HANSON – Town officials have been seeking a forensic audit of the regional school district since the statutory funding formula began to be used to calculate assessments, but there have been no takers in reply to request for proposals (RFP) issued several times for the work.
Town accountant Eric Kinsherf knew consultant Mark Abrahams, who had made a presentation on the formula Abrahams to the Select Board on Tuesday, July 11. Abrahams indicated he is willing to conduct such an audit for Hanson.
The Select Board voted 4-0 to have Kinsherf approach Abrahams with a scope of work for such an audit. Vice Chair Joe Weeks was absent.
Town Meeting had voted to allocate $120,000 to conduct the forensic audit after the Select Board had approved it, but Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett wasn’t sure of the status since Randy LaMattina is no longer serving on Whitman’s Select Board.
“I would think Whitman would want to partner on this because we’re both users of the Whitman-Hanson school system and we’re funding the school system,” she said.
She did ask what Abrahams would charge if Hanson decided to go it alone on the audit.
“The original RFP was everything but the kitchen sink,” Kinscherf said.
“Which might have been why nobody responded,” said Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett.
Kinsherf came up with some bullet points based on Abrahams’ questions, which he shared with the board to see if there was anything it wanted Abrahams to look into.
“Basically, this wouldn’t be an audit, it would be agreed-upon procedures of engagement,” he said, noting it would outline what the board wanted him to do and send a report on his findings. “He’ll do a five-year look-back into excess and deficiency.”
Kinsherf said he wanted to narrow the scope to reviewing costs that have a direct affect on Hanson including revolving funds, but that details of all expenses were not necessary as it would not be a financial audit.
“I thought a salary review could be limited to comparison with towns with similar demographics,” he said. “What does W-H pay their teachers and how does that compare with other regions with similar demographics.”
Grants would only be included to the extent that they affect Hanson’s assessment, as well as other “relevant expenses,” such as food service, transportation, IT and building should be looked at in comparison to other districts, as well.
“I think that that is spot-on from what I remember us discussing before,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “Definitely one of the things people have expressed concerns about is some of the compensation packages.”
The source of one-time spending, historically, was also a question as well as whether it has ultimately been built into the budget were also concerns.
“We’re not dealing with the real numbers if you are using one-time funding and then, when you give us the assessment the next year, you’ve built in what was supposed to be one-time funding,” she said.
FitzGerald-Kemmett said she understands the need for one-time funding, but more clarity concerning what’s happening with it is needed.
Kinsherf said he would draft a scope to incorporate the items discussed and will forward it to Abrahams to get a cost estimate for the work.

Meeting notes

• Strategic planning consultant John Manning reviewed his work for the town’s financial planning efforts.
• The Board voted to open the October Town Meeting warrant. Deadline for submitting completed articles is noon on Aug. 7 via email in Word format or Excel. Articles requiring funding sources must outline those sources and must be provided to the Finance Committee. Capital items must go to the Capital Improvment Committee and Town Accountant for approval.
• The Board voted to approve $418,801 in ARPA funds for the Maquan School demolition. the balance of the $936,666 will come from borrowing. Up to $1 million had been approved by Town Meeting.
• A list of Maquan inventory remaining in the school was declared surplus by the board. Auctions International has been contacted to auction the more than 250 items. Town departments have also been advised they may take any items they can use.

WHITMAN – Strategic planning is already paying off.
Select Board member Shawn Kain provided an update on Whitman’s strategic plan during the board’s Tuesday, July 11 meeting.
“It was actually really helpful for me to go through this – working with [Town Administrator] Mary Beth [Carter] and some of the team – to go back and thoroughly look at the strategic plan, and look back over the time that we’ve been here and figure out what progress that we’ve made and where we need to move forward,” Kain said. “I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how much progress we have made toward strategic plan.”
The five-year planning window spans 2022 to 2027 and has five focus areas: Finances, public policies and infrastructure, economic development, citizen services and schools.
