Whitman-Hanson Express

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JJ’s pub property is sold in Hanson

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Alfred Russo, Patricia Harrison and Wayne Cummings, accused of arson, in Plymouth Superior Court in Plymouth Friday, Feb. 8.

PLYMOUTH — Patricia Harrison, her boyfriend Wayne Cummings and acquaintance Alfred Russo, all indicted in the alleged July 5, 2018 arson at the former JJ’s pub, 16 Liberty St., Hanson, appeared in Plymouth Superior Court in Plymouth on Friday, Feb. 8.

The pile of debris at 16 Liberty St. has drawn the ire of town officials and residents since the fire in July. Hazardous material, specifically asbestos, was found in the burnt remains of the building.

The town brought Harrison to court in December, to at minimum, put up a fence around the site before cleaning it up in the hopes of encouraging her to move along with the cleanup.

But Harrison sold the property, according to records on file with the Registry of Deeds, for $20,000 on Feb. 7.

Hanson Town Administrator Michael McCue said the new owners of the property, Richard and Diane Murphy, also own rental property nearby and are highly motivated to clean up the site.

He said it is now their responsibility to remove the hazardous materials and rubble, and he expects that to be done within two weeks of the time the sale was recorded.

Harrison and Cummings were before the court for a pre-trial hearing. Assistant District Attorney Alexander Zane represented the commonwealth.

Harrison, who had previously privately retained Jack Atwood, a Plymouth-based defense attorney, to represent her, asked the judge for a court-appointed attorney. The probation department determined that she was eligible, and she was assigned Sean O’Brien, a Randolph-based defense attorney.

Cummings will retain his private counsel, as will Russo. All three are being tried together for the alleged arson.

Harrison, Cummings and Russo will next be in Plymouth Superior Court in Plymouth on April 4, 2019 for a pretrial conference.

Schools await towns’ numbers

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Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak has pledged that he will “look at district-wide administration … anything that will keep teachers in their positions,” first if budget cuts must be made, he told the School Committee at its Wednesday, Feb. 13 meeting.

There is little he can do about the 2-percent increase in special education costs, he cautioned.

“I’d like for this committee to hear from the towns before I tell my staff or we’re looking at cuts first because I think that Whitman and Hanson are spots,” he said.

Whitman town employee unions have been asked to consider wage freeze in light of that towns’ budget crisis, according to Szymaniak, who attended a department head meeting there on Monday, Feb. 11. District Business Manager Christine Suckow and Facilities Director Ernest Sandland also attended that meeting chaired by Town Administrator Frank Lynam.

“Frank has met with all of the union reps in Whitman except one, and I don’t know which union — he didn’t say which one he did not meet with — about taking a zero-percent [increase], or a wage freeze for two years,” Szymaniak. “I know he had a conversation with WHEA about that.”

Szymaniak said the meeting with teachers’ union representatives, which was criticized by Hanson School Committee member Michael Jones, was not arranged through his office.

“We voted for you for this position — you work for us,” Jones said. “What you say we need, that’s how we vote. Frank Lynam doesn’t tell you, us, anything [about] what we do. I just want to be clear on that.”

Jones asked if Lynam was meeting with district department heads and Szymaniak outlined that the Feb. 11 meeting was a town department head session but that Lynam had met with the teachers’ association without his knowledge.

Jones and School Committee member Dan Cullity agreed that was wrong.

School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes said the committee would be “wreckless” to discuss beginning cuts to the budget before they receive numbers from the towns, stressing that their job is to advocate for students. He said he didn’t think anyone in either town is hiding numbers at this point.

While he came into the meeting prepared to discuss a transfer from excess and deficiency to help trim the budget deficit, Hayes said at the conclusion of the meeting he would rather the committee wait until they see where they are at when town budget numbers come in. School Committee members agreed.

“It’s just something that is kind of out there with our teachers, we haven’t had a conversation at all about taking any type of wage freeze,” Szymaniak said of the wage freeze discussed at the Whitman department heads meeting. “We haven’t had a conversation about anything about our contract yet as we don’t have any numbers from either town. … I already have some teachers that are concerned.”

Another Whitman department head meeting was scheduled for 10 a.m., Tuesday, Feb. 19. Szymaniak said he would bring back any further information to the School Committee at its next meeting at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 27.

“This is a level-service budget to provide the services we have in place, and I think we’ve been very creative in restructuring some of our units to make sure we can provide services to our kids in a different way than we provided last year,” Szymaniak said.

He said that police and fire personnel work very hard at high-risk jobs, but teachers also face difficult situations managing classrooms of 25 children while responding to parent concerns and directives from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).

Szymaniak also offered School Committee members a line item-by-line item look at increases and decreases from the current budget to the fiscal 2018, ’19 and ’20 as requested by the committee.

Overall, the budget’s facilities, insurance costs and salaries, are up 3.6 percent, with special education costs up 2 percent, Szymaniak said.

“The bottom line at the end, stays the same, but as far as percentages, if you look at it … if you look at those numbers last week, it’s close to $1 million,” he said.

Some of the increases are; paraprofessional and special education salaries, the latter to increase some staffing to bring the district back into state and federal compliance; substitute salaries for an increase in the numbers of substitutes; cost of living for clerical salaries; school psychologist salaries; charter school and school choice costs and legal costs.

“When we talk about social-emotional pieces, the [number of] students that are coming in who need more than the average classroom teacher is growing at a need that is out-pacing what a school can do and that’s not just here — that’s everywhere,” Szymaniak said of special education, including $884,000 in out-of-district placements, and psychological services costs. “That last option is out-of-district and when I’m looking at an $800,000 cost, know that out-of-district placement can go anywhere from between $50,000 to $363,000 depending on if it’s residential or not.”

He said the school district’s legal firm can challenge a DESE recommendation for out-of-district placement, but must be relatively certain of success, because the district can be liable for legal fees for both sides as well as the placement if it is overruled.

A change in curriculum coordination represents a shift of focus to the elementary schools.

“If we feel we have a good case and we go to hearing, [I’m] all for it, but that’s still an attorney fee,” Szymaniak said. “We want to make sure we do the right things for our students and our staff and also [legal representation] keeps us away from litigation.”

