HANSON — Selectmen on Tuesday, Feb. 25 reiterated that it is too early to set up any Override Committee.

“Formation of an Override Committee is not a foregone conclusion that we are going to do an override,” said Selectmen Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett. “It is simply, should we get some folks together to study whether this is something we want to do.”

She said she had no problem kicking the can down the road or not doing it at all.

“We can certainly wait to see what the School Committee has got to say,” she said.

“I think it’s way too early to form an Override Committee,” said Selectman Kenny Mitchell. “I think, if we do have to go that route, we’re not going to have time anyway.”

Selectman Jim Hickey agreed.

“I just don’t think six or seven people on a committee can represent the whole town,” Hickey said.

Selectman Matt Dyer, however, said setting up a committee might not be a bad idea.

“We all know how long we’ve been reading the [lists of] vacancies on these committees,” Dyer said of the agenda feature read at the beginning of each meeting. “It might not be a bad idea to start advertising it [and] have names on file.”

Whether or not there is time for a committee to do any good, at least the board would know who might serve on one.

Resident Bruce Young argued that the town has to keep in mind that even a level-funded assessment would, under a statutory method, Hanson’s assessment would go up $1,150,000 and the assessment for Whitman would go down by that same amount.

“Unless Whitman changes its attitude, and plays ball with Hanson and finds some kind of really neat compromise between the statutory method and the percentage of pupils method … just keep that in mind,” he said, arguing that not talking about or planning an Override Committee is “more than wishful thinking.”

FitzGerald-Kemmett said that, while there have been some people in town that have expressed interest in serving on an Override Committee.

Selectman Wes Blauss asked what an Override Committee’s mission would be.

Young described a committee whose work echoes that done by Whitman’s Budget and Override Evaluation Committee.

She stressed that a place-holder warrant article for an override is just that, a place holder, and that there are no override plans at this point.

FitzGerald-Kemmett also expressed concern about reports of a citizen’s petition favoring deregionalization being circulated for inclusion on the Town Meeting warrant.

“Although I support citizen’s petitions, I think it’s one of the truest forms of democracy, what typically happens is they may be inartfully worded,” she said. “I get concerned that, if we have an inartfully worded citizen’s petition about deregionalization, that we could be asked to do something that we can’t do.”

She said that, while no one has pulled petition papers, FitzGerald-Kemmett described the reports as “stronger than a rumor.”

In other business, Marianne DiMascio of Green Hanson outlined a community choice aggregation plan for purchasing lower-cost electricity for the town.

She noted that residents often receive mailings claiming such a purchase on an individual basis is easy.

“It’s hard to figure out the research, is it real, is it not?” she said. “There’s a solution.”

She reviewed the aggregation plan through a PowerPoint presentation from the Mass. Climate Action Network.

“Think of it like a buyer’s club,” DiMascio said of the MCAN’s 160 member towns. “Right now, we’re all individual buyers buying energy from National Grid. But, if we got together as a town, and decided to buy our energy together, then we get a better deal.”

She also said renewable energy sources were also possible through  such a program, and that the state requires 14 percent of energy comes from renewable sources.

“A big question is what does it cost?” DiMascio said. She pays for 100-percent renewable energy for her home from National Grid, admitting it is expensive. “With the power of the buying as a community, you can get some of the prices down.”

Rockland, Scituate and Halifax have already entered such cost-savings programs, which would have to be approved at Town Meeting. The town would then get a broker, at no cost, to lead it through the project.

Residents not wishing to participate must opt out.

Electricity would still be delivered through National Grid and the rate would be guaranteed for the length of any contract to which the town agrees.

Highway Director Kevin Cahill updated the board on the complete streets program, announcing that his department is prepared to move forward with it. If there are scheduling problems because of the location — at County and Liberty/High streets — added contract language would permit them to request work be done at night at no additional cost.

“The idea is to make it a safer route for the children who are coming out of the middle school in the afternoons, on half-days, on Fridays,” Cahill said. “We found that they populate that area of town heavily.”

WHITMAN — Selectman Randy LaMattina reported to the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, Feb. 11 that he continues to have conversations with Hanson Selectmen Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett about the school assessment issue. LaMattina said they spoke on the phone following the Wednesday, Feb. 4 School Committee budget presentation.

