HANSON — The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, Feb. 23 heard a review of priority projects aimed at easing the effects of potential weather-related hazards.

A representative from the Old Colony Regional Planning Commission reviewed a vulnerability preparedness grant application process and is seeking feedback from residents. Top hazards already identified by community members are: floods and drought; extreme winds and storms, fire and extreme temperatures, which led to the creation of a risk matrix of facilities in town that could be impacted by the hazards and how they could be made more resilient.

Workshops on the process have been ongoing since October 2021.

The public is asked to call Laurie Muncy at 508-583-1883 Ext. 210 or email lmuncy@ocpcpa.org to offer comments on the presentation, which may be viewed on Whitman-Hanson Community Access TV’s YouTube site.

Priority projects identified were continued efforts to identify and address flood-prone areas; improve a warming/cooling center for seniors lacking a backup generator for power; pursuing alternative or supplemental water supplies; increasing the town’s water storage capacity; development of a culvert maintenance and repair plan and a new highway facility.

40B developments

The board also heard a review of ongoing 40B developments in town.

Hanson currently has 4.5 percent of its 10-percent affordable housing goal, to be consistent with local needs. The town needs 357 total units to meet that goal, and now has 160 affordable units.

“At our last meeting we talked about a 40B project extensively,” Town Administrator John Stanbrook said. “I just wanted to give an update on some of the other 40B projects that are in town.”

One of those facilities is Dunham Farm condominiums for people age 55 and over. Built in the 1990s as affordable units in perpetuity, the original plan called for 52 units, with 28 built aimed at a market rate of $321,000, 12 of which were affordable. There are now 24 more units being added (market rate $429,000), with only one intended as an affordable unit because enough were built in the original portion to cover the required ratio.

Another project, Depot Village on Phillips Street, will have 45 total units when completed — 12 affordable. The three-story building will have no age restriction.

“Hanson will be credited with all 45 units as affordable, because they are rental units,” Stanbrook said. It is expected to be move-in ready in January 2022.

Ridders’ development at 280 Liberty St., with 57 townhouse units planned to be built starting in about four weeks, includes 13 affordable units with a 55-and-older age restriction.

The three developments will bring Hanson to within half-way to it’s goal — 186 units of the 357 needed.

“We’re not close to the 10 percent yet,” Stanbrook said. “If we only put aside 25 percent of every 100, it will take another 1,000 units in order to get to the 10-percent goal.”

Selectman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said it seems there is a misconception that the board can stop 40B housing from coming to Hanson.

“I think it’s important that people recognize … that the town needs to basically demonstrate that it’s on track to have 10 percent affordable housing,” she said. “We’re far from that.”

What selectmen can do, FitzGerald-Kemmett said, is articulate their concerns and work with the land use boards, so the developments are in keeping with the character and nature of the town.

“What we can’t do is stop 40B,” she said. “There is no way to stop 40B.”

Selectmen also discussed the ongoing issue of under-billing for water services to the W-H Regional School District by the Whitman Water Department.

“This is kind of a long-standing matter that got on our radar screen close to a year ago,” said town general counsel Jay Talerman. “We’re kind of odd man out, so we don’t really have that much of a stake in it, although there is some money at stake.”

Talerman said Whitman, which forgot to bill the school district for water supplied to the high school, for whatever reason, now wants to collect. He became involved in the issue because Hanson would be obliged to pay some portion of that bill, and the school district’s counsel thought he could be helpful with bargaining.

He said that among the things he pointed out to Whitman officials is that the law only allows going back six years for payment — not the 15 that is owed.

“Second, we’re not going to pay it,” Talerman said, unless any payments are spread out over time in the operating budget. About a year ago the bill was negotiated down to the six years, or about $185,000.

“It appears that’s been accepted by Whitman … and they’ve also agreed to spread it out over three years,” Talerman said. “The remaining question is, how is it paid?”

He said the school district has the authority to pay it through the assessment and does not recommend taking it out of other funds. The town generally pays water bills from the assessment, which he recommended Hanson’s position should be as it is not a principal part of the discussion, but only a party to paying a portion of the bill.

Selectmen agreed with the approach — with FitzGerald Kemmett reminding the board Hanson would only be paying 40 percent of whatever the final bill is.

The W-H Regional School District is committed to safeguarding the safety and health of students and staff, officials say — and that means a return to in-person learning will not likely happen before the end of March.

“Our numbers in the communities have gone down, but we’re still quarantining students and staff due to positivity rates,” Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak said.

