on the special needs children and their families, both Gilbert-Whitner and Quealy said.

The district’s pre-school program could be housed at the Duval Elementary School, according to Dillon.

Hanson Middle has 25 classrooms with 500 students, Indian Head has 27 classrooms with 540 students. Duval has seen a “significant decline” in enrollment, according to Gilbert-Whitner, from 645 school-wide about four years ago to 493 today.

Split sessions

School officials do not anticipate a bump in enrollment for the foreseeable future, but Hayes indicated split sessions or portable classrooms could be a short-term solution to any unexpected spike.

Moving to a kindergarten through grade four school at Indian Head would be possible, Dillon said, echoing Quealy’s concern about integrating Maquan programs into other schools.

Gilbert-Whitner noted that repairs have been made to both Maquan and Indian Head Elementary following the unsuccessful plan for a new preK-grade five school in Hanson a few years ago.

The district and Hanson officials are looking for an engineering study to determine needed work to the HVAC system at Maquan and the cost of doing that work and other repairs are estimated to exceed $5 million.

“They were not particularly encouraging that that kind of money was available to make those kinds of repairs, and in addition to that, just concerns that maybe nothing would be done until something drastic happened at that school,” Gilbert-Whitner said of a recent meeting with the Hanson Capital Improvement Committee. “That was frightening to me as a superintendent.”

Hayes agreed, saying that North River Collaborative is looking for “a tremendous amount of space” and may want to lease the entire Maquan building.

Over the last two weeks, school officials have been looking closely at enrollment trends, available space and time frames.

Closing Maquan would also mean the district would not need to do a statement of interest with the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) for Maquan and Whitman Middle is still within the 20-year cost clawback regulations regarding needed roof repairs.

Gilbert-Whitner said a Maquan closing would trigger gradual downsizing with maintenance focused on needed repairs for equipment that breaks, but no major repair projects undertaken.

“I don’t think, personally, the town is going to save a ton of money … but even if they close it, the town’s not getting off scot-free,” said Hanson School Committee member Robert O’Brien Jr., noting the length of time the former Plymouth County Hospital building stood empty. He suggested Hanson officials hold public meetings on the issue.

Sports programs

Business Services Director Christine Suckow has been researching the implications of eliminating the athletics program at W-H as a cost-saving possibility.

The current proposed athletics program is just under $400,000 — most of which goes to salaries, insurance and the cost of reconditioning equipment, mandated by the state law. The athletics revolving account, which is outside the budget and is funded by user fees and gate receipts, is about $200,000 and pays for referees, bus transportation to games and supplies not covered in the operating budget.

Eliminating the sports program would also eliminate the revolving account without sports for which to sell tickets.

Staff reductions

The district has already sent out, through the WHEA teachers’ union, advising that the July 1 notification rules would be waived for any staff considering retirement in the near future. The district could then hire replacements at a lower salary or leave posts vacant.

Gilbert-Whitner said there has already been some interest expressed in that option.

Food Services may also be asked to pay $50,000 for a part of utility bills, as is permitted by the federally-funded program independent of the operating budget.

Busing cuts

If the district stopped non-mandated busing, the towns would not have to pay that cost, Suckow said. For Hanson, that cost is $102,026 and in Whitman it is $365,362.

“The towns could charge for non-mandated busing,” Gilbert-Whitner said.

WHITMAN — Selectmen are referring a proposal for a moratorium on recreational marijuana dispensaries through at least June 30, 2018 to the Planning Board for evaluation and public hearing.

After a hearing the Planning Board would return its recommendations back to the Board of Selectmen for possible presentation to a Town Meeting.

The Tuesday, Feb. 14 vote came one month after the board voted in favor of a letter of support/non-opposition to a medical marijuana grow site in town. The moratorium would be based on a West Bridgewater law passed in December, and is designed to provide more time to develop zoning and other regulations compatible with state laws.

Town Administrator Frank Lynam had assigned Assistant Town Administrator Lisa Green to explore the issue of a moratorium and its legal ramifications. Lynam is also asking the Zoning Board of Appeals to look at potential zoning districts to encompass such businesses in the event the town ever permits them. That, too, would require public hearings.