“Negotiations will pick back up now that we’ve got some numbers, and [we’ll] talk with them and see if there’s any progress,” LaMattina said, indicating the sessions would likely continue this week.

Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski said he also spoke with FitzGerald-Kemmett, on Friday, Feb 14.

“It is what it is — it’s not going to be easy, but I don’t think it’s going to be any more divisive than it is,” Kowalski said. “Her motives are to keep things peaceful, calm and [to] move forward in whichever way we can.”

Kowalski said FitzGerald-Kemmett “understands the limitations that we’re all under.”

“She understands out position and I am very cognizant of her position and what she needs to do for her community,” LaMattina said. “At the end of the day, this committee has voted, and the Finance Committee has voted, and the Whitman School Committee members have voted, and we’re doing what we feel is the right thing for our town.”

In other business, Town Administrator Frank Lynam noted that the town had received formal notification of a $331,000 grant for the complete streets program. He also met Feb. 11 with state Rep. Alyson Sullivan and a representative of state Rep. Mike Brady’s office about assistance from the state regarding the extended claw-back period for the Duval School roof, noting he did not see any relief coming regarding the Chapter 70 hold-harmless clause.

Sullivan also asked for a list of three items that could potentially be funded by the state on a one-time basis, inviting Selectmen to email him with suggested projects.

“It’s an earmark,” he said. “It may or may not come. Two years ago we got an approved earmark for $1 million for the ponds, but we never saw it. We’ll keep some hope there and hope it’s not a Charlie Brown football.”

HANSON — The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, Feb. 11, approved a plan recommended by the Final Plymouth County Hospital Re-Use Committee’s recommended plan for a community park on the site.

Selectman Matt Dyer, vice chairman of the PCH Committee, and the panel’s Chairman Don Ellis presented the plan update to Selectmen.

“We took input from the community at various times at numerous listening sessions,” Dyer said. “We hired the Conway School to come in and give us some proposed uses, and it gave us different concepts that we could utilize up there.”

The committee worked with those concepts to develop its proposed plan.

Other opportunites, such as a solar farm, were also considered, according to Dyer.

“What we heard at the listening sessions was that we want passive recreation,” he said. “We do not want active recreation, such as baseball, soccer or anything like that at the park.”

Activities such as biking, walking, bird-watching, a play performance in the park or perhaps a playground, were among the requests, Dyer said, noting that the town’s financial outlook isn’t able to fund all the development at one time.

“We want to go after this in phases, [using] not only grants, but CPC money and town funds, or any other opportunities that come our way,” he said.

Grant sources such as the Mass. Dept. of Conservation and Recreation as well as the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs have “been pretty generous with their grant opportunities,” Dyer said. But only one submission is permitted per year, because the grants could be as much as $1 million, depending on the project.

In order to receive certain grants, big parking lots had to be included in the plan, Dyer explained. But they want to make sure the park has the feel that identifies with the town of Hanson.

“The theme that we really want to stick with is New England,” he said. “We don’t want to do a modern park, we don’t want to do an urban park. We want to really embrace our culture here as New England.”

A main driveway would lead into a roundabout to slow traffic and a parking lot. An event pavilion with an amphitheater, a playground for all ages from toddlers on up is also planned, as well as extending the community garden to include an orchard. An historic area akin to a “mini Sturbridge Village” near the Bonney House could also be included.

“It’s worth saying that we’re not the richest bunch of people around, but we’re trying to minimize the cost to the town of Hanson,” he said.

Land use options could include a wildflower meadow, which is the subject of debate within the committee at the moment, according to Dyer.

“What we’d like from the board tonight is a blessing to keep going forward and looking for grants and coming back with proposals for infrastructure,” Ellis said. He said the committee has asked the engineer for a ballpark figure for the site work costs.

Selectmen Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett asked for some detail on what the plan priorities would entail.

Dyer said the first phase could include site work, a playground and expansion of the community garden. A veterans’ memorial of some kind was also requested to honor all who have served.

Dyer said he is still not opposed to inclusion of a solar field, if a way can be worked out to bring the generated power to the grid. They are also looking into uses for the vacant building in front of the food pantry.