Some of the decreases are: instructional materials and general supply costs; superintendent salary; contracted services transferred to facilities costs; and salaries in district transportation after a restructuring.

“Our teachers are busting their butts with not a lot of supply,” Szymaniak said. “We were shocked coming into this office at what little we give our teachers to teach with.”

School Committee member Fred Small said the current budget situation is similar to that of four years ago when Whitman voters were presented with two budgets on which to vote — one reflecting an override and one without, which would have created the need for the committee to vote on a reassessment.

“Knowing at least on the Whitman side where they’re at … do you envision taking a pencil sharpener, seeing whatever you can do to this budget that you’ve presented and having level services or close to level services …

“This is level right now,” Szymaniak said. “What I’d like the committee to do is look at what we need for our schools, listen to both town administrators about numbers of what they’re looking at in their towns … I’m not trying to disrespect the town administrators, but nothing has been presented to this committee in terms of where they’re at. I’ve heard override. I haven’t heard a number on a specific override.”

Assistant Superintendent George Ferro said in the last 10 years the budget has always be presented knowing there would be cuts before the towns’ numbers were presented.

“This time we decided to come out of the gate and say where we’re at,” he said. “We need the guidance to see what we need to come up with so we can end up there.”

School Committee member Robert Trotta said that, with the Town Meetings on May 6, time is growing short for hearing budget structures from the towns.

“There doesn’t seem to be a plan,” he said, noting his priority is maintaining class sizes and extra-curricular activities. “It seems like we’re trying to hang on as best we can.”

Cullity argued the school budget is more a same-services plan than a level services one.

“We should be at a better point for our kids,” he said.

“We need to look [voters] in the eye and tell them what we need,” Small said.

Szymaniak said he and Suckow met with a Collins Center representative on the creation of a capital plan in Whitman, saying he plans to come back on Feb. 27 about a new Whitman Middle School “down the road.” He said the Collins Center representative had commented on the district’s recent habit of kicking capital issues down the road.

“That doesn’t mean we’re going to do a statement of interest, it has to move forward, but we have more and more facilities issues at Whitman Middle and it’s something we’ve talked about, so I’m going to leave it to the committee to see where we’re at,” he said. “I do have growing concerns about the state of Whitman Middle School.

Whitman aids fire victims

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WHITMAN — The night of the fire heavy black smoke could be seen from Route 58 in Hanson — the sounds of sirens rang from all directions — as fire apparatus from all over the South Shore helped battle a raging house fire at 316-18 Commercial St., on Wednesday, Feb. 13.

Word spread quickly that the three-story wooden structure was crumbling to the ground, siding melted down to the foundation along with it — destroying personal processions and mementos of approximately a dozen residents.

Remarkably no one was injured in the fire, reported by a resident through 911 just before 8 p.m. The blaze drew 80 firefighters and 15 departments from around the south shore.

“Upon arrival heavy flames were coming from a second-story window. The fire was spreading to the third floor and simultaneously burning the wooden deck outside of the window,” said Whitman Fire Chief Timothy J. Grenno.
Deputy Chief Joe Feeney immediately struck a second alarm — a call for more assistance to the scene — due to the building structure and size.  Chief Grenno called for additional mutual aid from other towns, striking a fifth alarm at approximately 9:25 p.m.

Hundreds of onlookers and media flooded the street filming the flames as they seem to propel from every gap of the structure. Residents lined the doorways and lawns dressed in pajamas, some wore white face masks as they shook their heads to evade the gusts of smoke, that mixed with snowflakes as the night progressed.

They Lost everything

“People have been amazing,” said resident Hannah Fabian who has spent most of the last week in a daze filling out paperwork and trying to piece her life back together. Along with several other families in the building they have seen a vast amount of support as they start to rebuild.

Fabian, who was home when the fire started, had rented in the Whitman apartment building for less than six months with her boyfriend and two sons. Her cousin, David, and his daughter who is 11 and a middle school student in Whitman, rented an apartment on the lower level. Fabian had asked him to check her apartment when the boys, who were getting ready to visit their father, smelled burning plastic – within seconds smoke billowed from her bathroom. They all ran out of the building while the smoke alarms blared and called the fire department.

“When we got out of the house it was already completely covered in smoke. It went up in what seemed liked seconds,” said Fabian. “I tried to stay calm for the kids but I couldn’t help it we all were crying.”

She left the fire scene after her sons, who are ages 8 and 11, were picked up by their father. She wore a red hoodie over her face and had a friend, who like her also has severe asthma, give Fabian an inhaler as her own medicine was left behind in the burning building.

David was trying to gather his tools outside the building as he sprayed a fire extinguisher, she said.

Fabian has received monetary help through a GoFundMe account a friend has created, but there are things that can’t ever be replaced like baby books and photo albums, she said.

Battling the blaze

Firefighters battled the blaze and successfully prevented it from spreading to nearby homes. The heaviest flames were knocked down by approximately 9:30 p.m., said Grenno.

Several neighbors who viewed the intensity of the scene from parallel driveways used cell phones to document the fire, as they trained a watchful eye on their own homes.

Residents displaced by the fire were assisted by the American Red Cross — who responded to the scene.

The building, a total loss has since been demolished. Early estimates of the loss have totaled upwards of $1 million dollars in loss, according to Grenno.

The preliminary investigation indicated that the fire started in a second floor apartment. The cause of the fire is under investigation by Whitman Fire and investigators from the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services (DFS).

They were continuing their investigation Thursday Feb. 14, but at this time it does not appear to be suspicious. Grenno said that he did not know when the last fire inspection was done at the building, but that it had previously been up to code.

“This fire spread extremely fast and I want to commend our firefighters and those from our surrounding communities who responded to help put this fire out as quickly as they did,” Grenno said. “We are thankful that no one was hurt and that all residents were quickly able to be accounted for.”

As of Tuesday Feb. 19 the cause of the fire was still under investigation. 

Crews worked to overhaul the house and extinguish hot spots until approximately 12:30 a.m. Thursday Feb. 14. The scene was cleared later in the day and an engine from Whitman remained on fire watch over night.