Finances speak to the responsible and sustainable aspect of services the town wants to provide to the public with initiative goals of providing financial policy, a process through which residents can be informed of how much and when new revenue is needed, an accurate financial and capital forecast, and enhanced communication with all educational partners.
“It’s pretty obvious that we’ve made significant progress,” Kain said. “We have adopted a financial policy and used it to guide the budget process – we’re still getting used to that, but we have actively done that over the past year.”
Whitman has also dedicated funds to contract with a consultant on financial forecasting and has enhanced communication. Todd Docuoto was also hired as the facilities manager and he has conducted an “extensive facilities assessment” to give officials a better understanding of the town’s capital needs.
“We have also committed to working together with the schools … earlier in the budget cycle and develop that process earlier so that,” he said. “As far as that first pillar is concerned, we’re definitely making good progress.
A new DPW building project, approved at Town Meeting and at the ballot box is a “huge step” toward the goal of replacing the deteriorating facilities that department is working in.
Professional assessment of ongoing facilies, such as a completed sewer main project, downtown infrastructure improvements such as underground utilities and high-speed internet, will benefit from having a full-time facilities manager.
Economic development “speaks to an enhanced downtown infrastructure, community engagement and communication of benefits and tradeoffs, establishment of a Chamber of Commerce and competitive MassPIRG grant application submittals, according to Kain.
“We’ve definitely made some progress toward this imitative, but we may want to target some areas in the near future,” he said. “We’ve applied for a grant to update under the Master Plan.”
That took place a few months ago and that project is in the works. Assistant Town Administrator Kathy Keefe has also met with the Old Colony Planning Council (OCPC) to discuss available grants that the town would be eligible for in that area.
Kain said he thinks there will be a couple.
Carter and Select Board member Justin Evans have applied for another MassPIRG grant to cover the town side of the South Avenue corridor project.
“That’s a significant project, so there’s a good chance that we’ll have grant money to cover the town’s side of that project,” he said. The town has also qualified for an EPA Brownfields Assessment Grant which also pertains to the South Avenue corridor.
“That area of Whitman seems to be, when you think about it, [where] some of the new businesses that we’re bringing in – so, good economic growth, good infrastructure, working with the state to get multiple grants that can help us achieve our goals – so I think there’s some big progress.”
Whitman is also working with OCPC to develop an affordable housing plan with the goal of increasing affordable housing by 10 percent and to do “a lot more flexible zoning.”
“The one area we may want to pay attention to is the establishment of a Chamber of Commerce,” Kain said.
Select Board member Laura Howe expressed enthusiasm for a Chamber of Commerce idea.
“The Brockton Chamber of Commerce is excellent,” she said, asking if that was the type of group Kain had in mind. “It’s immensely helpful … to people. I used them a long time ago and it was really informative. They were very welcoming.”
He said he has reached out to business owners in town who have that type of experience.
“I think with just a little bit of organization, we could have one,” he said.
Kain said communication might also be an area on which to concentrate materials can be produced to give residents a better picture of the budget and the town’s finances.
Where the schools are concerned, Kain said the town “took from their strategic plan and embedded that as part of our strategic plan,” Kain said.
It helped them institute all-day kindergarten, even as they have other goals still in the works and plan to update their strategic plan, he noted.
Chair Dr. Carl Kowalski asked Kain if he would be willing to give an annual summer update on progress with the town’s strategic plan. Kain agreed, reiterating the value in the “reflective process” of reviewing what has been accomplished and what is left to be done.
“I think it’s a really healthy part of what we should do,” he said.

WHITMAN – The Select Board approved Police Chief Timothy Hanlon’s request to make conditional offers to police candidates on the Civil Service list on Tuesday, June 20.
Hanlon had requested, and was granted authority to call for the list on May 23, as he anticipated the need for an additional officer to address staffing concerns.
“We do have a need for an additional two officers [to replace those] who are going to retire in the next few months,” he said about the approved call for the list.
There were 13 candidates who signed the list, indicating they would accept a position.