“If we can make that into a [business] incubator space or individual office space, right now that’s big,” he said. “That   market’s blowing up right now.”

Town Administrator John Stanbrook also reported that an award bid for 0 Liberty Street must be put out to bid again, at the direction of both town counsel and the state Inspector General’s Office, because information about the lot’s non-conforming status — requiring a ZBA variance to build on due to lack of adequate frontage — was not included in the bid package.

“That’s a substantive information that could have influenced people’s bid,” Stanbrook explained. The proposals would be rejected and the description reworded for the rebidding.

Winning bidder Tim McQuarrie of 437 East Washington St., said he would accept the bid description as is, but FitzGerald-Kemmett explained the town could not legally allow it.

In other business, Selectmen heard an update on use over the past year, and upcoming programs planned, at the Hanson Public Library.

Library Director Karen Stolfer said there were 36,900 visitors to the library in 2019, checking out 50,270 items including 8,854 e-Books.

“We had a people counter installed,” she said about the visitor count. “I think this is a good way of showing that people are using the library. It’s an important part of the community.”

In 2020, the library is again participating in the Boston Bruins Pajama Drive, in collaboration with DCF, Cradles to Crayons and Mass. Libraries. New pajamas are collected at the state’s libraries for children in need, with the Hanson Public Library collecting 50 pairs last year. This year’s goal is 75-100 pairs, with the drive going on through March 15.

At 10:30 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 15 a costumed character from Massasoit’s production of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” will visit the library for a story time.

During February Vacation Week (Feb. 17-21) there will be a lot going on as well, according to Stolfer. On Tuesday, Feb. 18, family groups of two or three people may attend a painting workshop; on Wednesday, Feb. 19, there will be a screening of “Frozen 2,” with children encouraged to come in pajamas or in “Frozen” costume. Popcorn will be provided. On Thursday, Feb. 20, the “Frozen” theme continues with a Tea Party with the Snow Sisters, and for adults, a martini glass paint night will be held later that day. At 110 a.m., Friday, Feb. 21, a chess club led by W-H National Honor Society students will kickoff.

“Since Karen became librarian two years ago, our children’s programs have doubled,” said Library Trustees Chairman Corinne Cafardo. “There’s always something going on at the library and the parking lot is always filled.”

Cafardo also said the library needs chess sets for the new chess club, adding that donations or loans of sets would be appreciated.

Library Foundation programs on the horizon include author Andre Dubus III will discuss his novel, “Gone So Long,” at 3 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 23. A cooking demonstration and tasting by Good Life Kitchen of Norwell will take place at 12:30 p.m., Saturday, March 7.

A program about the Bay Circuit Trail, co-sponsored with Green Hanson is planned for 7 p.m., Tuesday, March 3.

For information on registration and/or any fees for these programs, visit hansonlibrary.org or call 78-293-2151.

Stolfer said the library is also working to create a teen room dedicated to Gret Lozeau, which will be dedicated in her memory at 11 a.m., Saturday, March 28.

“We would like to have people come and tell us what other materials they might like us to offer,” Stolfer said, noting they recently accepted the donation of a telescope that is available for loan. “Some of the things that other libraries have done [include] fishing poles, unusual cake pans, ukuleles, mobile hot spots.”

“You’ve got a lot of really great programming,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “There’s a lot of thought going into everything you guys are doing, it’s really impressive.”

There are two more World-Cup caliber soccer players in the region.

About six months after Hanson native Samantha Mewis and the U.S. Women’s Soccer team won the World Cup, 24-year-old twins Andrew and Troy Chauppetta have been named to the U.S. Powerchair Soccer Team’s 12-player roster — and could be competing for their country at the sport’s World Cup in Australia next year. The Fédération Internationale de Powerchair Football Association, (FIPFA) headquartered in Paris, is the international governing body of the sport, and runs the World Cup program.

The young men have been battling Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy since they were children when playing soccer was a favorite sport.

“We’re training to go to Australia,” Andrew said during an interview at Brack’s Grille & Tap in Brockton, where a burger on the menu benefits the family’s Wheelchair Strong nonprofit charity. The Twins also run their own T-shirt business, at twinteeshirts.com.