Firefighters from the following communities responded to assist on the call: Hanson, Abington, East Bridgewater, West Bridgewater, Bridgewater, Rockland, Brockton, Norwell, Hanover, Halifax, Hingham, Holbrook, Randolph, Marshfield, Avon and Pembroke.
In addition, the Whitman Police Department, Whitman Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), DFS Rehabilitation Unit and Boston Sparks Association A-10 also responded to the scene.

Helping others

Austin Gould, a first grader at Conley School in Whitman, heard about the fire on Wednesday and when he arrived at school on Thursday he asked if he could talk to his school Principal Karen Downey.

“He came in to see me and said ‘Well did you know there was a big fire?’ My heart melted …” said Downey.

Gould explained that he remembered Downey telling them that they can help make a difference in other kids’ lives and that was his goal. He wanted to help the kids who lost everything in the fire.

Downey has always stood by the lessons of education for her students however she also wants them to become good citizens, she said.

Her reaction upon hearing his objective to benefit the victims was one of pride

“Wow! They are hearing me,” she said. “I was so impressed with the willingness and earnestness from such a wonderful little guy. Knowing they are absorbing all the lessons that are being taught by word and example is spreading pride through the Whitman schools.”

Also students at Conley School, James and Charlotte Kleinman planned a  lemonade stand to raise funds.

‘ No magic bullet here’

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WHITMAN — Arguing the necessity to “reset” the town’s financial process, Town Administrator Frank Lynam on Tuesday, Feb. 19 presented a budget analysis, including a proposed two-year wage freeze for town employees that — coupled with an override and a debt exclusion to take the police station out of the levy limit — could help create a sustainable financial future.

“It really comes down to a decision on what kind of community we want to be and where we want to put our resources, but there is no magic bullet here,” Lynam said. “If these ideas don’t work, then we’re going to have to downsize the municipal operations. There’s no other way to do it.”

Selectmen voted 5-0 during a joint session with the Finance Committee to authorize Lynam, along with Selectmen Scott Lambiase and Randy LaMattina, to begin wage freeze discussions with union representatives.

Lynam said he would invite a coalition of bargaining unit representatives — as well as the department heads for the first meeting — to begin a transparent conversation. When “brass tacks” bargaining gets underway, the confidentiality of negotiations would be respected.

“Growth is the key measurement [for that reset],” Lynam said. “We cannot fund multi-million dollar increases when growth is limited to $970,000 per year.”

The fiscal 2020 budget increased by $2.7 million over 2019. If the wage freeze, override and debt exclusion go into effect, it would mean a levy availability of $1,292,000 — $600,000 of which from free cash could be used for capital expenses and the remainder would be earmarked for the stabilization account.

Currently, the town raises $25,343,000 in revenue, with 89.2 percent of that coming from residential taxpayers, 5.3 percent is commercial, 1.25 percent is industrial and 4.13 percent is personal property.

In order to raise $2.5 million, to make the town financially stable, the tax rate would have to increase from $15.38 to $16.90, increasing the median family household tax bill by $467.40.

“The challenge here is still one of making these budgets work,” Lynam said. “We have to contain our growth. We have to find a way for the larger departments to work within the limits that we’ve discussed.”

He argued the town needed a comprehensive budget plan that limits increases to revenue raised from each year, and said the task requires cooperation from all town departments in conjunction with the town’s financial team.

Conversations

Lynam also defended recent informal conversations he has held with representatives of the teacher’s union —with prior knowledge of both the superintendent and School Committee members [see related story page one] — as a talk about his concerns ahead of seeking Selectmen’s permission to start the dialogue on a wage freeze.

“I had said a couple weeks ago that I wanted to look into that, when I had a conversation … with the superintendent and assistant, [Selectmen] Chairman [Carl] Kowalski and the Finance Committee Chair [Richard Anderson], we talked about a couple of issues, one of them being kindergarten and another being the elephant in the room — our budget,” Lynam said. “I mentioned to them at that point that I believe we would be looking for wage concessions this year so it should not have been a surprise.”

He described the talks as casual conversations, in some cases, with people he has known for years.

“I have not met for bargaining purposes with any member of any union,” he said.

During those conversations, Lynam said he outlined the budget situation and his plan to seek approval for negotiating a wage freeze and that he would certainly reach out to the School Committee.

“If the School Committee took that as end run around them, they shouldn’t be,” he said, stressing there was no intention to do more than have a simple conversation about the town budget.

aiming to save

The proposed wage freeze is estimated to save $396,580.47 in town departments — including $2,538.49 from Lynam’s salary and $1,756.49 from Assistant Town Administrator Lisa Green’s salary. The School District wage freeze could add up to $780,000, based on Whitman’s share of the present assessment and this year’s wage and salary increases.

“Without making adjustments, we’ll be short $3 million … so, clearly, we need to do all this,” he said.

Kowalski agreed with Lynam’s account of the meeting, called by Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak to discuss a petition circulated about full-day kindergarten. Kowalski also said he was the person to bring up the question of whether the School District would be interested in a dialogue about wage freezes.

Anderson added that the Finance Committee agreed not to discuss the specific plan for wage freezes until the unions were informed that that was the direction town officials were thinking about. He said the second round of discussions with department heads would begin soon as they begin the work of mapping out a budget strategy, with an eye to meeting again with Selectmen on March 13.

“I think I speak for the entire board when I say that we’re prepared to make some very difficult decisions about the future of this community,” Anderson said, noting a “significant correction” would be needed to give taxpayers the confidence that the town has a sustainable budget for at least the next five years.

Town Accountant Kenneth Lidell explained that the budget analysis was based on annual town reports from fiscal 2015 through 2019, particularly the general funds expenditures lines, to reflect budget trends.

Lynam noted that increases such as 14 percent for police, 31 percent for fire services, 22 percent for public safety as a whole, 23.8 percent for general government and 34 for schools [34.7 percent for the W-H district, 32 percent South Shore Tech and 15 for Norfolk Agricultural] are unsustainable.

“Each of those budgets exceeds our ability to generally raise money,” Lynam said. “It doesn’t take a MENSA candidate to figure out that we have to make a number of adjustments in order to make this system work.”

He advocated talking to other towns in the South Shore region to seek budget controls.

Selectman Dan Salvucci, Whitman’s representative to the South Shore Tech School Committee countered that it would be very difficult for that district to hold on an increase for eight towns.