He told the School Committee meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 10 that the district will have to work out strategies for social-emotional support for students and when they return to school.

Szymaniak said he is still looking toward the end of March, but parents have been starting to demand a March 1 return. That, he said is unlikely because the district would need the month of March to prepare for students’ return. He is planning a March 3 presentation to the committee on what the return plan might look like.

“We’ve always had a plan, but we want to make sure it’s structured and good for all,” he said. “It will not look like March 12, 2020.”

Committee members agreed with Szymaniak’s approach, especially since teachers are still waiting for vaccinations, which are still difficult to obtain.

The CDC issued changes to its COVID guidelines Friday, Feb. 12 for the first time since August, stopping short of green-lighting an immediate return to classes.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said the CDC is “not mandating that schools reopen,” instead opting for a color-coded zone approach based on numbers of new cases in a given area.

“Schools in areas with substantial transmission (orange, 50 to 99 new cases per 100,000) may still consider a limited reopening, as long as they can layer multiple safety strategies in the classroom,” according to an NPR report. “In hard-hit communities (red, more than 100 new cases per 100,000), elementary schools may consider limited reopening, with physical distancing required, but the CDC recommends middle and high schools be virtual-only unless mitigation strategies can be met.”

School distircts in many states have been demanding more practical information on reopening, according to the CDC. Still, the six-foot social distancing rules “should be considered nonnegotiable” for K-12 schools in high-transmission areas. Teachers would not be required to be vaccinated, but there is a recognition that teachers would prefer vaccinations before returning to work.

“It seemed like the wheels of the bus came off in the South Shore [region] a little bit last week, with some announcement that some districts with a full return to school,” he said, noting he sent another parent survey about return to school issues last week.

Resident Susan Wolford of Birchbark Drive in Hanson asked about the survey parents received from Szymaniak about returning to school during the Public Forum.

“I was looking for when and if there was a plan in place for when the kids are going to return full time,” she asked.

Szymaniak reminded committee members of the administration’s presentation of return options at the beginning of the school year, when the committee made it clear the most important thing was the safety and health of students and staff.

“So far that’s been true and I have no doubt that’s the first thing we have in our hearts and in our minds,” he said.

The committee chose the hybrid plan, while accommodating families that asked for a fully remote plan, with additional teachers hired to fill that role. Teachers who have tested positive have also been able to teach remotely from home, Szymaniak said.

“We have some long-term subs across the district that are in classrooms,” he also said. “That cost us.”

That is an expense for which the district is seeking reimbursement funds through the CARES Act. There are, however, regulations about how the district could use such funds and it is not clear at the moment if it can be used to balance the fiscal 2022 budget.

“There’s been some huge community push to get students in school — that’s our goal,” Szymaniak said. “Bottom line: If I can get students in here, that’s what I want to do.”

But, keeping to the tenets of health concerns, the district has not yet moved off the recommendation for six-foot social distancing and the limitations that it brings to classroom sizes. He apologized if the survey was interpreted as an attempt to be negative.

Even if teachers are vaccinated, which has not happened yet, the six-foot distance could be revised to three-feet or less. Movement between classrooms or around lockers would make contact tracing more difficult.

“With every challenge, we can modify and overcome the challenge, but parents need to know this — that this is going to be a change,” Szymaniak said.

The survey results indicate 67 percent of parents want full in-person learning or 2,204 responses. Students now learning remotely whose families want to send them back to school, would have an effect of class size.

Social distancing at lunches might also change. In some communities, when there is a limit to space, students have brought a blanket to eat sitting on the floor, which can affect other uses of school space.

There are also academic challenges when most students come back and a few others remain on remote learning. Space limitations on buses could also present challenges.

“I’m concerned about next year’s budget,” said resident Shawn Kain of Forest Street in Whitman during the Public Forum via Zoom. “Obviously with COVID, for anyone involved with the schools — teachers, students and parents — it has placed an incredible mental health burden on all of us and the thought of potentially losing funds next year is terrible.”

He said budget cuts to education at this moment would do “a good amount of harm,” noting the insight Hanson has already provided into their financial situation. Arguing that, since Hanson’s need to seek an override even for a level-service budget is less than ideal, Kain said it would be a good idea to extend the assessment formula compromise for another year.

In other business, Assistant Superintendent George Ferro provided an assessment testing update for the committee. A midyear assessment was given to students in kindergarten to grade five on math and ELA (reading), following similar assessments at the start of the year.

