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Hanson mourns a devoted volunteer

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HANSON — A familiar face inside the snack shack at the Botieri Field, Lori Sawtelle of Hanson always dedicated her time to helping others and shared her love of baseball with hundreds of Little Leaguers.

There will be an un-fillable void as baseball season begins next week, friends have said.

Lori Sawtelle lost her courageous battle with cancer last week. She was only 47 years old. A mother to Ryan and Ashley and married for 24 years to husband Scott, who has also been a staple at the field, Sawtelle is described as a dedicated and giving woman by all who knew her.

A committed volunteer in the community and an employee of the Hanson Middle School, Sawtelle is remembered by former Hanson Little League Board member Greg Collins.

“In a global perspective she literally was there running the snack shack nearly every night,” Collins said. “We knew she was there and it was in good hands. Things ran smoothly. … As a board member we were confident things were done right. She was loved by all.”

Collins said Sawtelle “literally knew everyone” — all the kids by their first name and their parents, as well.

“She was always at the ballfield and a constant in a positive sense,” he recalled. “It was always about the kids and making a better experience about the greater good of the town. She was a baseball mom through and through but it was more than that. She has left a mark. There is a void and she will be missed.”

Hanson Fire Lt. Rob O’Brien, also a HLL board member, knew Lori as a principal at the snack shack and echoed her unwavering commitment to the youth in the community.

O’Brien’s son Chris would often volunteer to assist Lori, who welcomed the hands at the snack shack. She even gave him a few catching tips as he developed his skills at that position, O’Brien recalled.

“Chris would get a hot dog from Lori at the end of the night. It was the kind of lady she was.  She was always kind to him,”said O’Brien.

Those who remember Lori extend throughout the community at-large.

“The passing of Lori Sawtelle is a great loss to the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District and the community of Hanson,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner said in a statement. “We are deeply grateful for her many contributions to the school system and community.  At Whitman-Hanson, we are keeping Lori’s family, co-workers, students, and friends in our thoughts and prayers”

Scott Sawtelle has also been active as a coach since his son was 4. Hanson LL Board of Directors President Mike Joselyn spoke of Scott and Lori as friends and former neighbors.

Although Sawtelle’s health was failing she made sure to attend and cheer on the boys championship games last season, Joselyn said. Photographing each player with the trophy and emailing a copy of the photo to their family.

“She was selfless.  It is just what she did and she made other people better because of who she was,” he said.

Last fall Paul Clarke of Hanson, also a board member for HLL, was a driving force in establishing a fund to assist in defraying the cost medical care for Lori. She was present at the walking event and at the finish line, which coincided with the Damien’s Freaky 5K run.

Many who participated in the event have commented through Facebook upon hearing of her passing.

Hanson Little League posted photos of Lori from last year’s fall event and commented on the tremendous loss.

“We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Lori Sawtelle. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Sawtelle family during this difficult time. Lori fought her cancer with courage and always had an upbeat outlook. She was always there for Hanson Little League through the years. She will be missed.”

The Whitman-Hanson Regional High School baseball team, on which Lori’s son Ryan plays, attended both her wake and funeral in support of their teammate, according to Whitman Assistant Town Administrator Lisa Green, whose son is on the team.

“The entire W-H community is saddened by the passing of Lori Sawtelle, a Hanson Middle paraprofessional and most importantly husband to Scott and loving mom to Ashley and Ryan,” WHRHS Athletic Director Bob Rodgers Tweeted Friday, March 24. “Ryan is one of our best student-athletes who is loved by all of his teammates.”

Whitman’s Board of Selectmen honored her memory in their pre-meeting Moment of Silence Tuesday night.

A memorial fund has been set up in her name to reduce the financial burden on her family at the web site You Caring  at: youcaring.com/sawtellefamily-783695.

Content from Lori Sawtells’ obituary [See page 13] was used in this article.

Whitman budget cuts ahead?: Officials continue crunching numbers to bridge $790,000 revenue gap

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WHITMAN — Town officials are recalculating the budget’s bottom line after it was discovered that there is a greater revenue problem than was previously thought.

A large sum of money from the National Grid personal property revenue, being considered as a source for capital needs spending in fiscal 2018, had already been incorporated into the $780,000 excess levy that was recognized last year.