“I don’t know what the other communities are going through, but when you look at these numbers — education is expensive, I’ll grant that, but we have to pay for it from within our revenue stream and we’re not doing that right now,” Lynam said. “South Shore’s five-year increase is 32 percent. … The problem with these comparisons is, when the numbers are small, they don’t stand out as much.”

He said Chapter 70 money goes directly to the schools, which in towns like Abington goes into the town’s general fund for school use, but goes straight to regional districts. Lynam said it’s not as if the town wouldn’t contribute to the schools, but when the funds go directly to the regional schools it can look like the town doesn’t contribute — and they do.

pre-town meeting

Selectman Brian Bezanson suggested a pre-town meeting forum, perhaps at which town departments could staff informational booths on how the budget would affect them. A member of the Finance Committee suggested an idea that the board liked better — giving each department a chance to make a presentation to such a meeting.

Kowalski agreed, suggesting that — as Lynam had to him — that Article 2 is not always considered a budget document because it is generally seen first on the night of Town Meeting.

“There’s not enough time to digest it,” he said. “It becomes more real if there’s more time.”

Selectmen also voted, in the first of two required votes, to refinance some outstanding municipal bonds — for the police station — representing about $275,000 over the 11-year life of the refunding bond, in financial benefit to the town after issuance costs are paid.

Five-alarm fire destroys Whitman house

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Fire crews train their hoses on flames bursting through the roof of a multi-family house at 316-18 Commercial St., in Whitman Wednesday night. No one was injured as some 80 firefighters from 15 South Shore departments responded to the fire. (Photo by Stephanie Spyropoulos)

WHITMAN — Nearly 80 firefighters from Whitman and more than 15 South Shore communities battled a five-alarm blaze that destroyed a multi-family house at 316-18 Commercial St., Wednesday night.

No injuries were reported in the fire.

The building was a total loss, and including personal possessions, Whitman Fire Chief Timothy Grenno estimated that the damage could add up to nearly $1 million.

All of the nearly a dozen residents of the apartment building were displaced as a result of the fire. The American Red Cross responded to the scene to assist residents in finding shelter for the night.

A preliminary investigation points to the fire starting in a second floor apartment, but the exact cause of the fire is still under investigation by Whitman Fire and investigators from the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services (DFS). They were expected continue their investigation later Thursday morning, but at this time officials said it does not appear to be suspicious. Grenno said that he did not know when the last fire inspection was done at the building, but that it had previously been up to code, according to a statement. He stated that he did not know when the last fire inspection was done at the building.

“This fire spread extremely fast and I want to commend our firefighters and those from our surrounding communities who responded to help put this fire out as quickly as they did,” Chief Grenno said.

Whitman Fire Chief Timothy Grenno watches Thursday afternoon as equipment from Watson Excavating of East Bridgewater is used to raze the multi-family home at 316-18 Commercial St., Whitman that was destroyed in Wednesday night’s five-alarm blaze.

Residents told reporters on the scene that the power went out and they heard a popping sound before the flames broke out.

Whitman Fire/Rescue received a 911 call reporting a fire at an apartment building at about 7:45 p.m. Upon arrival crews found that heavy flames were coming from a second-story window. The fire was spreading to the third floor and simultaneously burning the wooden deck outside of the window.

Deputy Fire Chief Joe Feeney immediately struck a second alarm. Because of the size of the building and its wood-frame structure, the fire quickly spread through the house and Grenno called for additional mutual aid from other towns, striking a fifth alarm at approximately 9:25 p.m. Firefighters from Hanson, Abington, East Bridgewater, West Bridgewater, Bridgewater, Rockland, Brockton, Norwell, Hanover, Halifax, Hingham, Holbrook, Randolph, Marshfield, Avon and Pembroke responded to mutual aid calls. The Whitman Police Department, Whitman Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), DFS Rehabilitation Unit and Boston Sparks Association A-10 also responded to the scene.

$53.5M school budget rolled out

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School Committee, officials taking another look at level-service plan

The Whitman-Hanson Regional School District rolled out its level-service budget for fiscal 2020 during a public hearing on Wednesday, Feb. 6 — a $53,562,534 spending plan that increases costs by 5.6 percent without adding new programs or staff. Revenues are expected to come to $49,926,186. The current budget deficit is $3,636,348.

“Although it pains me to present a level-service budget tonight, we will always continue to move toward the greater for our students and for both Whitman and Hanson,” Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak said. “This budget does not include new programs or positions.”

Instead, Szymaniak and Assistant Superintendent George Ferro have made adjustments for new curriculum materials, including a new math program and a continuation of the new technology program initiated last year. They have also restructured some positions and responsibilities to “maximize efficiency and create equity for all of our students.”

That could include, if the budget is fully funded, providing counselors at the elementary grade level.

Szymaniak reported that rising health insurance rates, contractual agreements for staff, transportation and custodial services as well as higher utility costs make up the $3,039,353 increase.

Unfunded or underfunded state and federal mandates cost the district $5,067,542. The strategic plan and fiscal 2020 budget are available online at whrsd.org.

The district has $961,237 in its excess and deficiency fund, and is required by law to keep 5 percent of the operating budget in reserve to fund unexpected expenses such as special education services.

The School Committee was scheduled to meet again at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 13 to further discuss the fiscal 2020 budget.

Szymaniak outlined the district’s educational and student social-emotional and staff development goals.

He also noted that 85 positions in the school system are funded outside the operating budget by federal grants.

“Some of those grants, I’m cautious, might go away when Washington decides to make changes in education,” Szymaniak said, noting programs such as Title I, Title IIA and IDEA (a special education program. Grants totaling $1,747,524 in Fiscal 2017 and were down to $1,646,256 by fiscal 2019.

Revolving funds involving full-day kindergarten tuition, pre-school, athletics user fees and the food services program also help fund the district.

Szymaniak said he has heard “buzz” that dyslexia testing is likely to be the next unfunded mandate to come.

“I think it’s actually a good thing to do, but I don’t know where the expenses are going to come from on some of the new testing that we may have to do,” he said.