“Overall, for math, from the beginning of the year to now … we went from 21 percent on grade-level to 40 percent on grade-level,” Ferro said. The number of students in need of educational support is down 63 percent to 51 percent of students, while closing the gap in the high-needs areas down to 9 percent, he said.

“In math, we are moving more students to grade level and we have seen significant progress from our initial beginning of year term to our midyear report,” he said.

There was also progress in reading scores, Ferro said, explaining that at-risk students will receive extra help in improving before an end-of-year assessment and reviewing a regression plan for the summer as well as entering the next school year.

HANSON — A budget shortfall of nearly $2 million is expected to have a “system-wide impact” on most services and departments in town without an override, according to Town Accountant Todd Hassett.

The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, Jan. 26 heard a second-quarter budget update and previewed the fiscal 2022 budget with Hassett.

“We do have assumptions. Even if the assumptions come out better than where we are, it’s still a substantial amount that will be required in an override without a serious cut in services. That’s just where we are,” Town Administrator John Stanbrook agreed.

Stanbrook reported on Tuesday, Feb. 2 that the governor’s budget has increased Hanson’s anticipated state aid by $36,086, while state assessment savings came to $818 from what the town expected to be charged. The two amounts mean a $31,000 increase in state aid, and — coupled with assessment figures from South Shore Tech [see related story, this page] — the net effect is a $1,000 decrease to the town’s deficit, now at $1.985 million.

W-H Regional budget figures have not been officially released yet.

“At this time we’re anticipating, when all is said and done, we have a shortfall of just under $2 million, and a number of things are not formalized or finalized yet,” he said. “There are a lot of challenges and a lot of work ahead for us, but clearly, absent some level of tax relief via an override, we’re looking at some significant reductions that will likely involve staff and may involve less programming at the camp, it might involve having to close the transfer station a bit more.”

The largest question mark, at this point, are school budget requests.

“Many things are still in play,” he said in his budget forecast, which town bylaw requires by the end of January. The governor’s budget had not been released at the time Hassett presented the fiscal 2022 plan to Selectmen.

“We are faced with about a 7-percent increase in public safety expenses due to some of the demands for shift coverage and contractual obligations,” Hassett said. “The education budget is up, in our worksheets, over 12.5 percent.”

Formal budget requests have not been received as yet from either WHRSD or SST. Remaining budgets are up about 4 percent. The cost of state program costs is up about 2.5 percent.

Revenues are forecast at about $28 million.

Nearly 83 percent of Hanson’s budget is supported through property taxes, 5.5 percent by state revenues Hassett expects will be level-funded, and 7.5 percent through local revenues, also projected to be level-funded.

He said the maximum allowable levy limit short of an override had been calculated — $544,000 at the 2 ½ percent increase allowed under Proposition 2 ½. New growth revenues are expected to be about $100,000 higher than in fiscal ’21.

Debt exclusions on the police station and regional high school — about $600,000 in additional taxes — are also on the books, with the police station costs maturing in 2026 an the high school in 2028.

Ambulance receipts and septic funds will also be looked at to help balance the budget, Hassett said, as well as $231,000 from free cash.

With only 13 percent of the fiscal 2021 budget collected, Hassett said most revenues are tracking well, while on paper the excise tax receipts appear low by about $35,000 less than the same billing period last year.

“This was one of the indicators we were concerned about going into next year’s budget,” he said. “Data we get from the state shows a very aggressive depreciation schedule.”

Permits and departmental fees are holding steady. While this has been a financially difficult year for recreation programs across the state as programs and events had to be canceled because of COVID-19, Camp Kiwanee has a “strong spring” of wedding bookings at this point.

We’ll see how that plays out,” Hassett said. “The bookings are not what they enjoyed just a couple of years ago.”

The Kiwanee programs and capital improvements had to be subsidized from the general fund in the current fiscal year.

The Whitman-Hanson School Committee will hear the district’s fiscal 2022 budget proposal at its Feb. 24 meeting.

“We’re going to be focused on regression and making sure we can implement services for kids next year so they can make sure that, if they have regressed, they can catch up,” Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak said. “We are going to present a budget, and let you marinate on the budget.”

Follow up meetings will then focus on getting more and more information out to the community as to where those dollars have gone.

Implementation of major new programs will not be considered, rather the district is looking to determine a benchmark of where students are academically when they return to school.

Szymaniak reminded the committee that enrollment is down and 90 students are now being home-schooled. He wants to determine the thought process of how some of those students might return to school.