“I’m going to look at it,” Lynam said of the zoning issue. “We may not do it this year, but a moratorium will give us time to address it before our next Town Meeting.”

He stressed the zoning issue is separate from a moratorium.

“This is not a proposal to bring in dispensaries,” he said. “It’s a recommendation that we look at the reality that they may come down the road, and if they do, we will at least be prepared.”

Green said the town had learned in January that the state Attorney General’s office had approved West Bridgewater’s marijuana moratorium draft.

“That’s where we took a lot of our language,” Green said of the Whitman proposal. “Where it had already been approved by the Attorney General, we didn’t have any feelings that they would not approve our moratorium.”

Green noted both communities are similar to each other.

Selectman Daniel Salvucci asked if the town could vote against permitting dispensaries in Whitman.

Green conceded that, if a medical marijuana grow site does open in town, it does open a door for possible future dispensaries by applying for a permit.

“Medical marijuana is protected by state law and permissive zoning,” Lynam said. “Recreational marijuana requires an approval and the … licenses may be issued, but must be less than the number of medical marijuana licenses.”

Should one medical marijuana grow site actually open — and no others — that would effectively bar any recreational dispensaries.

“Less than one is none,” Lynam said.

“It says it may not be issued as well,” Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski said.

“This is al still new to the state, as well,” Green said. “The state is still weeding through what it’s going to do.”

Selectman Brian Bezanson pointed out that it took the state quite a while — two years — just to get the medical marijuana regulations ironed out.

capital budgets

Selectmen also heard a presentation on available cash for capital needs, as Lynam recommended limiting the use of one-time funds from a recent personal property windfall to one-time capital projects instead of for recurring costs.

“In the last two years we have been experiencing some unusual types of growth,” Lynam said. “I’ve received a number of calls from people regarding how and why we appropriate and provide money for various town operations, including schools.”

He used a PowerPoint presentation to outline “how we got to where we are today and where I think we’re going.”

Lynam outlined how property valuations over the past four years, with personal property values jumping significantly — from $30,298,858 in 2015 to $98,159,363 in 2016 only to begin declining again by about $4 million in 2017 — based on a National Grid property’s tax status.

“It’s a double-edged sword,” Lynam said. “Because it’s personal property, it’s not an asset that continues to grow. Over the next several years, it will be depreciated and depleted on the tax books of the power company, and the results will be that they’re sending us valuations that are dropping anywhere from $5 [million] to $8 million a year.”

The levy limit each year is calculated by adding 2 ½ percent, new growth and any overrides. By 2016 the personal property growth showed up after the budgets had been passed for the year, Lynam said. It ended up offsetting the capital exclusion for technology upgrades in the schools.

Growth decreased from $1,328,292 in 2016 to $261,670 in 2017. Based on that history, Lynam has worked out proforma calculations for fiscal 2018 putting the 2017 levy limit at $23,982,789, setting aside almost $1 million in capital money from amended 2016 growth, then adding $599,570 as the 2 ½ percent increase and $275,000 in new growth.

“We are going to see is the reduction, once again, in the personal property tax,” he said. “This year, I think it will be closer to $6 million.”

By using the entire projected $24,857,359 for the general budget, a problem is created in that the personal property figure is going to continue to go down each year, Lynam argued.

“What I’m suggesting is that we treat the levy as if that money were not available to us … and use the additional $1 million to fund capital needs this year,” he said. “What I see happening is, each year that money’s going to continue to go down. Unless we find a significant source of new revenue, we’re going to have to live with those numbers.”

Salvucci agreed that using one-time money for the regular budget is fiscally irresponsible.

In other business, the board voted to table a discussion on the Planning Board’s request to reduce its membership from seven to five. Any change would require a Town Meeting warrant article to change the bylaw, and perhaps on the ballot since the positions are elected.

Lynam said the board’s chairman had indicated he has had trouble getting a quorum for some meetings and that perhaps reducing the board to five might help.

“But, as I understand it, the board is now at full strength, or certainly will be at the May elections because the vacancy has already been applied for and nomination papers,” Lynam said, recommending the postponement until the Planning Board can discuss it further.