State budget trends

State representatives Josh Cutler, D-Duxbury, Alysa Sullivan, R-Abington, and state Sen. Michael Brady, D-Brockton, attended the meeting, with Cutler presenting a PowerPoint update of the state budget.

Overall, state revenues are expected to see “moderate growth” for fiscal 2020, according to economic forecasts, with December and January revenue data at 2.7 percent below becnhmarks, Cutler reported.

“That’s a bit of a concern,” he said.

Gov. Baker’s budget, while up by $42.7 billion, or 1.5 percent, level funds regional school transportation at $68.9 million and McKinney-Vento homeless transportation at $9.1 million. Chapter 70 is seeing an overall increase to $5.1 billion — up 4.2 percent, but sets minimum per-pupil funding at $20.

Cutler said the minimum per-pupil increment will be one of the areas of the local legislative team’s focus this term.

“We want to make changes to the state budget that are going to most directly impact our districts [and] our schools that we represent,” Cutler said. “We’ve led the charge to try to do this increase minimum per-pupil increment) on a statewide basis …  This is the key driver for our foundation budget.”

W-H’s Chapter 70 trends have increased less than 1 percent per year for the past four years and is expected to go up only .3 percent — to $24,739,620 — in fiscal 2020, due, in large part, Cutler said, to the fact that the aid is based on enrollment.

“Even though we’re adding to the big pie, we’re not necessarily seeing that translate to the local school districts like W-H,” he said of a trend that is affecting suburban districts all across the state. “It really is tied to enrollment.”

Special education Circuit Breaker funding is up by 1.4 percent to $4.5 million in the governor’s budget. Special education transportation, which costs the district close to $1 million is not reimbursable under the federal formula, Szymaniak said.

“Legislators are working to make changes on those line items,” Cutler said, noting the Chapter 70 formula is also being looked to as well as a task force on educational mandates.

Community concerns

“Thank you for presenting a level-service budget,” said Whitman resident Dawn Byers of 20 Russell Road, noting the loss of certified librarians at the elementary schools four years ago. “It’s so important not to lose any programs.”

She stressed that there are still no gifted and talented programs available in elementary and middle school grades and too few language classes at both the middle and high school level.

“I know of area high schools that provide Mandarin [Chinese] and Arabic foreign languages,” she said. “That’s not in our budget right now but it would be wonderful in the future if that would be something that we could add.”

She also said rolling the high school start time closer to 7:30 a.m. would be preferable and asked for clarification of the kindergarten revolving fund so “people don’t read that and interpret it as something that is being put on top of this budget.”

Szymaniak explained that universal full-day kindergarten has been a district priority for six years, but that tuition is charged for families who can afford it in the meantime, bringing $452,289 into a revolving fund, which pays for four teachers and seven paraprofessionals. Within the operating budget $462,775 funds five teachers and two paraprofessionals.

To go to a district-wide full-day kindergarten, the budget would have to increase by $631,732 covering three new teachers and three paraprofessionals as well as eliminating the $452,289 revolving fund, Szymaniak said. It would cost almost $1 million in the operating budget if that were done next year. He did not include it in the fiscal 2020 budget because he knew the towns were facing financial challenges.

“I don’t think there is a person on this committee that doesn’t support all-day kindergarten,” Chairman Bob Hayes said. “It’s how do you fund it when you’re in a difficult funding cycle as we are.”

Szymaniak also noted a push at the state level to require no-cost all-day kindergarten, but as an unfunded mandate unless the state opts to finance it.

“We’re getting buried by unfunded and underfunded mandates,” he said. “[DESE is] not adding things to add things, it’s for the good of the kids … and for the educational process, but some of the stuff that comes out and we put in there’s a definite cost and it’s pulling away from the education of our students.”

“It’s not an equitable situation for all the students of Whitman and Hanson at this point,” Ferro added, noting the issues that Dyers had mentioned earlier.

 

Whitman: ‘In override position’ in face of FY 2020 budget challenges

Whitman Town Administrator Frank Lynam advised the School Committee at it’s Wednesday, Feb. 6 budget roll-out meeting that a level-funded school budget will place Whitman in an override position.

“My guess is we’re going to see a combination of things this year in what we present ultimately for a budget,” Lynam said. “It will involve a request for an override. It will involve cutting some services. Ultimately, unless we find the voters very responsive and very supportive, those cuts will be system-wide.”

That means cuts to town departments as well as the schools. Identifying the needs of the district and towns and creating a sustainable way to address them is needed now, he advocated.

The level-service $53,562,534 fiscal 2020 school budget now carries a deficit of $3,636,348.

School Chairman Bob Hayes noted that the panel has tapped excess and deficiency for anywhere from $500,000 to $750,000 in past years to help close the budget gap, and did not recommend the latter amount for fiscal 2020 as it would leave little for fiscal emergencies.

The district has $961,237 in its excess and deficiency fund, and is required by law to keep 5 percent of the operating budget in reserve to fund unexpected expenses such as special education services.

“We have one bite at the apple with both towns,” Hayes said. “We know that both towns are rather close and tight dollars and cents-wise.”

Each percent in the assessment is equal to about $221,835 Hayes noted, with a 16.4-percent assessment required to balance the budget without making cuts, tapping into excess and deficiency or considering an override.

“Everyone is keenly aware of where the two towns are right now,” Lynam said, advising the committee that 16 percent isn’t going to happen.

“You’re going to have to assess what your minimum abilities are,” he said. “It is extraordinarily unlikely [16 percent] will happen. It would be great to see it, but I don’t think it’s going to happen.”

School Committee member Fred Small said it therefore falls to the board to ask for only what they need and pointed out it is likely that universal free all-day kindergarten is not something that can happen this year.

“The only way we’re going to implement this is you’re going to have to cut,” School Committee member Dan Cullity said of the prospect of adding all-day kindergarten to the school budget. “We’re not going to see that from taxpayers because of the way that override went the last time … there’s no way the towns want to pay for this.”

School Committee member Steve Bois recalled past information that parents make the school choice decision based on where they can attend all-day kindergarten and never return to the WHRSD.

“We are losing students that will never come back to our district because we are charging $3,200 for a family to come to school here,” Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Szymaniak confirmed.