“As of this moment, in order to meet all of the requests within Article 2, and the requests that are in [other] articles, we’re almost $790,00 upside down,” Town Administrator Frank Lynam said Tuesday, March 28. “We will be working over the next couple of days — the Finance Committee chair and myself — trying to identify where we may be able to address some these issues.”

Lynam also told the Board of Selectmen, scheduled to review draft warrants for the annual and special Town Meetings, that the Finance Committee was still working on them.

Selectmen were provided with a summary of current budget numbers including $29,997,000 in requests for funding. Spending articles outside the Article 2 municipal budget bring the request total to $30,189,000. Capital expense articles add another $1,296,000.

“Nothing in this is frivolous, but some of this will be cut,” Lynam said. He attended the Finance Committee’s meeting following the Selectmen’s session.

There are 48 warrant articles from the town and an additional 14 from the school district. Lynam said he will be asking Selectmen to sign the warrants for the annual and special Town Meetings on Tuesday, April 11 so the warrants can be published.

“We thought that, in looking quickly at our numbers, we would be in decent shape at least for funding budgets within the limit,” Lynam said. However on working on it and certifications from the Department of Revenue] in more detail over two days, the problem was discovered.

The cost of the school assessment brought the budget issue home, Lynam told Selectmen, adding the town will work with the School Department and other department heads to determine how to solve the shortfall.

Lynam said that those decisions will ultimately come down to how the town votes at the May 1 Town Meeting.

“Education is a very expensive process,” he said. “There’s no way around it. We know that because, despite our best efforts and keeping our budgets under control, we are sixth or seventh from the bottom in spending [for it]. As a result of that, we are depriving some of our children of the opportunities they should have in education.”

While Lynam said he does not believe there is a lot of room in the school district’s budget to cut without affecting programs, he also does not believe the town has been frivolous in its expenditures. The town lacks the ability to pass on costs to large commercial or corporate taxpayers as some surrounding towns do, he stressed.

“I never thought I’d hear myself saying this — we have a revenue problem,” Lynam said. “People are going to have to make a decision as to what kind of community we want to be.”

He said the only source of funding left for the kind of education and town services people expect is the taxpayer.

Chief reports

In other business, Police Chief Scott Benton and Fire Chief Timothy Grenno presented their monthly reports to the board.

Benton stressed the importance of parents’ adherence to the state’s Social Host Law, and responded to Brockton state Rep. Michelle DuBois’ Facebook posts regarding ICE raids said to be planned for that city on Tuesday, May 28, which included ways to “Fight Back” on an informational document she included.

Benton said he is not, as a rule a fan of zero-tolerance policies regarding kids, but makes an exception where the Social Host Law is concerned.

“That falls to adults,” he said. “You cannot, in any way, give up that responsibility.”

He also noted that the community’s involvement in the Whitman-Hanson WILL program and is distributing a flyer about the Social Host Law to local package stores.

Selectmen Chairman Dr. Carl Kowalski noted that while the town’s opioid overdose situation seems to be plateauing, the state has recorded 3,000 opioid overdose deaths in the past three years.

“When people who are in a leadership role in a community step forward and can actually speak to it … we’ve made a lot of inroads,” Benton said. “This didn’t happen overnight, and it’s not going to get fixed overnight.”

Facebook post

On the immigration issue, Benton said his department does not initiate action, but would cooperate with ICE if asked, and was critical of DuBois, without mentioning her name.

“That is not the way to accomplish anything,” Benton said. “My concern is public safety and the people in this community being safe. I can tell you we have no plans to call ICE and go looking for people.”

He said by advising people to fight back, the legislator was putting both alleged undocumented immigrants and public safety officers in danger.

Grenno reported on two recent life-saving calls on Linden Street and Plymouth Street, prompted by carbon monoxide alarms now required in all single family homes by state law.

Whitman Fire has also provided mutual aid to Rockland for two suspicious fires in the past week and a half, one when he was on duty that took from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. on scene, and again for four hours Monday. Grenno said with Rockland’s ladder truck going out of service for six or seven months for refurbishing, the town’s fire chief will be requesting Whitman’s assistance on a more frequent basis.