“Teams from all over the world will be competing for the gold medal,” Andrew said.

They have been playing power chair soccer for about 10 years now, and went to a tryout in Minnesota where 24 players competed for the 12 spots on the team.

“Three weeks after that, the coach called us and selected us to be part of the 12-man roster,” Andrew said.

Troy explained eight players will ultimately be selected to travel to the World Cup tournament, with four serving as alternates in case of injury or other reason why a player can’t go.

In the meantime, in addition to settling into their first independent housing in Bridgewater, the twins will be participating in 10 training camps followed by selection of the eight players who will travel to Australia.

“They made Team USA at our national tournament in June,” said their dad Mark Chauppetta, a WHRHS grad. “There’s hundreds of wheelchair soccer players that play in Indiana [and] Troy and Andrew had a basic tryout there.”

While a proud achievement, selection to Team USA also brings a big financial commitment, Chauppetta said, including the cost of travel to training camps all around the country. The estimated cost is about $25,000 per player. A personal care attendant must also travel with the family to help Chauppetta, which adds to the expenses.

They just returned from Tampa, Fla., and will be headed to Indianapolis, Ind., in April and San Antonio in July.

The family has set up a GoFundMe tab on their website wheelchairstrong.com and are looking for corporate sponsorships. Wheelchair Strong’s 501 (c) 3 status means tax deductions can accompany donations.

“Troy and Andrew are willing to put the logo any local business has straight across their foreheads, if the price is good enough,” Chuppetta joked.

Team selection

The national team’s coach was scouting at the Indiana tournament and invited them to an October selection camp in Minnesota where the team was narrowed to 12.

“Like the coach said, ‘How could I pick one and not pick the other?’” Chauppetta said of both his sons being selected for the team. “They play very similar styles.”

The coach has Andrew playing forward right now to give him more roster options, but his natural position is as goalie. Troy, who currently leads their home league in goals scored, is a forward. They play for the Pappas Chariots, based out of Canton.

“We have to practice more than one position,” Andrew said of the national team.

“We’ve been playing power soccer for about 10 years,” Troy said. “We travel all over the country playing in tournaments every couple of months.”

Troy said the sport is an important part of their lives.

“The best part of being able to play power soccer is being able to get that competitive edge back that we used to have as little kids when we were able to run around and play sports in the yard,” he said. “Finding this sport has really changed our life, just from the sports perspective.”

Their father said the Chariots, which used to be affiliated with the Mass. Hospital School, since they lost ambulation at age 12.

Andrew said it was an emotional experience to lose the ability to play ambulatory sports.

“Being extremely athletic kids, and being very rambunctious kids, I was sort of bummed out that there weren’t any sports they could play anymore when they went into wheelchairs,” he said.

A friend in the Muscular Dystrophy community suggested wheelchair soccer. The twins were all for it and fell in love with the sport, which has evolved a great deal in the ensuing years.

“Back then, they were using their personal wheelchairs and putting a crate on the front to hit a [13-inch in diameter] soccer ball,” Chauppetta said. “The athletes were running into a lot of problems with their chairs getting damaged and insurance not covering it.”

The Power Soccer Shop — a Minnesota company — invented the Strike Force Chair now required for use by every player who wants to play at the elite level. The chairs cost more than $10,000 each.

The twins took out loans through Santander Bank on their own to purchase their chairs.

“I guess you could say they went from Little League baseball to the Major Leagues,” Chauppetta said. “Troy and Andrew are the only two players [on Team USA] from New England.”

Travel with the chairs is stressful, Chauppetta said, but as they travel more, they become used to how to instruct flight crews how to handle the chairs to prevent damage — and they film the loading process on their phones for insurance purposes.

They had always wanted to play either with or against a particular player they admired and, as they went through the process of advancing in the sport, they decided Team USA would be their eventual goal.

The sport takes more mental preparation and getting accustomed to the chairs banging into each other than physical conditioning, Chauppetta said.

“I think the club team prepared them,” he said.

The School Committee on Wednesday, Jan. 15 declined action Whitman resident Shawn Kain’s suggestion it consider some kind of compromise between the statutory assessment formula favored by Whitman and the current alternative formula sought by Hanson.