Salvucci said appeals to the public on Facebook has prompted more interest for taking out nomination papers for the Planning Board, making a bylaw change unnecessary.

Taking a ‘serious look’ at costs

Falling revenues and increasing costs may force some drastic changes in the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District, School Committee members, residents and officials from both towns have been warned.

School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes said the panel will have to “take a serious look” at how the district operates and may have to consider eliminating high school athletics, closing the Maquan School and consolidating those students into Hanson’s Indian Head School, staff layoffs and double sessions to save money.

“All of those things are on the table,” Hayes said. “This is not ‘we keep coming to you and crying wolf,’ this is serious. Every year it gets worse and worse and worse.”

Hayes said the district is just beginning of the process as a proposed level-service budget for fiscal 2018, that is $2.7 million in the red, was rolled out at the Wednesday, Feb. 1 School Committee meeting. That hole is due to a $1.8 million increase in expenses and a revenue shortfall of more than $800,000. That is a combined revenue decrease of 1.5 percent.

W-H’s per-pupil expenditure of $11,703 is 11th from the bottom of spending among all districts in the state and both towns remain below target share, a figure that the state has looked to since 2011 as it determines Chapter 70 aid levels. W-H now receives 63 percent of its funding from state aid. The state average for per-pupil spending is $14,935

Declining enrollment in both towns can also have an impact of state aid levels, according to Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner.

She said the budget includes a level-service proposal of $48,937,127. The increase in the budget’s bottom line — not to be confused with operating assessments to towns — is $1,857,987 or 3.95 percent.

Gilbert-Whitner said the FY 2018 budget needs to provide the 21st century education students deserve, rather than the education of the 1950s or ’60s, in very challenging fiscal times. Critical thinking, communication and technology skills are part of that.

“We have to come up with an assessment,” Hayes said. “Obviously, some of this [deficit] may get erased with new state funding. It may get worse. We’re going to have to take some serious looks at some serious issues.”

Business Services Director Christine Suckow said assessments based on a level-funded formula, because of enrollment shifts, would see Hanson’s assessment go down $162,000 and Whitman go up by the same amount.

Last year, the committee voted to transfer almost $950,000 out of excess and deficiency, an account intended for emergency expenses not for balancing the budget, Hayes noted. That account has been replenished to $1,246,484 due to end-of-year savings in utilities, insurance and special education.

“When you keep hitting E&D — and we’ve been doing that for several years — it’s a very, very dangerous, slippery slope that you can go down,” he cautioned. “You just pray for the rest of the year that nothing happens.”

State representatives Josh Cutler, D-Hanson, and Geoff Diehl, R-Whitman, and Rick Branca, an aide to state Sen. Mike Brady, D-Brockton, attended to give an overview of state budget implications for the W-H budget. [See related story]

District health insurance costs continue to strain the budget, Gilbert-Whitner said.

Strategic goals

The district again provided cost estimates for universal all-day kindergarten — at an estimated $400,000. That possibility is among the strategic action plans involving three pillars: healthy bodies/healthy minds; a cohesive PreK-12 curriculum and safe and secure schools; approved by the committee in September.

One-to-one devices such as ChromeBooks and iPads were also part of that discussion.

The action plans were points of discussion proposed for the Feb. 15 School Committee meeting, and have not been totaled into the fiscal 2018 budget.

Parents are now charged $3,200 a year per student for all-day kindergarten, which 82.1 percent of Massachusetts school districts provide at no cost. W-H’s half-day program is free.

There is also a request in the action plan for $300,000 over three years — $100,000 per year — for more classroom sets of one-to-one devices throughout the school system.

Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Patrick Dillon argued the devices could be used to continue educating students in another school’s gym if a school building had to be temporarily closed. They can also be valuable as standardized testing becomes more digital, he said.

“I only have three ChromeBook carts in the building for 1,200 students — all through fundraising through the Panther Education Trust,” WHRHS Principal Jeffrey Szymaniak added.

School Committee member Fred Small suggested funding the devices through a capital request to help them survive budget cuts.

Non-mandated busing — transportation provided within 1.5 miles of a school and not required by law — is not reimbursed. W-H has about 1,000 non-mandated riders and 2,000 mandated, according to Suckow.