School Committee certifies ‘18 budget

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The School Committee voted unanimously on Wednesday, March 15 to certify a $48.9 million budget for fiscal 2018. The budget is 4 percent higher than fiscal 2017, and assessments for the towns have been certified at a 11.5 percent increase.

It started out with a $2.8 million gap before the insurance increases, which would have brought the gap to $2.9 million.

The School Committee had closed the budget gap to $1.9 million on Feb. 15, with a vote to transfer $750,000 from its excess and deficiency account. A decision to share utilities costs with the self-funded Food Services Department outside the operating budget also brought in $50,000 and interest-bearing accounts also yielded $13,000 before the insurance rate hike voted by the Mayflower Municipal Health Group steering committee on March 7 added just over $245,000 to the deficit, according to District Business Services Director Christine Suckow.

The gap now stands at $2.1 million with increases largely in contractual obligations, state retirement assessments, insurance rates, transportation costs and other contracts.

The  reduction of state per-pupil reimbursement to $20 in the governor’s budget also cut $135,000, according to School Committee Chairman Bob Hayes.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner said the level-service budget also includes the elimination of the position of Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning.

Whitman Finance Committee Chairman Michael Minchello said at that meeting that it appeared any assessment increase over 4 percent would be tight. Hanson has said they can support a 6.5-percent increase.

“Right now, I don’t know where that would come from,” he said.

“Respectfully, then, get creative,” said School Committee member Alexandra Taylor of Whitman. “We need it. This is not, we would like it. … This is just for level-service.”

She argued that, “For years, every other department in town has been getting funded for what they need” while the school district has not.

Whitman Town Administrator Frank Lynam, meanwhile, addressed Taylor’s comments as well as the “elephant in the room.”

According to Lynam, Whitman has only added one half-time employee in 10 years. Also, unlike the school department, towns can’t increase revenue by assessing someone else. Town revenue comes only from taxes and fees or state funding.

“The biggest single problem the towns are facing right now is the school budget is not sustainable,” Lynam said. “When you’re talking about a 4-percent increase in your budget, it’s all coming from the towns.”

He said the increase being requested would mean eliminating departments — including some library and senior services — if it were taken out of town budgets, and drastically cutting police and fire budgets. Lynam said he is not certain what number Whitman can support toward the schools, but that the town will do whatever it can.

“I think it’s time that people consider very seriously what kind of community they want to be, and how much they’re willing to support that,” he said. “The support is only going to come from the community.”

A handful of parents read from prepared statements in support of the budget and urged residents to join their Whitman-Hanson Supporters of Schools Facebook page and to follow through by voting for school funding.

“At seventh from the bottom of over 320 school districts in the state, this administration can’t do any more to make up for the fact that we simply do not spend enough locally on our schools,” said Hanson resident Lisa Ryan of Birchbark Drive.

“I want to be taxed, I want to help the town … not just the schools, but the whole community,” said a Whitman resident who moved to town for the quality schools.

“Up until last year … I believed all children in the same school received the same education,” said Dawn Byers of Russell Road in Whitman, whose daughter is one of only 30 percent of Whitman Middle School to qualify for Spanish class because budget constraints limit enrollment to those with high enough grades and test scores. “This year, 287 seventh- and eight-grade students at Whitman Middle School do not have the same foreign language opportunity that my daughter has. … This is a clear example of the consequences of low funding.”

A level-service budget will not chage that, said Byers, who said all middle school students should have the opportunity to study a foreign language.

“We own this,” she said. “Collectively as a community, taxpayers bear the responsibility for not adequately funding our  schools with local tax dollars.”

School Committee member Dan Cullity also noted the state expects the two towns to make more progress toward meeting the target share of budget contributions over the minimum they now fund.

In other business, a quartet of second-grade students from Marie Sheehan’s class at Duval Elementary School in Whitman joined Sheehan and Science Curriculum Coordinator Mark Stephansky to outline what they are learning in the Know Atom science curriculum and how $45,000 for consumable classroom materials included in the operating budget are used. Know Atom, with curriculum and professional development start-up costs funded by grants of more than $300,000 from the Gelfand Foundation was started at the second-grade level in district schools. It now extends through grade five.