“Short of an override, which isn’t going to happen, for just pre-k/k, we’re going to have to seek help otherwise,” Cullity said. “We’d love to jam this in there just to get it going, but when you’re looking at a $3.6 million deficit it’s hard to sell to the folks because it’s not just parents [making the decision].”

Whitman resident Marshall Ottina of 100 Lazel St., reminded the committee that of 438 districts in the state, W-H is one of only 47 not presently offering all-day kindergarten, and asked if any districts that had implemented the program, had to pull it back for lack of funds in subsequent years.

“It’s like jumping off the bridge, you can’t get back up,” Small said to illustrate his belief that once, implemented, such a program could not be withdrawn.

Lynam argued that the towns will have to decide community-wide what is important and how they get there.

“I’m not an advocate for overrides, but I am a realist,” he said, “I’m really frustrated when I hear people say, ‘No, we’ll never do an override,’ because that’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

He noted that, six years ago when then-Superintendent Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner posed the question of about how to close that budget gap and, when an override was advised, asked how much to seek.

“I said, if you’re going for an override, go for all of it,” Lynam said of what would have been a 14.5-percent override question. The committee went with a 6-percent override that “flew through” instead.

“My response then was, ‘fix the problem while we have the opportunity,’ but we didn’t,” Lynam said. “We took a short-cut because we were worried about whether a 14.5-percent override would pass. I honestly believe whatever we presented would have passed … because people were aware of the need.”

School Committee member Robert Trotta said the panel always finds themselves trying to close gaps at the last minute.

“How do we improve? I don’t know,” he said. “The funding system in Massachusetts doesn’t work, the federal government impacts us with their mandates and we have state testing that impacts us.”

Committee members were also cognizant of the needs of other departments.

“We’ve got policemen handling guys with guns out there,” Small said. “God bless those guys. You’ve got firefighters running into burning buildings, you’ve got the DPW out there on the roads with the ice.”

Lynam said the problem is that, while the state is going through the same budget process, they have more revenue to spread around. The towns of Whitman and Hanson have fewer avenues through which to collect revenue.

Murray family presses for answers

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VIGIL: Organizers Adrienne McDougall, left, and Diane Ostranber take part in a candlelight vigil for Maura Murray in Hanson Saturday, Feb. 9, the 15th anniversary of her disappearance after a New Hampshire car crash. (Photo by Abram Neal/Express News)

HANSON — Maura Murray, then 21, a native of Hanson, vanished after she crashed her 1996 Saturn into a snowbank along a curve on Wild Ammonoosuc Road (Route 112) in Woodsville, New Hampshire, a village of Haverhill, 15 years ago. The UMass Amherst nursing student’s mysterious disappearance on Feb. 9, 2004 has sparked worldwide attention in the press, on the Internet and on social media over the course of the last decade and a half.

Family, friends and supporters of Maura Murray marked the somber anniversary Saturday in New Hampshire and here in Hanson by lighting candles in hopes that she will be found. Her father, Fred Murray, 76, had shared with the public new details of an investigation he has conducted into her disappearance with the hope that the public attention will put pressure on New Hampshire authorities to further look into the matter. Investigators, meanwhile, say the investigation is still active.

Fred Murray, who spoke to the Express Monday, Feb. 11, says that he is certain he has found a burial site in a house “astonishingly close” to the site of the accident. According to him, locals first tipped him off about suspicious activity at the house in the first year after his daughter’s disappearance, including rumors of new concrete being poured in the basement shortly after the accident, he says.

The Boston Globe reported last week what Murray said, based on those tips, “that a man who lived in the home at the time of the crash, as well as the man’s extended family members who lived nearby, were responsible for his daughter’s death.”

Although he told the Express that he is not positive that it’s his daughter who is buried in the house, he strongly believes that there are human remains in the house and that they are likely those of his daughter.

“I only need to be right once,” he pointed out.

The house, which he says police never searched, a point which officials don’t advertise unless pressed in statements, has come under new ownership since Maura Murray’s disappearance, and the new owners have been receptive to Fred Murray’s investigation. He says he is willing to pay to dig up their basement, although he’d rather New Hampshire authorities do it.

The New Hampshire Attorney’s General office said in a statement that they “searched the area with dogs at the time,” but never searched inside the house in question.

In November and December 2018, Fred Murray brought in two trained, accredited cadaver detecting dogs to the house, each one on separate occasions. They alerted, he says, by lying down in the same spot in the basement of the house. He says that video of the dogs alerting exists, and is available widely online from local television media outlets.

Later, ground-penetrating radar was used and indicated strong findings of an abnormality in the same spot in the concrete, he said. Much of Fred Murray’s investigation has been paid for by donations and through pro-bono work of those who support him, he says.

“It’s astounding that this [basement] wasn’t looked at before. I told the police about this in the first year … the State Police did an inadequate job when my daughter first went missing,” he added, adamantly.

Fred Murray said he has found the local police to have been less-than-helpful, and as for federal law enforcement, “The FBI has been dodging it [the case] for 15 years … they’re useless,” he said of the Boston office of the FBI.

He says that law enforcement’s response to his investigation, when he’s notified them of his findings, has been, “We looked at that, we looked at that, we looked at that.”

“Because of the institutional intransigence of the New Hampshire State Police the case is still alive 15 years later,” he said.

Fred Murray said that he thinks he’s been getting “the run around,” and that officials have been waiting for him to go away. “This time, the guy didn’t go away, and that guy was me.”

A representative for the New Hampshire Department of Safety, of which the New Hampshire State Police are a division, refused to comment because of the active nature of the investigation, but did refer the Express to the Office of the New Hampshire Attorney General.

“The case is still open and active.  We do receive tips and information periodically, as well as generate new information from investigative efforts,” said Jeffrey Streizin, Associate Attorney General and Director of the Division of Public Protection with the New Hampshire Attorney’s General office in an emailed statement.

He continued, “We are aware of the allegations regarding a home’s basement in that area and have considered and are considering next steps. That area was searched by law enforcement in the past, including with dogs, and nothing of significance was discovered.”

When asked to clarify whether the home itself was ever searched, Streizin said, “The State Police conducted a canvas of that area in 2004 and searched the area where that house is located with dogs. They did not go into the house at that time.”