More than $1 million could be saved by eliminating busing from the budget completely, Suckow said in response to a question from Hayes. The district must provide transportation for homeless students who must stay in out-of-district shelters, however, under the federal McKinney-Vento Act adopted by the state of Massachusetts. The state under-funds that program, school officials said.

Going to all-day kindergarten would pare about $64,000 from the transportation costs by eliminating a mid-day bus run, Gilbert-Whitner said. She also pointed out that hospitalizations of students for anxiety-related illnesses are still rising and social workers provided at the elementary schools are funded by a grant that runs out June 30.

The high school program for at-risk students is supported by a grant that is also starting to go away.

A licensed social worker, who is also the parent of a Conley School student, said she was concerned to see high school sports coaches receiving a $63,000 raise while social workers in the schools are a greater need. The budget only adds about $6,000 for social workers.

Another parent argued social workers lower special education out-of-district costs.

“If you look at kids today, they’re facing a lot different challenges that we just never thought of when we were growing up,” Small agreed. “We’ve got fourth- and fifth-graders cutting themselves. … I know if I hadn’t heard [of] it, and seen it, I’d be oblivious to it.”

The district received $1.6 million in grants for the 2016-17 school year, not including a $20,000 grant recently received for safe and supportive schools. Grants fund nearly 85 positions in the district.

The elementary grades science curriculum is completely funded by a foundation, with the district responsible for consumable supporting materials.

state funds

Added state funding from local legislators’ efforts, which increased per-pupil funding to $55 each in state aid last year, allowed the district to hire four library assistants in the elementary schools. The district posted a job opening for a librarian to oversee them, but have not been able to find a qualified candidate. Retired high school librarian Kathy Gabriel has returned under a stipend to provide professional development for the four library assistants, Gilbert-Whitner said.

In the district-wide budget, the assistant superintendent for teaching and learning position has been cut in view of increased responsibilities for the director of curriculum positions.

Director of Science Curriculum Mark Stephansky argued for more up-to-date teaching materials for state standards that require more hands-on learning, and noted that the current eighth-grade textbook, copyrighted in 2000, has a picture of a space shuttle on the cover. NASA ended that program in 2011.

“That predates three standards,” he said, adding that now only half the curriculum is from a textbook. The other half is online. He advocates a curriculum materials upgrade that includes seven years of online access.

One parent asked that the school committee retain the $200,000 in the district budget so the new textbooks do not get cut.

“Knowing that my son laughs that Pluto is still mentioned [as a planet] in one of his science books, it’s really a concern,” she said. “We will not be able to have our students achieve at higher levels unless we have current information in front of them.”

Legislators offer state insight

State representatives Josh Cutler, D-Hanson, and Geoff Diehl, R-Whitman, along with Rick Branca, an aide to state Sen. Mike Brady, D-Brockton, attended the Wednesday, Feb.1 School Committee meeting to provide an overview of state budget implications for the W-H budget.

Diehl outlined Gov. Charlie Baker’s budget as it pertained to the district school budget.

Added state funding from local legislators’ efforts, which increased per-pupil funding to $55 each in state aid last year, allowed the district to hire four library assistants in the elementary schools.  They are looking to new legislation as a more permanent solution to the funding need.

“We’d like to replicate that this year, but don’t hold your breath,” Diehl said, noting that this year, Gov. Baker is back to asking for $20. “I think you’ll see the House increase that number and, usually, the Senate tends to have an increase beyond that. The horse-trading has really yet to start.”

Cutler explained that where last year’s success in increasing the per-pupil funding had support from 71 co-sponsors, that is the only way regional schools can obtain Chapter 70 increases.

“I want to credit you for kind of lighting the fire,” Cutler said. “We would have done our jobs anyway, but we understood what a challenging situation it was and we took that message out and spread it through the legislature.”

This year they are going to try to replicate it, but Cutler said they know they don’t want to have to try doing so every year.

That’s were a small language change proposed in the language of MGL Chapter 70 Section 2, would require a $50 per pupil minimum. The temporary House Docket No. is 3156 until the legislation is assigned a permanent bill number in about two weeks.