“This year we’ve tried to bring our students to the School Committee so that you can have a first-hand look at what our students do,” Gilbert-Whitner said in introducing the presentation. “As we make decisions about our schools, it’s always important that we remain student-centered.”

The children, giving their first names — Adam, Neve, Gabrielle and Brendan — read their reports as Stephansky held up examples of their classroom projects on habitat as well as flower and owl pellet dissection.

“You’re supporting us — you are voting to support all of the programs that these kids need — we thought you’d like to see it first-hand,” Duval Principal Julie McKillop said.

“This is a student-centered curriculum,” Sheehan said.

“They are learning engineering and science practices which are part of our new standards in Massachusetts and they are loving it along the way,” Stephansky said.

They’re drawn to reading

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HANSON — Practice doesn’t always make perfect but practice makes better.

Guest Author Illustrator Brian Lies of Duxbury reminded students of this small but powerful lesson, which made a big impact on the students at Maquan Elementary School on Friday — a visit sponsored by a grant through the Hanson Cultural Council.

He is currently working on his 30th book and has a series of stories featuring bats, which has made the New York Times Best Sellers list.

He read to the students but not before a short animated talk about how he became an author/illustrator.

He shared relatable life lessons with the students and even did a side-by-side comparison of a drawing his mother had saved when he was in second grade. The short, colored illustration had a few words and four photos. Students’ eyes brightened as they mumbled about his poor drawing skills.

Lies used the pictures to demonstrate how he was not perfect as his work and took years of development, classes, schooling and practice. He also shared how he, too, had received notes on his English papers asking him to add more detail.

He spoke with enthusiasm and encouragements letting the students know that you can acquire a certain skill, then become better by working at it.

Lies was born in Princeton, N.J., and graduated from Brown University in 1985 with a degree in British and American Literature. He attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston for two and a half years, and then created Op/Ed page illustrations for numerous publications, including the Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune and Christian Science Monitor.

He showed the students dozens of drawing pads in which many of his top sellers were sketched.

Lies explained writing, rewriting and editing his drawings was part of his process to get the exact message, and art work to completion before the publication of a book.

In developing his character of the little bat who wears floaties Lies was inspired as a father and recalled as an adult how young people can feel left out in different circumstances.

He illustrated his first children’s book for Houghton Mifflin Company in 1989, and has since illustrated more than two dozen others, such as his New York Times bestselling bat series (“Bats at the Beach,” “Bats at Library,” “Bats at the Ballgame”  and “Bats in the Band”).

Lies work has garnered numerous awards, and can be found in galleries around the country, according to his website.

After question-and-answer times, students helped Lies brainstorm what bat should be doing in a drawing he then autographed and donated to the Maquan Library .

He explained his drawing techniques using an example of shading with peeled crayons and soon the white sheet of paper was dancing with a little bat that may have had a job as a dog walker.

Board backs Maquan closure

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By Cameron Myette
Express correspondent

HANSON — Selectmen voted 5-0 Tuesday, March 21 to support the School Committee’s timeline for closing the Maquan School by the fall of 2018.

After a meeting last week concerning the closing of Maquan, members of the School Committee — including Chaiman Bob Hayes — and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Gilbert-Whitner met with Selectmen to discuss the future of Maquan School.

The detailed discussion, which lasted more than an hour, focused on whether to continue to keep the school open for another year or to initiate an immediate shutdown of the building.

Gilbert-Whitner said she  was tasked with organizing focus groups and described the School Department’s research into the issue.

“We really wanted to do an in depth look at what would be the impact … needed to look at the programs, age ranges of students, moving from one program to the other,” she said of a variety of considerations involved. “What would it take to move one facility into another and what kind of retrofitting needs to happen.”

Members of the Hanson Public Schools took an in-depth look at closing the building and potential up-front costs involved [See related story].

Three focus groups were created to brainstorm ideas and create a matrix of sorts into what problems would arise from closing the school. The first focus group was of the building principals. They analyzed space issues, age ranges and potential difficulties with educational programs for students.

The second focus group was special education programs and how these systems would be impacted, in particular compliance with current regulations. Finally, the third focus group discussed pre-school and how it would operate.

One definitive conclusion that was brought about from this third group was that there would never be room for a pre-school if the students were to be moved to the high school. This fact motivated the idea that the closing of the Macquan School in the Fall of 2018 was feasible for the town community.