“We started at the top, and concentrated on the first six candidates and they are all spectacular,” Hanlon said. Civil Service rules require that to request two, which Whitman did, “We are basically bound to the top five, but if someone washes out, or has something in their background … you can pass them over for another candidate. That is not the case here.”
He gave a short outline of each candidate, but recommended the first three. Roger Kineavy has been with the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office for about four years. A Marine veteran, the Whitman resident grew up in Weymouth and has also been a corrections officer. Joshua Kelleher, a lifelong Whitman resident, graduated from WHRHS and Bridgewater State University. He presently works with the Barnstable Department of Natural Resources and a volunteer with the West Barnstable Fire Department. A little farther along in the hiring process for the Environmental Police, he has said he would accept a position there if it opened first. Alyssa Andrews, a resident of Whitman since 2002, she is a WHRHS and SNHU graduate. Her college degree is in criminal justice and she is currently employed by the TSA at Logan and volunteers at the Pine Street Inn in Boston.
He recommended conditional offers of employment to the first two candidates and Andrews be offered a conditional offer should one other candidates be unable to meet the conditions of employment or decline the offer.
The board approved the appointment of John Cannizzo as auxiliary administrator for the Whitman Police Department, for a one-year stint effective June 30. His position as an auxiliary officer himself would terminate on June 20.
The position pays for the actual hours worked, usually about 24 hours per week, at the same rate as he had before.
Kevin Shantler, president of the Whitman Police Union, however, said his union opposed the appointment of Cannizzo, as he is a nonunion part-time employee as a special police officer who has been decertified by the state’s police reform law.
“Since Cannizzo is no longer a certified police officer, the union stipulates that only a certified police officer should oversee, train and schedule other police officers, including auxiliary officers,” he said.
The union also argued the job opportunity should have been put out to the public for interested applicants and a proper interview process should be held.
Shantler said Cannizzo is currently under internal investigation centering on allegations by another auxiliary officers, and, as the union believes, he performed vehicle maintenance as well as his stated job as an auxiliary officer. Considering him for the position could send the wrong message. The union recommended continuing tabling the issue of appointing Cannizzo until the internal investigation is complete.
Hanlon said he is more than qualified, has experience and would be working under the supervision of higher-ranking officers.
“I would see no reason to hire anybody else for the position, number one, and again, he’s held the position and done the job,” Hanlon said. “We tabled this last time to hear the union’s issues and, they’ve been heard. … and they haven’t been dismissed, but at the same time, they haven’t been validated, either.”

The School Committee on Wednesday, June 7, revisited its ongoing dicusson of meeting protocol, with Chair Beth Stafford suggesting some ideas for discussion on how to make meetings more civil and productive.
Among these, was her assertion that the public comment period – 15 minutes at the start of each meeting that gives the public an opportunity to be heard on issues not on the agenda – could largely stay unchanged she said, unless it is necessary during later discussions, that would be the end of public comment.
“This is a School Committee meeting and it’s up to us to discuss our options,” she said. “Nobody will be recognized from the floor, except by the chair.
Budget time could be a period when such comments are asked for by the chair, but there would be a limit to that, as well.
“Once public comment is done, it is up to us to carry on a meeting,” she said. “We need to accomplish our work and not get done at 10 p.m., when everybody is exhausted from working all day.”
When people get tired, tempers flare up and good work doesn’t get done, Stafford said.
Keeping the number of questions from the committee for the superintendent have also been becoming unmanageable, so Stafford said unless the questions come up during a meeting, they should be funneled through the chair.
“Sometimes [Superintendent of Schools Jeff Szymaniak] gets three of the same questions from three different people, and there’s a lot of work he’s got [to do during] his day.” she said.
She will present questions to Szymaniak and then all committee members will receive the response so everyone has the same information.
Meeting minutes are another issue that has cropped up, perhaps due to a misconception of what minutes should be. The Mass. Association of School Committees (MSAC) defines minutes as a brief summary in language clear enough for a citizen reader to understand what was discussed.