School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes said that the issue, not included on the evening’s agenda, would not be something on which members could act.

“There are a lot of discussions concerning budget with both towns right now,” Hayes said.

He noted Hanson Town Counsel Kate Feodoroff’s reminder to Selectmen that seven votes — or two-thirds of the School Committee, regardless how many are present — are required to pass a budget.

“To me it seems pretty clear that it would be difficult to get seven votes with such a split on the budget,” Kain said, noting that could lead to continued division in the budget process from there. “It’s really setting us up for the whole process to go down toward the state taking over in December, which sounds terrible to me.”

Taking that, and Whitman’s decision to follow the statutory method, he suggested “it might be helpful,” if the School Committee, particularly Whitman members, to reconsider their recent 6-4 vote — split along community lines — to favor the statutory assessment formula.

“Long-term, sustainable funding for education will only come through consensus, and this, right now, is not consensus,” Kain said. “I think to slow down, reconsider and take another look at that vote would be helpful.”

The School Committee will hear the district’s fiscal 2021 budget presentation at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 5 in a meeting where it will be the only item on the agenda, according to Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak.

Another meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 26 will feature a regular agenda.

Interim Business Manager John Tuffy provided a year-to-date report on revenue and expenditures.

“At this time, there is not one particular line item I’m terribly concerned about,” he said. “We’re up to date with our bills, we haven’t spent quite as much of our budget as we had this time last year and that’s relatively good news.”

Szymaniak said a recent meeting he had with the Whitman Finance Committee was a positive one, with an improvement in tone over a session at the same point in the budget process last year.

Kain then asked for the assessment formula reconsideration.

“We don’t need it,” said School Committee member Steve Bois. “We already voted an assessment method, and we’re moving forward.”

He told Kain that, with all due respect, he should let the committee do its job.

“We’re in this all together, so I think it might be helpful to keep together,” Bois said. “You’re kind of tearing us apart in a way that … we’re not even looking at it that way.”

Bois pointed out that the School District has not even had a chance to meet with the Hanson Finance Committee.

Kain countered that without a Hanson School Committee member changing their vote, the assessment would fail to pass the committee and, ultimately, it would lead to a state takeover of the school budget.

School Committee member Fred Small said he fully expects that the panel will come up with a budget, but that the assessment is a secondary item that will go to town meetings.

“It’s our job to try and do a budget that is going to meet the needs of our pupils,” he said. “We also did an assessment method where you also look at what you feel is fair and proper as we are charged to do.”

Small charged that, “by coming here and continually going after these things,” all Kain was doing was beating a dead horse and not allowing the committee to do its work.

Hanson School Committee members Christopher Howard and Robert O’Brien Jr., however said some of Kain’s concerns are very relevant.

“It puts the folks that represent Hanson in a very difficult position to support a budget with an assessment methodology that isn’t supportable,” Howard said stressing that he was speaking for himself. “I would heed Mr. Kain’s words and think them through, because … you had four people from the town of Hanson unanimously vote against that methodology, so to make the leap that that’s over and done with and we’re just going to move into budget — that’s a tough leap for me to make.”

O’Briens said he echoed everything Howard said.

School Committee member Dawn Byers and Whitman Finance Committee member Rosemary Connolly cautioned that a state takeover “sounds really scary” and — while it can be, because it is the unknown — it is not the same as state receivership, which is based on underperformance in academics.

The schools will operate normally, and classes will be held.

“When the state takes over, it’s always in the best interests of the students, too,” Byers said. “Fiscal control of a district by the state is just because we couldn’t get a budget and they help us to get there.”

Hayes added that, in the event of a state takeover, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education could increase the school budget, if they determined more funds were needed. Dighton-Rehoboth schools have gone through the process.

In other business, Director of Student Services Lauren Mathisen provided a report on the department. DESE’s coordinated program review of special education, civil rights and English learner education programs resulted in recommendations for minor changes in the English learner program, she said.

Another DESE audit, of the 2009 Circuit Breaker claim has ranked W-H among the top 5 percent of special education, districts they have reviewed, she said. An independent transportation audit will be conducted in a couple of weeks, she said.