Selectmen questioned the option of keeping the building open.

This decision would result in concerns with the outdated sprinklers, heating system, and security infrastructure that currently exists in the building.

Selectman Bruce Young raised questions concerning logistical spaces and what the septic system could handle.

Arguments were made that if the school were to be kept open too long, costs would rise in order to maintain the school at an appropriate operational capacity, especially throughout the winter.

Yet students remained at the center of the discussion.

It is important to note that program laws in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts have changed over the past 20-30 years, school officials noted. Enrollment designs must be made for today’s world, some members argued.

Before a final decision, another discussion focused on the impact of this decision, including realigning resources, retrofitting classrooms, and what this closing means for students.

Questions raised included:

• What would happen with state wide testing and computer labs?

• Would the budget be based on the state of past town budgets? And even questions on where staff members would park are concerns in this important yet aggressive decision to change the way in which the Hanson Public School system operates.

The future use of the school building, including the gym, was of great concern to the town community.

Some recommended an engineering study of the building to see how it could be used in the future, which would cost approximately $25,000 to $30,000 dollars. Others saw this as an opportunity to rent the building out as elderly housing.

No information from the school’s report was up for a vote. That decision is set for April 12 to permit officials to obtain more information needed concerning funding and potential uses for the school.

Whitman budget plan debated: ‘Brainstorming’ memo sparks exchange over school support

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Solar farm reboot: Clerical error moves firm to restart process

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WHITMAN — A special permit and site plan approval application for a solar farm consisting of 3,940 panels and associated equipment has been granted leave to withdraw without prejudice by the Zoning Board of Appeals Monday, March 13.

The vote, necessitated by a clerical error on the part of one landowner and the petitioner, BrightEnergies of Los Angeles, will permit the company to re-apply when the error — which identified the wrong parcel address — is corrected.

The address had been identified as 81 Bedford St., instead of 0 Bedford St., which is the correct address, according to company managing partner Jon LoCascio. The error resulted in an incorrect or incomplete list of abutters notified about the 7 p.m. hearing.

ZBA Chairman John Goldrosen did allow members of the board and interested residents attending to ask general questions about the solar farm proposal.

LoCascio said the proposal would be brought back regarding 0 Bedford St., and that the address mistake had been brought to the company’s attention about 30 days ago.

Goldrosen noted that, once a hearing is advertised in the newspaper, a hearing must be held.

Member Wayne Andrews said the site plan as submitted as “no good” as it is not to scale and does not show any topographical contours or accurate abutters.

“Everything is missing from this site plan,” he said, advising that the company review Whitman’s zoning regulations.

Building Inspector Robert Curran said his impression was that the company planned to revise the site plan. He also reminded ZBA members that Whitman has become a Green Community and that he had forwarded a copy of the regulation revisions reflecting that status.

“There’s provisions for solar or alternative energy in our bylaw,” Curran said.

Goldrosen also read into the hearing record letters from the Planning Board, Conservation Commission and Fire Chief Timothy Grenno, listing concerns about the plan as submitted.

The Conservation Commission expressed concern over any wetlands impact on the site and planners noted questions about determination of the location of the Brockton water line and whether there would be an easement conflict before being able to approve the plan. Grenno requested engineered road access on three sides of the property; a solid surface, such as crushed stone, for ground cover; weed and overgrowth containment; gated access with a lock the fire department can open and training for public safety departments.

“It may turn out you can’t put everything there that you want,” Goldrosen said about the wetlands issue.

Board member Steven Cacciatore also asked about safety including whether the electricity can be turned off in an emergency and the potential for the solar panels to be hot enough to spark brush fires.

“We’re just asking because we don’t know,” he said. “This has not come up to us before. … We want to know if there’s going to be a problem.”

LoCascio said he is more often asked how it’s going to work in the snow, assuring the board that the farm would have a rapid shutdown system to control fire risk when panels reach a certain temperature.

Andrews sought information on how the project would benefit the town.

“The great thing about this project is all the energy is going to the town, so we would be discounting and saving the town money reducing the town’s overall cost for electricity,” LoCascio said. He said the output of about 1.9 megawatts would lock in energy costs for municipal buildings for 20 years.