“It is not expected, nor necessary that minutes will be a verbatim transcripts, reporting on every School Committee member board comment or summarize every public comment made during the public comment period,” Stafford said.
Norms must also be clarified, she said, suggesting a Wednesday night meeting in July, considering what members suggest should be meeting norms such as respect and listening to others’ opinions. She said the norms the committee comes up with would be put on a poster and displayed at meetings.
McEwan Award’
In other business, Margaret McEwan presented the Do What’s Best for Kids Award, given in memory of former Superintendent of Schools Dr. John F. McEwan “who believed a school is not just a building, but a community of support that maximized learning for all students,” to Catherine Bouzan.
McEwan said Bouzan’s supervisor said she “loves being an educator who delights in seeing her students thrive in a classroom with lessons related to real-life jobs that they have an interest in and will be equipped to continue after they leave Whitman-Hanson.”
Companies or services with which she partners, say her students are the most professional and well-prepared for the vocational tasks they are asked to perform.
“Everyone in this room should be proud of the W-H Transitional Educational program, established for the students 18-22 who are ready, willing and able to join the workforce, doing a job from which they can derive personal satisfaction,” McEwan said.
The award includes $500 Bouzan may use for her own professional development or a related program.
“She is one of the most amazing educators I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet,” Szymaniak said. “This award doesn’t even speak to what she does for our 18- to 22-year-old students in our transitional [program] … she works with each student to make education and life skills fun for them.”
Bouzan also works with the unified basketball and track programs.
Szymaniak said he got Bouzan to the meeting under the ruse that she was to make a presentation on the program to the School Committee – which she did.
“You really got me,” she said. “It, honestly, is an honor to work and do what I do every day, so I thank all of you, but I have to thank you, Jeff, for giving me the opportunity 13 years ago, and I couldn’t do what I do, if I didn’t have – of course – the support of my family, but also my team.”
She said of her paraprofessionals, who just happen to all be female: “I work with a group of women, for whom the integrity of our students, the respect they give our students, the integrity of our program – I’m just very blessed to be surrounded by so many people that care about our students’ success and enjoy them.”
Szymaniak said he hoped someone was taking her out to dinner after that.

WHITMAN – Questions have been raised about a Town Meeting vote on the amount of tax money vs. free cash used to balance the fiscal 2024 budget.
Town Administrator Mary Beth Carter reported, in response to a taxpayer’s question that a Town Meeting article to use free cash to reduce the funds raided taxation needed to balance the fiscal 2024 budget.
Dawn Byers, a School Committee member, addressing the Select Board as a private citizen asked in the public forum on Tuesday, May 23 for the clarification, aware that it would not be up for discussion at the meeting, but in hopes it could be explained at a future meeting.
“I have some follow-up questions regarding Article 42 from the May 1 Town Meeting,” Byers said. “I do hope, as you proceed with setting the tax levy over the next several months, you will perhaps be able to address this in a future public meeting.”
Article 42 asked Town Meeting to vote to appropriate a sum of money from available free cash to reduce the amount of money to be raised by taxation for fiscal 2024.
Byers asked that the board explain what is being done with Article 42, which was approved by the Town Meeting, and why the Select Board proposed the article. She noted that the Finance Committee had not voted on it because there was no dollar figure at that time it came before them, but an amendment on Town Meeting floor inserted the amount of $455,323.
“There was a lower amount and when the schools came in, we had a compromise,” Carter said. “We juggled some things around from capital and so forth, and that was the amount we needed from the remaining free cash to just close the budget.”
Carter said it had been discussed all through the budget process that the town would be using funds from free cash to close the budget.
“After that was done, there was $53,000 some-odd remaining in free cash,” she said. “That was it.”
Byers said it sounds like the town is not fully taxing to the levy, but instead chose to use free cash or is perhaps not recognizing some new growth.
The board will be returning to the issue at coming meetings, Chair Dr. Carl Kowalski indicated.