“It’s not a crazy idea, because it used to be that way,” Cutler said. “Obviously when times are good, we’d like to see that figure go even higher, but at least we’d have that minimum brought up from where it was before.”

Cutler said a good cross-section of South Shore legislators have already signed onto the bill.

Branca said Brady would work on behalf of the bill on the Senate side.

Diehl added that casinos, approved in 2011 and the recreational marijuana law, both passed with the intention of adding funds to the education budget, would not provide assistance for a few more years. The marijuana law won’t even be in effect until 2018.

He explained the hold was placed by the Legislature to adjust tax regulations and address public safety concerns about enforcement, using Colorado as a model.

“I wouldn’t expect them to be a potential revenue savior for awhile, if at all,” Diehl said.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner also expressed concern about transportation costs under chapter 71. Non-mandated busing — transportation provided within 1.5 miles of a school and not required by law — is not reimbursed.

The allocation was already down by $110,000 in the governor’s budget, she said. Subject to appropriation, the reimbursement is supposed to be 100 percent.

“We haven’t seen that since 2007,” she said. “If we did not have to transport students, we would then be able to charge — whether people would like that or not, I don’t know.”

She said it is not unusual at the high school to see, at the second half of the school year, the buses are not full as students earn drivers’ licenses or stay for sports.

“A lot of money goes out for bus transportation for buses that are not full,” Gilbert-Whitner said.

Cutler said, while he can’t predict dollars, the House bill will be better. Diehl also cautioned there are also pending 9C cuts.

  

HANSON — The new Recreation Commission officially went to work Thursday, Jan. 26, holding its first meeting to hear a review of work Town Administrator Michael McCue has done as interim director, brainstorm possible recreation events and elect officers.

Serving on the new commission are: Brian Fruzzetti, Rachel Gross and Brian Smith through June 30, 2019; John Zucco and Sondra Allen through June 30, 2018; and Annmarie Bouzan and Diane Cohen through June 30, 2017.

“I appreciate your stepping up to do this,” McCue said. “It’s always difficult to get people to serve on a board, especially one this large. The fact that we actually have a full seven-member board really does say something and is going to make things a lot easier on me, a lot easier on the town and a lot easier on the board itself.”

Bouzan, who has worked as an administrative assistant at Camp Kiwanee about five years ago, was elected chairman, Gross as the vice chairman and Cohen as the clerk.

Selectmen Bill Scott, who also attended the meeting, indicated he would continue, along with a member of the commission, to help McCue interview candidates for recreation director. He had been appointed by the Board of Selectmen to work on the interviews before while there was no sitting Recreation Commission.

“I will still be willing to be part of that if they want me to do that,” Scott said.

“My intention is to still have you do so,” McCue said. “We try to be a team, we’re all pulling in one direction, hopefully.”

Both McCue and Scott left after McCue’s update, and the commission spent more than an hour discussing policies and procedures as well as possible agenda items for future meetings.

Their concerns in that arena involve security protocols, the enforceability of a ban on firearms even for those licensed to carry, billing oversight, the extensive job description for the recreation director, caterers’ responsibilities, use of social media for marketing, cabin upkeep and the event planning process as a whole.

The commission plans on meeting twice a week until the members feel caught up and then will shift to a twice-monthly meeting schedule.

The public meetings are held at 7 p.m. at Camp Kiwanee’s Needles Lodge.

Fruzzetti of 370 Elm St., is an advertising consultant. Gross of 35 Katy-Did Lane, owns an event marketing company and has worked both on weddings and community events for the past 15 years. Smith of 38 Sandy Terrace is a facilities supervisor for Eversource. Zucco of 101 Glenwood Place is also an entertainment specialist, specializing in corporate and social events. Allen, of 188 Elm St., is a life-long resident who has maintained a family pass at Kiwanee and is active in Boy Scouts. Cohen of 767 Pleasant St., is a teacher who moved to Hanson 18 months ago. Her son has taken swimming lessons at Cranberry Cove for about five years.

“Your experience here at the camp and within the town is going to be beneficial in a liaison area,” Gross told Bouzan during the selection of officers. “I don’t know if I’m ready for that. I would love to review the applications for the director.”

The other commission members agreed that Gross’s professional background would make her a good choice for that role.