Curran added that the town would have to enter into an energy-purchase agreement with BrightEnergies. The difficulty in gauging the effect of those savings stems from a recent change to LED lighting.

“We can’t take historical electric bills and use those in any way for this,” Curran said. “But by the time this all goes through, the town will know what its average monthly bill is.”

BrightEnergies would own the solar equipment, but lease the property.

Board members were also interested in learning of other area solar farms and any problems encountered with the facilities.

Abutter Jackie Alger, owner of Wag This Way dog daycare also had some questions for the board’s consideration — water runoff, wetlands, possible requirement of a retention pond, access during construction, how inspections would be handled, dust control plans during construction, work hours and temporary electrical power during construction, noise, tree removal, traffic and security fence plans.

Closing the school budget gap

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11.5 percent hike in assessments

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Insurance costs

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

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

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

“We don’t know that,” Hayes said.

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

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

Lower ranking

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Town challenges

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Frank Lynam argues the situation calls for a concerted effort.

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

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

Feeling pinch

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Looking closer at Maquan options

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Direct impact

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

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

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

Pluses and minuses

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hanson reviews building projects

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HANSON — Progress reports on building razing and raising projects, were discussed at the Board of Selectmen’s Feb. 28 meeting.

Town Administrator Michael McCue reported that removal of asbestos and other hazardous materials at the former Plymouth County Hospital building is about 80-percent complete, and Selectman Bill Scott reported on progress of the Highway Building Committee.

The PCH building tear-down is expected to take place beginning this Friday, March 10, after the Building Department issues a full demolition permit. Preliminary work was expected to begin March 1.

In the meantime, a surveillance camera has been placed at the site to monitor against further trespassing incidents for safety and liability reasons. McCue, police and demolition contractor have access to the camera feed.

The cameras were bought with funds already approved under the bond issue for the project.

Scott reported that he had received confirmation on the scheduling of cleanup at the Lite Control property ahead of construction of a new highway facility there.

“The only thing they have left to do is the actual planting to recreate some of the conservation area,” he said. “They’ve had to wait to do that for spring.” The work is expected to be done sometime in April.

“That puts off any effort on our part to move forward any potential for an article to fund a highway facility down there, because they cannot turn the property over to us until such time as all of their permits have been honored and followed up,” Scott said.

Scott said the Highway Building Committee was disappointed to see the cost reach the $4.5-million range, but stressed the cost would also include the tear-down and cleanup of the old facility.

The cleanup at the Lite Control property, on the other hand, is complete, but that regulatory agencies such as DEP and the Corps of Engineers must give final approval before the site is turned over to the town.

“Obviously, we will not be able to move forward at this town meeting,” he said.

Selectman Kenny Mitchell, also a member of the Highway Building Committee, said the first price quote received on the project was “a lot more that $4.5 million.”

“It was closer to $7 million,” he said. “We worked hard, and by eliminating things … we got it down.”

Mitchell and Scott said an open house sometime in the spring is being considered to provide residents a chance to see conditions in the current facility. Scott noted that today’s bigger trucks won’t fit inside the current garage, but have to be stored in a repair shop bay.

Facilities for staff use are also less than desirable.

“Go in there — go use the men’s room,” Mitchell said. “You’ll be quite surprised. … I wouldn’t let my dog use the facilities over there.”

Selectman Bruce Young said the current buildings were WW II surplus, transported from Maine at no cost to the town.

Resident Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett asked if the Priority Repair Committee set up for school roof projects in 2014 could be expanded to assess the needs of other town buildings.

“I know why the focus was originally those two schools … but we own a lot of other buildings and, as we have seen, these have tended to go into disrepair and then they cost a lot of money,” she said. “I like the way the Priority Repair Committee is focused on repairs and nothing else.”

Young pointed out that members of the Priority Repair Committee are in the related trades and added that a town facilities manager would be an asset, perhaps as a shared position with another town through an inter-municiple agreement.

Selectmen Chairman James McGahan said FitzGerald-Kemmett raised a good point, recalling that former Town Administrator Ron San Angelo had composed a facilities report recommending a checklist on repair needs. Scott also indicated that former Selectman Jim Egan had recommended a facilities management company or team consult on such projects.