“We do often hear the term Proposition 2 ½ override, but this feels like the opposite – is this an underride and is it the board’s intention to report it to the Department of Revenue as such when the FY ’24 tax levy is set?” she said. “[It] is a significant amount of tax revenue.”
An accountant in her professional life, Byers asked what the purpose of the one-time free cash funds was, what was the benefit to the town and and who benefits by reducing the amount of money to be raised by taxation.
“I did attend Town Meeting,” Byers said, noting that it had lasted nearly three and a half hours and the article was the second to last to be voted on that night. “We were all there until 11 p.m.” she said.
“While I do agree it was approved by the voters just prior to 11 p.m., I think it’s an extremely important financial decision made by the town that deserves to be further explained,” she said.
In other business, with the Whitman Police Department down a number of officers with a couple more planning retirements in the coming months, Chief Timothy Hanlon requested that the Select Board start the process of calling for a civil service list.
The board approved the request unanimously.
“The process is going to be a little bit more lengthy than it was in the past, when we had the opportunity to reserve officers and see how they fit in on more or less a part-time basis and go through the part-time academy,” Hanlon said.
With the new police reform law, there is no more part-time police academy, however, and the department has exhausted its reserve list as two of them began the police academy May 22, but until they graduate, Hanlon said the department is going to have to fill the remaining vacancies by starting a new civil service list.
Vice Chair Dan Salvucci asked if it would affect promotions within the ranks, and Hanlon said it depends on what ranks retire, as a majority are officers and one is of rank.
The board also approved an amendment to the host community agreement with Soul Flower Inc., permitting the firm to split the company into multiple corporations – retailer Chill & Bliss LLC, product manufacturer Fusion Drop LLC, cultivator Crafted Cannibis LLC and existing licensing transporter Soul Flower Express LLC – for business purposes, according to Carter. All are Massachusetts LLCs and have been approved by town counsel.
“The HCA restricts their ability to so, so they need this amendment,” she said. “It should not change their operations as approved by the [Select Board] under the host community agreement.”

The Whitman-Hanson boys’ tennis team were victorious over the Silver Lake Lakers, 3-2, on Senior Night May 23, and their final home match of the season. Seniors Drew Fountain and James Goyette won in dominant fashion at second doubles (6-0, 6-0). Senior captain Zachary Lindsay and junior Tristan Baker also looked strong in their win at first doubles (6-1, 6-1).
Junior Mateo Santalucia was able to secure the Panthers win at second singles (6-2, 6-2). Senior Matt Bergin played one of his best matches of the season at third singles but came up short of the win. The Panthers improve to 6-11 and wrap up regular season on Thursday at Plymouth North. Match time 4 p.m.
The W-H team lost to Hingham Friday, May 19 in back-to-back matches, 0-5, 0-5, falling to 4-11 on the season. The team had some great games and played well, but were just overpowered by the high-powered play of Hingham.
Sophomore Mateo Santalucia had the best overall chance at a win, losing 5-8 in the first match and 4-8 in the second.
The Panthers had team defeated the Quincy Presidents May 18, 4–1, in the completion of a rain delayed match. The team played well on all five courts. Sophomore Brady Wright played three strong sets at first singles (6-3, 4-6, 6-2). Junior Mateo Santalucia won in two sets at second singles (7-5, 6-3). Senior Captain Zach Lindsay and junior Tristan Baker won in two sets at first doubles (6-0, 6-1), while senior Drew Fountain and junior George Dykens took care of their opponents in two sets on the second doubles court, (6-3, 6-3). 
The Lady Panthers tennis team defeated Brockton May 22, 5-0. In first singles Alyson Tobias won 6-2,6-0 and at secondnd singles Sam Jacobsen won 6-2, 6-3.
In third singles freshman Mari Santalucia defeated her opponent 6-1,6-2. In first doubles Delaney Hughes and Sophie Ennis won 6-2,4-6,6-0 and at second doubles Mary Lynam and Sarah Regan won 6-3, 6-2.