McCue provided ethics and open meeting regulation forms and copies of new lodge and cabin rental application forms as well as policies and procedures, all of which were drawn up by town counsel. For discounted contracts, the commission will vote on applications for reduced rates and forward the applications to McCue, who will bring it before the Board of Selectmen for final approval.

The new recreation director will recommend contracts for McCue to sign — as he does with all town contracts.

Rental contracts are more detailed on liability issues that had been a concern in the old contracts.

Selectmen will give final approval to the policies and procedures after the Recreation Commission has a chance to provide feedback.

“There’s an awful lot in there that wasn’t in there before,” McCue said. “What I will consider is some additional information, but by and large, the information you have in front of you — that’s going to stay. … I’m very hesitant to tinker with anything the lawyers gave me.”

McCue also provided an update on maintenance projects at the camp.

He has already done a level-funded budget, including a director’s salary, which was due before the commission met. A part-time employee in the Treasurer-Collector’s office is serving as the temporary administrative assistant to the Recreation Commission.

“I’m taking a bunch of trees down, and it’s not because I don’t like the trees — they’re dead,” he said. “Our fear is … if we get a good enough wind, if we get a heavy snow, they’ll come down and crash on this roof.”

He has consulted with the tree warden and Conservation Commission on which trees should be removed and potential impact on the pond. He also plans for a new septic system for the lodge; caretaker’s cottage and bathhouse have been changed because of the number of trees that would have had to be removed in addition to the high financial cost.

“The beauty of this place, the thing that makes this place unique, is the trees,” McCue said.

The lowest bid had come in $50,000 to $60,000 higher than budgeted so the bids were dismissed. The project is now being approached in phases.

He also plans to have a rotting garage on the property torn down as a liability, possibly within the next couple of weeks. That project, too requires input from the Conservation Commission due to the dry streambed near the gatehouse. A fence between the swimming area and an abutter’s property must also be extended to deal with a trespassing problem on the abutter’s land, but the Conservation Commission must also be consulted on that project, according to McCue.

The Recreation Commission will also have to hire lifeguards for Cranberry Cove in the spring for the upcoming summer swimming season, which starts the day after the last day of school.

“The weddings pay for a lot of things that go on up here, but it has to be a hand-in-hand thing,” Bouzan said. “Why have it here in Hanson for all of us to enjoy if we can’t. I’m really anxious to turn that around and make it so it’s a great place for us.”

Gross said she would like to see farmers’ markets take place at Kiwanee, community pot luck suppers and other community events.

“We’ve got our work cut out for us,” Gross said.

WHITMAN  — Fire Chief Timothy Grenno is again seeking additional firefighters with EMT or paramedic/EMT certification for the department in his fiscal 2018 budget — this time only three — in an effort to deal with steadily increasing call volumes and a staffing level that has not changed since 1965.

Two years ago, Grenno had asked for eight additional firefighters, but the department did not receive the grant funding sought to pay a portion of that effort.

This year’s request, which will cost an estimated $292,700 including benefits for the three firefighters, will enable the fire department to add a firefighter to each shift to increase safety, fire response and patient care outcomes, Grenno argued.

While noting that a part override more than 12 years ago failed, as did the grant application two years ago, Grenno said he is seeking the funding for the new firefighters outside the levy limit.

“All I’m asking for is to let the taxpayers have the final say in this eventually,” Grenno said. Selectmen are expected to vote on Town Meeting warrant articles within the next few weeks.

Grenno is seeking a separate override question if there is a school override put before the voters.

At $292,648 — rounded up to $292,700— he said the tax rate impact would be 19 cents per $1,000 valuation or $56.18 increase in a tax bill on an average home of $291,413.

“I’m not trying to meet national standards, I’m not trying to get the big pie in the sky, I’m just trying to get us so that the majority of people that we see and the majority of responses that we go to are fair and equitable across the board,” he said. “This is a goal to increase efficiency, productivity and patient care.”

Grenno made his presentation to the Board of Selectmen and Finance Committee on Tuesday, Jan. 24, a week after his official budget presentation to the Finance Committee.

Selectman Daniel Salvucci asked if the cost for the new firefighters could be funded within the levy limit.