“Transportation continues to be a big financial burden for us,” Mathisen said. “We are projected to spend about $1.1 million this year in transportation of our students.”

She said $875,000 had been budgeted, but the tuition and salary contracted service lines in the budget should cover the remaining amount, Szymaniak said.

She did, however, express some optimism that the recently passed Student opportunity act, that some reimbursement for out-of-district transportation costs is on the horizon. A deficit is foreseen in contracted services due to medical or maternity leaves and a resignation that had to be contracted out.

Mathisen also shared her in-district program goals for special education, particularly in the form of an autism program at the high school as well as an elementary-based language program.

WHITMAN — There will be no Proposition 2 ½ vote in Whitman for the fiscal 2021 budget, Selectman Randy LaMattina told the full board during its Tuesday, Jan. 14 meeting.

A fiscal 2022 override, however, has not yet been ruled out.

During a marathon three-and-a-half-hour meeting the previous night, the Budget Override Evaluation Committee decided.

Town Administrator Frank Lynam said a joint meeting between Selectmen and the Finance Committee on Tuesday, Jan. 21 will further discuss the issues.

“We had quite a bit of discussion [Monday night] that probably will be best served giving one presentation next week at a joint meeting,” LaMattina said. “It’s a very complex budget — lot of questions still up in the air, issues still in flux with the schools — but what has been determined is that … with the adoption of some policies that the consultant has recommended, it was the determination of the board last evening that we will not seek an override for fiscal year 2021.”

He added that, more than likely, an override for fiscal 2022, even with the option of more stringent policies, may still be on the table.

“But we feel confident that departments will be sustainable, some may actually see growth and we will have money to fund a very solid part of the Collins Report for capital projects,” LaMattina said.

LaMattina added that a strategic budget plan was “the only missing piece” and, with the work done by the Budget Override Evaluation Committee, “80 percent of it is there.”

That will be addressed at next week’s meeting, as well.

“You’ve done the groundwork for being able to come up with something in writing,” Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski said. “The strategic plan is impossible without the work that your committee has done.”

LaMattina credited the members of the Budget Override Evaluation Committee: Selectmen Justin Evans, Fire Chief Timothy Grenno, resident Christopher George, Finance Committee members David Codero, Scott Lambiase and John Galvin, School Committee member Dawn Byers, Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak and DPW Superintendent Bruce Martin for the time they committed to the work over the past couple of months.

Capital projects focused on were Whitman Middle School and the DPW building.

“The Budget Override Committee is definitely recommending some type of article be places on the May warrant for a feasibility re-evaluation of the DPW building,” LaMattina said.

Selectman Brian Bezanson lauded the committee for doing a lot of work in a short amount of time.

“It brought to light a lot of information for everybody that we otherwise might not have had,” he said.

“We thanked the committee, but I think we also have to thank Randy,” Kowalski said. “It was a huge task to lead this group, and the most important work that this board has done for a while.”

Road project

In other business, Lynam announced that, after two years of work by the DPW, the town has received a grant for $363,674 to redesign and layout the intersection of Essex Street and Park Avenue.

“That has been a challenging intersection over the years because of the way it merges,” Lynam said.

HANSON — The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, Jan. 7, supported the drafting of a letter to the School district saying they are — in conjunction with Whitman — conducting an audit of school expenditures in hopes the district will “open up their books” so the work can be done when an auditor is hired.

Outgoing interim Town Administrator Meredith Marini said a retired official that Hanson Town Accountant Todd Hassett had recommended is already swamped with post-retirement consulting work and will not be able to take on a School District audit for Whitman and Hanson town officials. He did provide some names, and she has been in communication with Whitman Town Administrator Frank Lynam on the matter and Marini has also been looking at regional agreements, especially those involving two communities, for comparisons to W-H.

“We are united, Whitman and Hanson, in being committed to looking at the books to see where money’s being spend and kind of ticking and tying that to the ask that we’ve got before us,” said Selectmen Chairman Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett. “I don’t want to hire an auditor only to find that we’re not going to have access to those records. I’m not suggesting that’s the case, but I just want to make sure.”

Representatives of the Whitman and Hanson boards of selectmen were slated to have another discussion on the school assessment issue Wednesday.