“I need help. I’m asking for help,” Fred Murray said. “The people of northern New Hampshire have been wonderful. They are salt of the earth people … The goodness of people has really come to the forefront. Maura’s only friends in this have been the Massachusetts press, her friends and the great people of the area.”

Exactly where Maura Murray was headed, and why, has remained a mystery over the years. Moments after the crash, a good Samaritan stopped to assist her, but she waved him off and told him not to call the police, according to original police reports from 2004. The passerby called local police anyway, although he did drive off. A Haverhill police cruiser arrived within minutes, but the Saturn was locked, and Maura Murray was gone.

According to a four-part series reported by Maribeth Conway in this paper’s predecessor, the Hanson Express in 2007, Fred Murray had dinner with his daughter in Amherst two days before her disappearance.

She caused damage to her father’s car that night in a minor accident near UMass in Hadley, Massachusetts, and later friends reported she had been drinking that night, although no charges were filed in that incident.

The following day, she performed Internet searches for driving directions to Vermont and the Berkshires. She also called for a condominium rental reservation in Bartlett, New Hampshire, which she did not end up reserving. Her family often vacationed in Bartlett, a town in the White Mountains near the Attitash ski resort.

Her belongings were neatly packed up in boxes in her UMass dorm room before she left, according to reports, leading to speculation that she may have been considering leaving school permanently. But she had good grades, and her college textbooks were found in her car by investigators after the accident.

Maura Murray withdrew $280 from her bank account, leaving the account almost empty, and emailed professors and her boss at a local art gallery that she would be away from school because she was needed in Hanson due to a death in the family. Relatives later confirmed there was no death in the family.

No one is sure exactly why the college student made up the story.

A friend later suggested that Maura Murray may have been under a lot of pressure and wanted to get away to think about something important.

She grabbed some toiletries, a favorite stuffed animal — a monkey given to her by her father– and a necklace her boyfriend had given her. She then departed. Police say she next stopped at a liquor store, bought about $40 worth of alcohol — which police reports say some of which was found in plain sight in her car after the crash– and never returned to Massachusetts.

Fred Murray says his next step will be to try to enlist the help of senior New Hampshire State Police officials but that he continues to wait and marvel at the lack of help. He added, “We’re still going to win.”

When asked to clarify what a win for him would be, he hesitated and said, “There is no win. There is no satisfaction. I have to find her, bring her home and give her a proper burial. Every father who ever drew a breath on the planet should know what happens next.”

Firefighters battle fire, weather in Hanson

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HANSON — No injuries were reported Tuesday night as Hanson firefighters and those from three other towns battled stubborn flames in cold sleet and drizzle, making for a long night.

The call for the structure fire was received just after 7:30 p.m. with firefighters encountering heavy fire throughout the structure, according to Hanson Fire Chief Jerome Thompson.

Two occupants and a dog were able to flee the fire at 45 Milford St., according to published reports.

Upon arrival all occupants had exited the house, said Thompson.

The home was listed on several real estate websites Tuesday night as foreclosed, on, but the updated property sites now report the home as off the market. Neighbors who watched the mammoth flames take over the structure at the scene said they did not believe anyone was living in the home.

The jumbled debris on the interior made the conditions for firefighters challenging.

“Excessive clutter in the house made it difficult for firefighters to continue an aggressive interior attack and contributed to a lengthy overhaul process,” said Thompson. the fire is under investigation.

Fire, smoke and water damage was extensive throughout the house, which is uninhabitable. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation by the Hanson Fire Department, Hanson Police Department and the Massachusetts State Fire Marshal’s Office. The occupants are being assisted by the Red Cross.

Firefighters were assisted at the scene by Halifax, Pembroke and Whitman fire departments. Hanover Fire covered Hanson Headquarters and Pembroke Fire responded with an ambulance to a medical emergency in another part of town during the incident. Also assisting at the scene was Hanson Police, Hanson Highway and Water departments. All crews cleared the scene shortly after midnight.

Film tells story of ‘A Father’s Fight’

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Will he or won’t he?

Whitman native Mark Chauppetta, who used to participate in mixed martial arts bouts to raise funds for muscular dystrophy research — after his twin sons Troy and Andrew Chauppetta, now 23, were diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy — has been toying with a return to the ring for another fundraising fight for some time now.

The question has been, will he?

Chauppetta says his family and friends have been divided on the issue and his doctor had advised against a return to the MMA ring.

“You’re going to have to wait and see if I get in there,” he said. “But I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.”

The resulting film, “A Father’s Fight,” will premier at 6 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 23 in Brockton’s War Memorial Hall, 156 West Elm St. Tickets for the event are available at wheelchairstrong.com.

“The film is a docu-drama, I guess you’d call it, a kind of remake of a documentary I did in 2009,” Chauppetta said. That film, also titled “A Father’s Fight,” on which he worked with Ron Van Damme who worked with WHCA-TV’s late Executive Director Steve Roy. That film, done with “no budget” when Chauppetta was turning 40 and getting into mixed martial arts fighting to raise funds.

“It was really grass-roots,” Chauppetta says. “But I felt like my vision was 10 years too soon. At the time Troy and Andrew were young so they didn’t have a voice and they were seen in the film, but it was kind of in the background.”

He said that latest film focused on his getting into the ring and “didn’t have much substance to it.”

The new film looks at that focus from a different angle and Chauppetta didn’t want to pull at the heart-strings. While Duchenne is terminal, the film shows ability and over disability, he said.

“It shows my sons driving and living life and going to the mall and fighting and bickering with me — being a family,” he said. “It shows the concern my wife has for me, coping with this disease. It’s very raw, it’s very honest, it’s very real.”

His sons, who can now advocate for themselves and have a voice, enables the film to focus more on them than their dad. Chauppetta hired a local Brockton production company, Anaone Street Productions and filming began in in September 2017, finishing in June 2018.

“I’m not giving it away,” Chauppetta said, but some of the narrative of the original film is repeated in the new one, he said.

Chauppetta, now going on 50, was a wrestler on the WHRHS team and describes that experience as a brotherhood that gets into one’s blood.

“I still compete and wrestle and grapple,” he said. “It’s something that I dabbled with in my 20s and 30s and then when I was turning 40, a local promoter asked me if I would be interested in training and having a cage fight and he’d give $5,000 to my charity, So I was, like, sure!”