“[It] sounds like a lot of money,” Salvucci said. “But it isn’t a lot of money in one way.”

Budget challenges

Town Administrator Frank Lynam said insurance costs, the school budget and other line items are expected to increase and the only way to meet Grenno’s request is to increase the levy limit.

Lynam said, since Whitman is a residential community with 93 percent of revenues coming from residents’ taxes, people must decide what kind of community they want to be.

“That’s all I’m asking,” Grenno said. “As fire chief, my job is to come before you and present the state of the fire side of public safety in the town. … I’m not in the ballgame to take from other people’s budgets.”

Lynam said all the town’s fixed costs increase each year by 4 to 5 percent.

“The only thing that enables us to keep up with it is the combination of growth and increases in the levy limit,” Lynam said. We’re not expecting to see much support from the state. … This is our job.”

Finance Committee Chairman Michael Minchello said he and Grenno have also talked about that, but there is a concern within his committee about overtime costs.

“I totally understand where the Finance Committee is coming from,” Grenno said. “Their job is money, my job is public safety and we have a very difficult time — and sometimes can’t do it — with five people a shift.”

The Whitman Fire Department became a full-time service in 1965 with five members per shift. In 1973, with an ambulance service added to the department, staffing levels remained at five per shift, where they remain today.

In 1965 call volume for both fire and medical emergencies was 496 runs during the year. Last year, call volume was up to 2,664 runs.

Medical emergencies make up 64 percent of all responses.

When calls come in, priority EMS calls — chest pain, shortness of breath, seizures and overdoses, for example — all five firefighters on a shift respond. For non-priority first calls — such as orthopedic cases — three firefighters respond, leaving two and possibly a shift commander to respond to subsequent calls, Grenno explained.

“We’re pretty good [on national treatment standards] on the first call out the door — four persons, most critical task, at least 80 seconds faster,” he said. “Four people on a priority call is the ultimate. Three is OK, two persons is substantially less. Second EMS calls or EMS calls secondary to a fire incident are somewhere between the three and two-person less effectiveness in patient care.

“That’s where we stand today and, to me, that is unacceptable,” Grenno said. Last summer, the department had to respond to an overdose call with one firefighter aided by police officers.

The cost

In the past three years there have been two house fires that caused $100,000 damage, but Grenno said the damage could have been limited to $20,000 to $25,000 with full staffing available.

Last year, the fire station was empty 18 percent of the time due to call volume, with subsequent calls dependent on mutual aid, which helps but takes from 20 minutes to an hour to get to a call.

Patient demographics have also “changed substantially,” Grenno said, and include Baby Boomers hesitant to call for help until a more serious condition develops, and another group “who call us for everything.”

The call-back system for summoning off-duty firefighters is also a problem due to second jobs, or family demands when a spouse has to go to work.

Minchello asked if Grenno had given thought to sending four members out on priority cases, as required by the national safety standards, instead of five. Grenno said that has been considered, but would break up a two-person engine company, which is also against safety standards.

The department’s current policy is, when secondary calls come in, if personnel have to go by the station they pick up the extra ambulance. Many secondary calls, however, occur in the same area to which the first response was dispatched.

Ambulance funds

Minchello also asked about past plans to fund new staffing from the ambulance account.

Grenno explained that the Governor’s Task Force for Health Insurance, to reduce costs across the state, met recently with the Legislature’s Health Committee without representatives of public safety, hospitals, private ambulance companies invited. Only insurance company representatives were in attendance to look at cutting health insurance costs and are beginning to look at pre-hospitalization services such as ambulance services and walk-in clinics. One of the proposals is to reduce ambulance transport coverage Medicare and Medicaid rates across the board, and the department is losing money in that new practice.

“That would be devastating to our department,” Grenno said.

The Whitman-Hanson Regional School District scored well on this year’s audits — by receiving a finding of an “unmodified opinion,” which is the best opinion possible, according to audit firm representative Dan Sullivan on Wednesday, Jan. 11. Another report, filed with federal accounting officials found no “significant deficiencies or material weaknesses over financial reporting or of compliance.”