Director of Business and Finance John Tuffy reported to the School Committee on Wednesday, Jan. 13, that there is some good revenue news in the offing.

Finalized state figures indicate that accounts in Chapter 70 aid and transportation and interest earnings can be bolstered with money out of money out of the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Grant.

“The good news is we’re halfway through the year and we don’t have to cut budgets because of deficits in our original revenue projections,” Tuffy said. “The other good news has to do with the CARES Act.”

The funds were intended to run out Dec. 30 if delivery of items or beneficial use of services as well as an invoice, reimbursement would not be possible.

But, the original CARES Act running through Plymouth County is now running until next December, as it has been extended.

The committee also reviewed and accepted revisions to the strategic plan pertaining to outcomes for this year, which could change with a return to school on what can feasibly done in that time, returning to a calendar approach next year.

“This is an important document because it is the roadmap to where our district is going, and it’s certainly going to lead into our budget, which is important because … essentially our budget should align with our strategic plan,” said Committee member Dawn Byers.

She questioned the rationale for removing universal full-day kindergarten from the plan.

Assistant Superintendent George Ferro said that change was largely due to COVID-19.

“What we’re trying to say is, ‘What is tangible, what is doable, what can we move forward on?’” Ferro said. “It’s still in the plan, it’s not in the outcome.”

Byers and member David Forth made a motion to table a vote until the kindergarten plan could be included, after Ferro explained it had simply been unintentionally omitted during document formatting. Byers’ motion was changed to one amending the strategic plan to include universal full-day kindergarten.

Szymaniak also said he felt the need to comment on the Capitol insurrection that was “all over the news” in the week between Jan. 6 and the School Committee meeting.

“I know some of my colleagues have made public statements about what happened in Washington,” he said. “What we did as a school community, is I messaged to [the committee] and administrators what the recommendations were from the National Association of School Psychologists.”

W-H School Phsychologist Wendy Price, on a sabbatical this year, is president of the association.

Teachers tried to remain apolitical, but to talk to students and answer those who had questions.

“Our teachers took this as an opportunity to have discussions with their kids, nonthreatening discussions, to really see where they were at,” Szymaniak said. “We try to provide parents with information to have discussions with their kids — politics aside.”

Vice Chairman Christopher Scriven read a prepared statement in which he argued the committee to address the situation, as it is a democratically elected group charged with overseeing public education in the community.

“As we are all aware, public education is one of the fundamental institutions of our democratic society which requires factual information to function effectively,” Scriven said. “Given that misinformation has been employed in a violent attempt to undermine our democratic process, I believe it is our responsibility to ensure our district’s response is, and has been, factual and clear.”

He said it was an opportunity to present a core aspect of the mission statement to educate students with facts and support teachers in doing so, and that the committee condemn anyone found to have participated in the “seditious and treasonous actions against our democracy, leading up to and on that fateful day.”

The committee unanimously approved of that motion.

Member Hillary Kniffen thanked Scriven for the statement as an educator who teaches sophomores and juniors in another school district.

“Thursday [Jan. 7] was a really challenging day for exactly points Chris spoke to,” she said. “I think that a lot of educators are walking on eggshells, for lack of a better term. … We’re not supposed to teach them how to think, we’re supposed to teach them to think.”

Member Fred Small replied he did not think anyone could have said that better, that teachers’ role is to teach critical thinking skills without telling students how to think about an issue.

“Violence in any way shape or form, such as what we all witnessed … I don’t think has any place in our democracy at this time,” he said. “It was horrible.”

Member Chris Howard addressed parents and others watching the meeting.

“I cringe when we’re leaving it up to educators to have some of these conversations,” he said. “So, if you are listening, I think when things like this happen, it’s an opportunity to grab your kids [and] have a conversation.”

Byers added that, because it may not be the last situation like it, asked if there were professional development programs to support teachers.

Ferro said a Simple K-12 professional development program scheduled Feb. 3 will help weave in inclusion and diversity.

Szymaniak said, in light of situations he has encountered, asked the committee to remember, they are a district-wide committee and not a school-based committee, so specific curriculum requests should be made through the chairman.

He also reminded members who wish to attend a PTO or School Council meeting do so as a parent and not a School Committee member so they do not end up intimidating people or leaving the impression they are speaking as a committee member.

HANSON — The Board of Selectmen got a glimpse of preliminary fiscal 2022 budget numbers on Tuesday, Jan. 13 — and the picture they paint is not a positive one.