The documentary, while well-received, didn’t reach the type of audience Chauppetta wanted.

Fast-forward 10 years, and a busy life filled with caring for his boys, directing the Wheelchair Strong Foundation while running a private investigation business, he said he finds himself getting into ruts.

“Caring for disabled boys is physically and emotionally very strenuous,” Chauppetta said. “Lots of times, you slip into funks.”

Working out helps, especially since Chaupetta is a person whose wellbeing on all levels depends on physical fitnesss.

“I always find myself going back to the one thing that cures my anxiety, my depression over this disease, had been martial arts — Brazilian ju jistu, it’s been wrestling,” he said.

The film has been quite a journey, he said. Chauppetta started out story-boarding it, but it also took the necessary detours as life unfolded during the year and a half of shooting.

“I directed the film and I produced the film — and I micro-managed it,” he admits, as he used his past experience in film work to best advantage.

Appearing in the film, along with members of the Chauppetta family are Lenny Clarke, Patrick Renna — best known as Smalls in “The Sandlot” — Joe Lauzon from the UFC circuit plays Chauppetta’s trainer. Hip-hop violinist Damien Escobar and Five for Fighting worked on the film score.

Chauppetta’s goal is to negotiate a distribution deal with a Hollywood-based company such as Netflix, Hulu or Amazon for streaming. It is not yet available on DVD.

If that effort is successful, he would like to transform it into a scripted film, and perhaps a goal closer to home.

“One of my passions has always been television and television production,” he said, noting he has had pre-production meetings on a second documentary project on the wheelchair power soccer program in which his sons are involved.

His suppressed desire to be named to the W-H Wall of Fame has also become something of a running joke in his family.

“Maybe if I can get an Emmy for best documentary, then maybe I can finally get my picture on that wall,” he laughed.

Growing Food for Thought

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HANSON — When Troop 68 Life Scout Liam Keane began planning his Eagle Badge project, he was also looking for a way to make a difference in the world. His mom Patricia showed him the USA for Africa video of the Michael Jackson/Lionel Ritchie song “We Are the World” for some inspiration.

Dozens of music industry giants had left the Grammy Awards ceremony Jan. 21, 1985 and entered a recording studio to record the song — seven weeks after the Christmas 1984 record of UK Band Aid anthem “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” produced by Bob Geldof raised funds for African famine relief. The American recording, released in March 1985, also set aside funds for combatting hunger at home.

Fighting hunger at home was a concept that resonated with Keane, a junior at Whitman-Hanson Regional High School. WHRHS Guidance Counselor Courtney Selig thought a community garden at the school would be a good way to achieve both his goals.

“I wanted to change the world and help people,” Keane said. “Since we’ve been doing it, I realized so much about kids who you wouldn’t even think of going to the food pantry getting food or on free and reduced lunch.”

In some district elementary schools, nearly a quarter of students depend on free and reduced lunch programs, principals have reported at past School Committee meetings.

Keane’s idea was the beginning of what became Food for Thought, a school activity club of about 20 charter members working with Keane to bring awareness within the school about childhood hunger.

“School, community, home — we’re always looking for different ways to make that partnership and connection,” Selig said. “I think this was one great way to do that.”

The first project of the club was to build a garden out behind the school with produce going to the school’s culinary program as well as the pantries.

“We built it Memorial Day weekend, and club members have taken turns maintaining it, watering it, and harvesting it throughout the summer,” Keane said. “We have donated over 100 pounds of food to both Whitman and Hanson Food Pantries.”

He hopes the club keeps going long after he graduates and so long as there is a need in both communities. Members of Food for Thought have signed a meeting table they painted in hopes future members of the club will add their names for years to come.

“This project has become very personal for me and it has gone above and beyond my expectations,” he said.

Selig joked that the group thought they would be lucky to harvest a single tomato and it yielded 200 pounds of vegetables divided between both food pantries as well as tomatoes for the culinary program and salad fixings for the cafeteria. The carrot harvest was also impressive, Keane said.

“I wanted to do something different,” he said.

Bottle and can drive

To help fund his Eagle project, Keane is conducting a bottle and can drive from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 9 at the Nathaniel Thomas Mill on Route 58/Liberty Street in Hanson. [See page 4]

“There’s a lot of beer bottles, beer cans — especially after the Super Bowl,” he said. His drive will not only recycle the containers but continue to help feed neighbors in need.

Throughout this school year, we have also held other events to help support these food pantries as well as letting people know the importance of ending hunger within our communities.

One event was World Food Day, on Oct. 16. The club sold bracelets and hung posters around the school stating facts about childhood hunger.

“We raised $300 which was split and donated to the food pantries,” Keane said. “We also have also started an indoor garden in the green house at Whitman-Hanson High School where we will begin our seedlings for the outdoor garden, but also develop it so that we can continue to grow fresh “salad” vegetables all year long for the food pantries.”

Hanson Food Pantry Director Christine Cameron said donations of fresh produce from the Greater Boston Food Bank, area farms such as Lipinski’s in Hanson and projects like Keane’s are vital for clients.

“Or goal is to have people eat healthy,” Cameron said. “We have great farmers in our communities that help us that are very generous. …  Anything we can get that’s fresh, we consider that much better.”

Youth involvement at the pantry has also included Hanson Girl Scout troops and the National Honor Society as well as the Boy Scouts.

“It’s great to see them involved because they are our future volunteers and they see what happens in their community,” she said. “We have some wonderful kids that come through and help.”

Last year the Hanson Food Pantry gave out more than 100,000 pounds of food last year, helping an average of 200 to 300 clients on a monthly basis.

“It is unfortunate, but we will always have people that need our help, and so we’re there,” Cameron said.

Two upcoming projects Food for Thought students are currently working on are a “Bagged Lunch” program for which they will be making 200 bagged lunches over February vacation and donating them to Main Spring House in Brockton and raising funds to enter a team into the Project Bread Walk for Hunger 5K in Boston which will take place in May.

To sponsor the group, contact Keane at lt.keane@icloud.com.

A Souper Bowl fundraiser also raised canned goods donations for the pantries.