Alan Ingram
Express correspondent
The Kingston School Committee grappled with a budget scenario Monday night that could lead to the loss of up to 18 teachers and 11.6 paraprofessionals if the town approves only a 4% budget increase for the upcoming fiscal year.
Committee members expressed deep concern over the potential impact on education quality and class sizes during a lengthy budget discussion at their Jan. 6 meeting.
“This budget we were presented was 4%. So, you know, we have to decide what we want to ask Dr. Proulx and Sarah to kind of bring to us the next time,” said Committee Chair Megan Cannon. “I mean, I will say, you know, all students are entitled to a free and appropriate education.”
The proposed 4% increase would require $1.7 million in cuts from what school officials say is needed just to maintain current services. Director of Finance Sarah Hickey presented three tiers of potential reductions to reach that target.
Tier 1 cuts of $57,950 have already been made, including reductions to supplies and equipment. Tier 2 would slash $799,000 through the elimination of 8.6 full-time and 3 part-time paraprofessionals, 2 custodians and 5 teachers.
The most severe Tier 3 cuts would eliminate an additional 13 teaching positions to reach the full $1.7 million reduction.
“Cumulatively, if we make it through Tier 3, we would be looking at an 18 teacher loss, and 11.6 paraprofessionals, and 2 custodians,” Cannon said. “Which, in my personal opinion, would cripple our schools, to say the least.”
Committee member Jeanne Coleman noted Kingston already spends about $4,000 less per student than the state average.
“We’ve been lucky that we are able to retain the staff that we have and we’ve been lucky that we’ve been able to provide the education that we have,” Coleman said. “But at some point, we need to really be honest that we’re not paying more for it. We’re just somehow getting charged a lot more.”
Officials said the cuts would lead to significantly larger class sizes and the loss of specialist positions. They also noted laying off staff would incur unemployment costs of potentially $850,000.
Superintendent Dr. Jill Proulx said the district worked to build consensus on the proposed reductions but acknowledged there are “things that I would step in or Tricia would step in or Sarah would step in if we think something is not appropriate or, you know, completely unsustainable or inappropriate.”
The committee took no formal action on the budget at the Jan 6 meeting. Members said they want to wait for public input at a Feb. 3 budget hearing before providing further direction to administrators.
“I’d like to wait until the public budget hearing on Feb. 3 before we give more direction to what tiers of those cuts we can actually stomach or that I’d be comfortable stomaching because I think that the public deserves to be able to weigh in,” Coleman said.
Additionally, Kingston schools are not meeting state-recommended minutes for English Language Learner (ELL) services, prompting district officials to suggest adding a full-time ELL teacher to address the growing need.
The Committee heard a presentation on ELL services, where Assistant Superintendent Dr. Tricia Clifford outlined the current shortfall and proposed solution.
According to Clifford, there are currently 55 ELL students at Kingston Elementary School and 51 at Kingston Intermediate School. Services are provided by two Kingston ELL teachers – one for grades K-2 and another for grades 3-6.
“EL instruction is required to be delivered by a licensed EL teacher,” Clifford explained. “Students become former ELs or FELs when they score at least a 4.2 on that access test that I just spoke about. They’re monitored for four more years.”
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education recommends at least two to three 45-minute periods of daily ELL instruction for foundational students and at least one 45-minute period for transitional students.
“At KIS and KES, they’re not meeting the recommended minutes for students this school year ’24 and ’25,” Clifford said. “And this often is seen not only in the access testing, but it’s really seen in our MCAS scores for sure.”
To address the shortfall, district administrators proposed adding a 1.0 full-time equivalent ELL teacher position to be split between the two schools.
“Almost all students at KES are within the foundational category requiring more instructional periods,” Clifford said. “At KIS, almost all students are level three or below, which can be considered foundational or transitional as I spoke about. Most would be considered foundational, which again requires more instructional periods.”
In other business, the committee:
– Learned Kingston was approved for a Massachusetts School Building Authority grant to help fund a new roof at Kingston Elementary School. The exact grant amount is still to be determined.
– Heard the district received a $12,500 grant to support multilingual learners.
The committee’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Feb. 3, which will include the public budget hearing. Members urged residents to attend and provide input on the proposed cuts.
“I really hope that this room stays filled between now and town meeting because anyone that’s going to be requesting things at the budget, they’re going to want to stay involved,” Coleman said.