“We’re a little early in the process because this is one of the hardest things we’re going to have to overcome in the next several months,” Selectmen Kenny Mitchell said. “I don’t think it’s a big secret, but we have a shortfall in our up-and-coming budget.”

During the brief budget discussion, Mitchell said the issue would be coming up regularly at Selectmen meetings this winter.

Outside of some numbers not in yet, Selectmen are looking at a shortfall of  “around $2 million,” according to Town Administrator John Stanbrook.

Mitchell said his goal is to were to go over the options available to make up the shortfall and, if that is not possible, what town services would be affected.

“I think it’s more of a moderate assumption list of things that could happen,” Stanbrook said. “I think it could get worse, I think it could get worse … but it’s using pretty much every dollar that we have available.”

Saying the town just doesn’t have that kind of money available, Stanbrook said.

Before Thanksgiving, Mitchell and Stanbrook met with Town Accountant Todd Hassett and Finance Committee Chairman Kevin Sullivan and Selectman Matt Dyer on the budget. They met again Friday, Jan. 8.

Hassett said the town is looking toward about $108,000 in tax revenue from newly construction, noting it is still early for state aid numbers to be available, but most of the major lines have been level-funded.

“The state is still very challenged financially,” he said adding the town is looking for the state to approve a level-funded budget by the end of the month.

Local receipts, usually producing about $2 million from motor vehicle excise tax, will not produce a revenue forecast until the first payments come in later this month or in February to permit comparison to past years.

“In terms of a lot of other revenues, a lot of them are running well to our budget, but we’re not seeing a lot of excess,” Hassett said. “We’ve put about $700,000 into this year’s budget with one-time sources.”

Both the transfer station ($107,000) and recreation ($86,000) operations have been subsidized in past budgets and the operating budget was subsidized by $450,000 in free cash at the annual Town Meeting.

In the next year’s budget, the town is expecting to be using about $200,000 in free cash to fund HVAC work at Hanson Middle School. The five-year debt was approved when the town was in a better financial position.

The town has also received about $3 million in capital requests from town departments and the regional school district in a budget that “leaves very little for the town’s capital plan.”

“It’s unlikely that we will be able to move forward with many of these,” Hassett said. “I’m not sure how that will ripple trough over the next few years.”

Parents and students in the Whitman-Hanson and South Shore Tech school districts moved to remote plans through Jan. 19 as COVID-19 positivity rates in their member communities have increased over the holidays.

Meanwhile, Massachusetts has reached the “severe outbreak” status for the first during the pandemic on Monday, Jan. 11,  according to data tracking nonprofit COVID Act Now.

In Whitman-Hanson, high school students were the only ones in the district moved to remote learning on Jan. 8 with a return to hybrid learning planned on Tuesday, Jan. 19, Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak announced in an email to parents that was also posted on the district website. Another post on Tuesday announced the school’s cohort B would return to a hybrid schedule Jan. 14.

“Teachers and students will follow the remote schedule that was used on Dec. 21 and 22,” Szymaniak said. “During this time of remote learning, we are also postponing all athletic practices and contests.”

Szymaniak said the district has taken all the steps necessary to reduce the chance of this situation occurring.

“We continue to adhere to DPH and DESE protocols, and while we have seen a significant increase in the number of cases in our town and within the school community, there have only been a few select cases that we determined to have been transmitted in the school community,” he said. “Nonetheless, the numbers documented are concerning and out of caution, I feel this is the correct step to take for the health and safety of our students and staff.”

SST Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey said the vocational high school is making a “slight adjustment” for the students on the academic week for the 14-day post-vacation window.

“I anticipate a return to a regular hybrid schedule during the week of Jan. 19,” Hickey said, noting he had advised parents on Facebook.

On Friday, Jan. 8, Gov. Baker said the Commonwealth will make weekly COVID-19 pool testing available to all schools and districts within the next month. The method is aimed at providing more safeguards to stop the spread of COVID while also giving school officials more knowledge about what is happening in buildings every day, he said.

Pool testing permits the review of up to 20 swabs at a time, state officials said. Salem, Watertown and Medford districts have already begun using pool testing with encouraging results, according to DESE Commissioner Jeff Riley.

“This is something people have been working on for months,” Baker said. “The data around this is clear, that in-person learning is essential to kids’ education, developmental and emotional well-being, and we’ve shown we can control the spread of the virus in classrooms when the right steps are in place.”

Detailed guidelines for the state’s approach were developed in June 2020 by medical experts and endorsed by the Mass. Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics to support safe, in-person learning for all students. The commonwealth has also invested more than $1 billion to cover COVID-related expenses for schools, Baker said.