“Having ‘no findings’ is a major accomplishment,” Superintendent of School Dr. Ruth-Gilbert-Whitner said in congratulating Director of Business Services Christine Suckow on the audit results. “This is something to be greatly respected.”

Clifton Larsen Allen, which has performed the district audit for the last three years, began preliminary fieldwork for the latest audit in April 2016, according to Sullivan. Primary work is begun in November when the books on the fiscal year are closed.

“Management and staff, consistent with prior years, were responsive to all our questions and available to us throughout the whole audit,” Sullivan said. “The end result was actually a smooth audit process.”

He added there were no disagreements with district management during the audit and district officials knew what the firm needed and were prepared.

“The school district is audited by an accredited auditing firm yearly,” School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes said. “It is also audited by DESE (the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education), because we receive federal money and state money. … There’s always been questions as to what’s going on with different finances. Every single year we are audited by a private company.”

The audit reports were part of a School Committee meeting devoted to preliminary budget discussions ahead of the Wednesday, Feb. 1 rollout of the fiscal 2018 W-H school budget.

The Clifton Larsen Allen audit was broken up into two groups — the Government Y statement of debt position and activities as well as the fund-based financial statement, which deals with current funding sources.

Long-term financial liabilities of pensions and other post-employment benefits (OPEB) are included in the Government Y report. The fund-based report centers on revenue coming in and payments going out.

The district’s net position is about $30 million, including net investment and capital assets — about $59.2 million — and includes building, equipment of about $66 million less the current outstanding debt of $7 million. Restricted net position is $1.9 million, of which $600,000 is related to Circuit-Breaker funds and $1.3 million consists of other special revenue funds.

An unfunded pension liability and unfunded OPEB liability create a combined $30.8 million deficit. Annual OPEB costs were almost $5.1 million, up from $4.8 million the year before — the total unfunded OPEB liability is about $55 million, with the whole liability to be brought in during fiscal 2018.

“It’s put out over the years,” Hayes said. “It’s not a liability that’s got to be paid. Most towns, most school districts have these liabilities because of other post-employment benefits.”

“There’s no requirement to fund this at the moment,” Sullivan agreed.

Long-term debt has decreased from $14.8 million to $6.6 million because the district entered into a debt refinancing in fiscal 2015, which crossed over fiscal years.

Fund financial statements show the general fund, the most important as it relates to operation of the district, shows a balance of $2.7 million, which is $169,000 higher than the previous year.

“You are very conservative with your revenues, so you probably collected about $150,000 more in revenue than you planned and you turned back about $583,000 in expenditures that you didn’t use,” Sullivan said, adding that the year before there was about $150,000 from unused encumbrances. “Since we’ve been doing the audit, that’s been pretty much how it’s been working … it’s a position of strength.”

The committed fund balance, or excess and deficiency line item, is at $950,000, up from $750,000 from the previous year. The signed fund balance reserved for encumbrances in fiscal 2016 budget, but still in processing at year-end.

The unassigned, or free-and clear, fund balance stands at almost  $1.4 million. That figure, Sullivan said, represents 3 percent of revenues.

“The reason why we look at that is that your revenues could fluctuate 3 percent and you have enough unassigned fund balance to cover anything if it happened,” he said. “The chances of your revenues fluctuating are pretty non-existent because 90 percent are made up of assessments and Chapter 70 monies, which are very constant.”

District Treasurer David Leary also advised that the committee vote to assume two bond authorizations at the auditors’ request — one to rescind $283 left from the bond on the high school building, the other to rescind an outstanding $281,300 from the Maquan feasibility study. The board unanimously approved both requests.

“We’ve got a very strong debt position in this district,” he said, echoing Sullivan’s report. “It’s pretty unusual to find a place where the only thing that you owe is the money on this building, which is a little over $6 million and a short-term note for technology.”

The district maintains a solid AA bond rating from Standard & Poor’s with a stable outlook.

He also suggested the committee authorize him to invest some $400,000 worth of scholarships in the treasurer’s custodial care in an effort to “do a little better” in increasing their yield.

“Right now they are sitting in small savings accounts,” he said.

“As you can see in hearing from our treasurer and our auditors, WHRSD appears to be in good financial and business management condition right at this particular time,” Hayes said.