“This is a very specialized discipline, to be able to audit school books,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “It’s not your garden-variety auditor that you’re looking for … it’s a much more specialized discipline so it may not be easy to find this person, but we need to find the right person to do the job.”

She said there is nothing to discuss in terms of revising the regional agreement until an audit is completed.

“We don’t know where the money’s being spent,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said.

She also noted that, with a regional agreement still in place, she did not see how Whitman officials could be insistent on using the statutory assessment formula instead of an alternative one as the district towns have done in the past.

The statutory method takes into account a town’s minimum per pupil expenditure designated by DESE — the minimum local contribution — which fluctuates based on inflation, wage adjustment, town’s total earned income, property values and municipal revenue growth. Anything in a budget over the minimum local contribution goes to the regional agreement, based on pupil population, for any other operating expense.

There is no requirement for unanimous agreement by both communities to use the statutory method.

The agreement/alternative method uses strict per-pupil representation to assess the communities, the method currently used by the district. Both communities have to pass the assessment methodology prior to the budget distribution or at town meeting in order to use this method. If one town does not vote the budget forward and the other does, it does not constitute unanimous agreement for the method to be used.

Town Counsel Katherine Feodoroff had been asked to brief Selectmen on the process going forward if a statutory budget is presented and what “potential plays” the town can make, especially if a state take-over of the schools occurs.

“It seems to me that we control the [Town Meeting] warrant,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “I can certainly see the writing on the wall … but that doesn’t mean I’m going to be comfortable knowing there’s a regional agreement in place, voting for statutory as a selectman.”

She said she does not think it is in the best interests of citizens and said her preference would have been for negotiations to have been opened prior to Whitman and the School Committee voting to go with the statutory formula. FitzGerald-Kemmett said she did not think that would be in the best interests of Hanson.

“Everybody wants the budget approved, because when you don’t approve the budget a whole bunch of automatic processes go into place,” Feodoroff said.

Town Meeting options are to amend from the floor.

She said despite the past drafting of the regional agreement, the new state law was passed requiring the statutory assessment.

“Your option is to vote it down — and then they don’t have an approved budget,” she said. That sends it back to the School Committee to either acquiesce to what the dissenting town wants or come back with a different assessment, which the town would have to vote up or down at another Town Meeting. With no budget by the new fiscal year on July 1, the state imposes a 1/12 budget based on the assessment of the previous fiscal year — through the statutory method.

The next step would be a “super town meeting,” with the state able to take over a district if that fails to produce a budget by Dec. 1.

“Nothing gets done without the state signing off,” Feodoroff said. Sometimes the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) approves a budget greater than was originally requested.

“The sad part is the kids are being held hostage by this,” said Selectman Wes Blauss. “In the end its not even Whitman vs. Hanson.”

FitzGerald-Kemmett asked if the situation didn’t boil down to a breach of contract.

“We’re being painted into a corner and it just doesn’t seem fair,” she said. “I know the law isn’t always fair but it’s befuddling to me that a confluence of facts and events would get us to a place where a town literally has very little control over what we are going to spend on our schools.”

HANOVER — The South Shore Tech School Committee has been presented with a fiscal 2021 budget increase of 4.09 percent —$589,319 — increase that would also decrease the total assessments to member towns. An increase in non-resident tuition is expected to offset the budget increase, according to Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey.

State aid figures for Chapter 70 funds are not yet available, but the district assumes level funding will be continued. Regional transportation reimbursement, meanwhile, is being assumed at 80 percent — up from 70 percent in fiscal 2020 — and the budget total assumes that stabilization funds will remain at $37,280 to defray bus lease costs.

The committee heard Hickey’s annual budget presentation on Wednesday, Dec. 18.

“Whatever we value, that’s what we budget for,” Hickey said to open his presentation. “We build our budget from zero.”

A Jan. 22 public hearing on the budget is planned.

Supplies and technology costs, such as for steel or tools, will increase in some programs. There is also $89,644 in new personnel requests, such as moving a graphic communications instructor to full-time as well as adding English Learner and horticulture instructors and a horticulture aide.

Capital requests for 2021 total $782,414 — including septic and roof repairs on the building.