“Children, and especially high-needs children, have borne the brunt of this terrible virus as their lives, routines and educations have been upended,” Baker said.

Student achievement

Students and parents across the country, meanwhile, have begun turning to social media to lament about educational setbacks in remote and hybrid learning models, which Hickey admits is a concern.

“It is a challenge,” Hickey said. “But we’re meeting the challenge by teachers being very patient and flexible, and administratively and with our guidance staff, we’re also trying to provide some wrap-around support.”

Toward that end, SST is holding what they are calling a Saturday School on Jan. 16 to provide in-person help to catch up, if needed, in a socially distanced setting. Teachers also meet remotely with students for extra help during before and after school hours.

While SST’s in-person start times are staggered, starting at 9 a.m. on academic days, which permits teachers to meet with students between 7:40 a.m. and 9, to see a specific teacher or report to the lecture hall on remote days if they require some structure and routine even if they do not need extra help.

“We are in regular contact with all of the kids, whether they’re fully remote, or otherwise,” Hickey said.

Meanwhile, Hickey said SST is working on scheduling models for next year that will take every contingency into consideration.

“For us, one of the biggest indicators that I’ll be looking for is will the state and public health officials relax the transportation guidelnes,” he said. “If I can’t put more than 23 kids on a bus, I will be forced to continue the staggered schedule that we have.”

That and easing the social distancing regulations for lunches would be needed to allow a return to a “normal” schedule, according to Hickey.

“We will continue our partnership with the boards of health in Whitman and Hanson and monitor the cases for a safe return to school,” Szymaniak stated. “If you have any questions, please feel free to contact my office at 781-618-7412.”

HANOVER — South Shore Tech officials have unveiled a $14,682,668 fiscal 2022 budget — and increase of $276,477, or 1.89 percent — representing a higher level of in-district enrollment along with a reduction in non-resident tuition, which will otherwise lead to a revenue shortfall of nearly $150,00.

No changes, meanwhile are projected in regional transportation reimbursement.

The district’s School Committee heard Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey’s fiscal 2022 budget presentation during its Wednesday, Dec. 16 meeting. SST uses a zero-based budgeting process to create spending plans. The final budget figures are not expected before the Wednesday, Jan. 27 meeting — the day Gov. Charlie Baker releases his budget. The budget certification vote has been slated for Wednesday, Feb.17.

Principal Mark Aubrey said there have been 206 applications an increase for the towns of Abington and Hanover and flat in all other towns except Hanson, where they are lower. The school usually sees about 300 applications at about this time, but because of COVID, Aubrey said the admissions officer has not been able to get into schools.

Assessments, based on minimum local contributions, capital, transportation and other costs above the minimum local contributions as well as debt service are calculated into the local assessments.

“The department heads did a wonderful job prioritizing and knowing this is a lean year that we would expect on the state level, and also on the local level as dollars are spread through educational and non-educational departments in each of our towns,” Hickey said.

The school district continues to control costs by long-range planning, use of grants to cover costs for technical equipment and personnel, industry donations and in-house talent.

Whitman School Committee member Dan Salvucci asked if COVID costs would continue to be included in the 2022 budget.

“One of the grants we have does have a longer [COVID-related] shelf life, which is good news,” Hickey said. “That has been on my mind, but I think by-and-large with the additional personnel and resources we have, I’m not adding substantial dollars for COVID expenses.”

He began with a celebration of accomplishments over fiscal 2021.

“Normally, I would have a long, bulleted list, [but] I can summarize it here in an obvious way, that from March 13 — almost a year, now — we have learned so much about teaching and learning in a pandemic,” Hickey said. “I couldn’t be happier with the efforts that our kids and our families and our staff are making.”

Looking to the future and goals for “the other side” of the pandemic, Hickey said the plan is to focus on pre-COVID priorities, some of which have been impacted by COVID-19:

• focusing on high-needs and economically disadvantaged subgroups who need to score proficient on MCAS;

• expanding social emotional learning initiatives while reconnecting with the school community;

focusing on larger capital projects in the facilities master plan and submitting a statement of interest to MSBA; while

• improving attendance and participation in the school’s breakfast program.

Hickey also envisions some teaching and support personnel additions, including an English language learner instructor, horticulture aide and part-time nurse support. These additions are expected to cost $76,660.

Capital requests in the budget include $35,000 for parking space expansion, $760,00 for a window and roof replacement project and $100,000 for partial design funds for master plan projects.