“It never really got any traction, but this feeds into exactly what you’re saying,” Scott said of FitzGerald-Kemmett’s suggestion. “We’ve got to take care of these buildings, otherwise we’ll be  faced with similar situations like we are with our schools.”

Egan said he had advocated was a part-time, town-funded facilities management position to track the maintenance needs of all town buildings to keep ahead of problems.

“It didn’t materialize simply because we didn’t have the money,” he said. “It was discussed at the board level, but we did not present it to Town Meeting, again, because we were in the kind of fiscal straits that were not conducive to expanding our personnel.”

Selectmen also began kicking around the implications of any School Department closing of Maquan School, arguing that in such a case a tear-down or an outright sale of the building might be among the best options for the town, financially.

Cable access TV contract discussed

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HANSON — While town officials consider it too early for a vote on the pact, the Board of Selectmen discussed the status of the town’s contract talks with Whitman-Hanson Community Access Television at its Feb. 28 meeting.

Progress reports on building razing and raising projects [see related story, page 3] were also discussed.

“The general consensus that I want to pass along to the public is that we are working on this,” said Selectmen Chairman James McGahan about individual conversations he has had with other selectmen about the cable access contract. He stressed that none of the one-on-one conversations constituted Open Meeting Law violations.

“We have a contract that we are being asked to sign — and this is for another 10 years — and one of the sticking points on it is that we need to follow up on the financial reports that are owed to the town through the Board of Selectmen,” McGahan said.

WHCA TV Executive Director Eric Dresser said Monday, March 6 that he understands the selectmen’s concerns are reasonable, as there are several items in the contract still being worked out.

“I think there’s some things above and beyond the things that they mentioned that they’d like to see, in terms of the reporting, that we’ve got to get on the same page with — as you would in any negotiation,” Dresser said. “We are aware of the areas of the [financial] report that need to be updated and those projects are already in progress.”

He said one was submitted at the end of last week. Cable Access Board Chairman Arlene Dias has since supplied the rest, she said Wednesday. She had not attended the Feb. 28 meeting because she said she was told the issue had been removed from the agenda.

McGahan said Feb. 28 that, while some financial reports had been received, “We didn’t get everything that we need.” He has created a matrix of reports owed to them and a ballpark timetable of when they should be received by selectmen in both towns. He also wants to see audit reports — required every three years — and regular 501(c)3 status updates on the service’ nonprofit status and to require that meeting minutes be posted on the WHCA website, as well as annual reports.

Resident Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett, who has experience with 501(c)3 organizations such as the Hanson Food Pantry, said a copy of the WHCA tax returns could supply much of that information.

“We need more transparency with this group in terms of accountability,” McGahan said of the WHCA Board of Directors. “Otherwise we’re just rubber-stamping this contract.”

Town Administrator Michael McCue said a consensus of the board was all that was needed until its members are ready to ratify the contract.

McGahan said he, McCue and the cable board should meet again to discuss the issue. He also said he would like to invite the board chairman and/or WHCA executive director to selectmen’s meetings on a quarterly basis for updates on programs and services.

Selectman Bruce Young noted that a percentage of everyone’s cable bill supports the local cable access studio Cable rates, especially for seniors, was also a concern raised by Richard Edgehille, a resident and past volunteer videographer for WHCA.

“Seniors can’t get anything,” agreed Selectman Don Howard.

Edgehille suggested transparency could help hold Comcast accountable.

“If everybody in town understands that you’re doing your homework on it, as far as knowing how much it costs for that studio to run, there’s no waste,” he said.

McGahan agreed that it is in the cable board’s interest, as well, to show the money is being spent where it should be spent.

Edgehille also said the second contract should not be a mirror of the first one, because that initial contract was a start-up document.

“It should be tweaked,” he said, noting that much of the original contract language concerned the hiring and job function of the late WHCA Executive Director Steven Roy, who died last spring. “We wouldn’t be talking about this if Steve Roy didn’t leave us. He kept the ship going.”

Dresser said that, while he is a different person than Roy, he plans to brag about the “good stuff we’re doing here” and he wants town officials and the community to know about them.

“I think it’s a step in the right direction to remedy some of those things we’re concerned about,” McGahan said of the contract talks.