The project design cost included in the 2021 budget comes to $199,936 for the design and $69,978 for an owner’s project manager.

Hiring an owner’s project manager and design will be the first steps toward deciding what the district will go out for bid for planned capital projects. The work could be done separately, the roof one year and windows the next, or do it all at once. The original cost estimate from fiscal 2018 came in at $1,236,800 for the roof and $396,625 for the windows, and $1,777,425, including the cost of metal panels under the windows. For fiscal 2021 the 4-percent hike brings the total cost to $1,999,361 with a 6.5-percent contingency plan of $129,958 built in.

Cost increases anticipated at 4 percent per year, brought the combined projects cost to $1,848,522 in fiscal 2019 and to $1,922,63 in fiscal 2020.

Accomplishments for the past year include continuing strong growth in MCAS scores and student attainment of third-party vocational credentials. The school is also actively involved with area workforce development boards and the South Shore Chamber of Commerce and has implemented work-based adult education programs.

The district has also used skills capital grants to bring in $300,000 for capital purchases. It goes into the fiscal 2021 budget year owing only the final interest payment on the 2010 roof and window project debt.

Another roof and window project for the newer wing of the school is among the capital goals.

Other budgetary goals include expansion of the horticulture and landscape program, building a “clean room” with grant funds for the storing of metal fabrication and machining inspection equipment, expansion of adult education and workforce development partnerships and for analysis of school operations accountability as well as social-emotional learning initiatives.

Student attendance and expansion of the breakfast program participation are also planned.

WHITMAN — With winter beginning to take hold, Town Administrator Frank Lynam proposed a change to the budget process for snow and ice removal to the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, Dec. 17.

“Obviously, we are going through some difficult mechanisms right now with the budget,” he said. “However, we start every year in the hole [for snow and ice removal] with the exception of two since 2007.”

The town appropriates $120,000 for snow and ice and the costs, when it hasn’t been able to pay for it have varied from $249,000 to $475,000. He argued that, if the starting budget was increased to $250,000 the town would have still seen nine deficit years out of the last 13; at $300,000 Whitman would have seen five deficit years.

He cautioned, however, that any increase must be looked at in view of how it might affect the current budget.

He urged the board to look at the issue toward deciding whether more money should be committed to snow and ice in order to get an even start to the year. Lynam also provided his cost analysis to the finance committee.

“I’m not looking for a vote, I’m just bringing it forward to say it’s something we need to look at as part of our overall revamp of our budget process,” he said.

Selectmen Vice Chairman Dan Salvucci said he had always been told by the DPW that, once the snow and ice budget was increased, it could never be decreased.

Lynam said that is not correct, but if a town increases the budget line and ends up with a surplus, it would be capped at what that budget is the following year.

“It’s just for the year following the reduction, you’re not permanently enjoined,” he said.

Lynam told the board that he was recently contacted by state officials about their work to update flood maps, including a change in procedures.

Once the maps are updated, the town must update them through its bylaws, according to Lynam.

Building Inspector Bob Currant will be the point person on the project.

Selectmen also heard a report on the Dec. 4 meeting of the New Regional Agreement Amendment Committee.

“What can I say? We met, we dissolved,” Lynam said.

“I will tell you the dissolution of the committee was definitely a … both towns agreed on it and just feel it’s the best way to handle things, the assessment being one of the major hurdles to get over,” said Selectman Randy LaMattina, who attended a Dec. 4 meeting of the committee with Lynam, Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski and their Hanson counterparts.

“We just felt that the towns really needed to happen in a smaller group and tackle that issue rather than take on a whole regional agreement at this time,” LaMattina said.

Lynam reminded the board that informal discussions had been held on the issue previously and he said he was sure that could happen again.

While he said his goal is to ultimately get to the statutory assessment method, but LaMattina said without hard numbers or a measure of voter preference in Whitman, he said Kowalski had recommended a center-lane approach that is neither statutory nor alternative/agreement method. LaMattina, however, argued that the statutory method is the most equitable. Whitman also voted to support the statutory method.

“I know it’s uphill for Hanson,” he said. “It self-corrects. You don’t get into a situation that you go 31 years under an agreement that has really shifted.”