Alan Ingram
Express correspondent
The Halifax Select Board, at their Tuesday, Dec. 17 meeting, discussed the recent Dec. 16 special town meeting, which saw a record-breaking 722 registered voters attending. Town Administrator Cody Haddad commended the Town Clerk’s office and facilities team for their efforts in managing the large turnout.
Haddad also reported that the Attorney General’s office had already contacted the town inquiring about the vote’s outcome that overwhelmingly rejected creating the state’s mandated MBTA multi-family zoning district in Halifax.
“We’ll wait and see,” he said. “I don’t anticipate legal action until the Supreme Judicial Court case comes down with Milton.”
The decision has immediate financial implications for Halifax. Haddad revealed that a recently awarded $125,000 grant for a regionalization study with Kingston now includes a caveat requiring compliance with all state laws, including the MBTA zoning law.
“We were able to pivot and actually give that grant to Kingston because Kingston will be in compliance,” Haddad explained. “The good news there is we’re not going to lose out on that because it was a regional grant approach.”
However, other ongoing grants could be in jeopardy. Haddad mentioned potential “clawbacks” for previously approved grants, prompting efforts to expedite projects and submit invoices quickly.
The town is particularly focused on completing energy projects, with heat pumps already installed at town hall.
In response to the vote, Board of Selectmen Chair John Bruno proposed including a resolution on the spring town meeting warrant instructing local representatives to work towards overturning the MBTA zoning law.
“I think it doesn’t have any legal effect, but at least it makes it clear where we stand,” Bruno said.
The Board also addressed concerns about the Pine Street intersection project. The town had previously allocated $40,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for an engineering study of the intersection, but the highway department has been unable to secure an engineer for the project.
Due to the deadline for obligating ARPA funds, the Board voted to reallocate the $40,000 to cover an overage in the highway barn roof project. However, Board members expressed frustration with the lack of progress on the Pine Street intersection improvements.
“I really do feel like we need some sort of update on what we’re doing with Pine Street,” Selig said. “I don’t want to lose this ARPA money to get back to the original point. That’s silly to give that money back to the state.”
The Board agreed to make the Pine Street intersection a priority for 2025 and requested a written plan from the highway department within 90 days.
As the meeting concluded, The Chair praised the professionalism of the town staff and the progress made in recent years.
“The professionalism that you guys have brought to this, and Cody and Pam and Irma, is just so far beyond expectations,” Bruno said. “It’s wonderful. Congratulations to you guys, and I think the town is really well served.”
Looking ahead, the Board discussed potential changes to future town meeting procedures, including earlier check-in times and clearer communication about start times on meeting warrants.
Halifax is considering a partnership with neighboring Hanson to provide veteran services after Hanson’s Veterans’ Service Officer (VSO) recently resigned. The potential collaboration could ensure continued access to veteran services for residents of both communities.
Town Administrator Cody Haddad informed Selectmen that Halifax is in communication with Hanson regarding the possibility of regionalizing veteran services.
“We’re in communication with Hanson on the Veterans position, doing some potential regionalization there,” Haddad said. “At the very least, we’re going to help our neighbors out in the meantime so that Hanson residents still have access to Veteran Services.”
The Board also learned that Halifax is extending support to Hanson by providing temporary Building Commissioner services. Hanson is currently without a building commissioner, and Halifax has stepped in to assist.
“We are working to assist them in the meantime,” Haddad explained. “I would anticipate probably at your January meeting some sort of agreement with Hanson just saying that we’re going to provide assistance to them. They’ll have to compensate us.”
Board member Jonathan Selig praised the town’s ability to offer assistance to neighboring communities. “It’s great that we are now able to offer other towns assistance and not be on the other end of that situation,” Selig said. “Kudos to Cody and the town to be in this spot.”
Haddad emphasized that while Halifax will be compensated for its services, the willingness of town staff to help neighboring communities speaks to their character.
“It shows that we have a team here that other towns want to look to for assistance,” Haddad said. “But also, we have the individuals in place who want to do it. Ed Bayly, our Building Commissioner, is all for it. Steve Littlefield is all for it. And that speaks to, I think, the character of the people we have.”
The Town Administrator noted that helping neighboring communities will be beneficial in the long run. “It’s always good to help out our neighbors because we never know when we’re going to need their assistance,” he said.