The Halifax Elementary School Committee met on Monday, May 8. Chair Summer Schmaling pointed out that the Committee would be different when meeting next after the election. The Committee is not scheduled to meet again until their closeout meeting in July.
Superintendent Jill Proulx began her update by saying, “First, I’d like to thank our Chairperson Summer Schmaling for her years of dedication to Halifax Elementary Schools and Silver Lake Regional School District will certainly recognize you at our upcoming Silver Lake meeting as well. Summer has served our District and our School and has volunteered her time for the betterment of students throughout our community and we have enjoyed working with her and we are certainly going to miss her leadership and her dedication.” Schmaling said, “Well thank you for all of you, you’ve been a wonderful team to work for and with; it makes this role a lot easier and more enjoyable when you enjoy the people that you are working with.”
Schmaling opened the meeting to public participation. Silver Lake Regional School District’s Director of Human Resources Dave Turcotte spoke regarding increasing the step rate and corresponding wages for substitute custodians and substitute food services employees. The Committee voted unanimously to make the change.
Principal Kayne Beaudry told the Committee that they are looking to add a second DLC classroom (Developmental Learning Center). The current classroom serves the fourth grade who will be next year’s fifth grade. The proposed classroom will serve grades K-2 which has a current cohort of five. Schmaling said that she assumed that they would need teachers for the classroom. Administrator of Special Education Marie Grable explained, “To explain, in terms of the financing, Halifax is currently paying a tuition rate for those students to attend KES… and transportation.” Schmaling asked if the extra classroom was contingent upon them being able to fill the positions to staff the classroom. “The reality is, we’re in the same situation no matter which town the program resides in, so in other words, if our Halifax students remain in KES, we will need to hire another teacher at KES because the numbers are at a point right now, we’re it’s not sustainable. So, we’re either opening a third classroom at KES or opening an elementary classroom here, so either way we need to be hiring a teacher.” Grable clarified that it was one teacher and two paraprofessionals. She added that they would also like to add a 0.5 speech language therapist.
Committee member Lauren Laws asked, “Is there ever a crossover like can the specialists there help with the other students in the building if needed or if there is space?” Grable said, “Here, yes, absolutely, because it will be a Halifax program working with all Halifax students so absolutely this therapist and staff could work anywhere they were assigned which is not the case in Kingston because it is a Silver Lake program.” Schmaling asked if for this year it would be a cost savings to Halifax or if it would be a “wash-out.” Grable responded that for this year it would be a wash-out. Schmaling asked about the possibility of one of the classrooms absorbing the other in the future should the numbers change. Grable said they are required to follow a rule that does not allow for students with greater than a 48-month age difference to be together. The Committee did vote to approve the additional classroom.
Curriculum Coordinator Melissa Farrell attended the meeting to provide an update on the science curriculum. “The State is in a bit of flux with science in terms of how they are viewing it and they’re looking to update the MCAS and so it is time to move on from what we adopted… in the 2015/2016 time… because that curriculum is out of date, but we also don’t want to make any rash decisions.” She said that the interactive science lessons are being updated to a new version called Elevate Science. She also said that they planned to adopt Mystery Science of which she said it would “try and create more of a consistent guaranteed science experience for all of our students K-5.” Farrell also called it user friendly and said it would allow some flexibility for the teachers.
Farrell said that they are starting a transition in sixth grade that would move them more toward a phenomenon-based science curriculum that she said would better align with what is done at the Middle School. “We need any and every opportunity we can give our kids for accessing nonfiction texts and so using a digital resource is an easy way to do that. So, Newsela is a great resource. It’s dynamic, it updates, it adds more resource on a daily basis.” She said that it is easily searchable and that it identifies students’ reading levels and updates accordingly. She further said that it was a nice addition to Mystery Science which is more hands-on.
Halifax BOS stays at three
The annual Halifax Town Meeting was held on May 8. The petition articles, which can be brought forth by any resident attaining a total of 10 signatures, resulted in some of the heftiest discussion and debate of the night.
Article 23 was a petition article brought forth by Mary Gravinese to increase membership in the Board of Selectmen from three to five. Gravinese said, “I did this article on my own; I have spent a lot of time in the last year or so attending meetings, attending Selectmen’s meetings, watching them on video and I just don’t know that our Selectmen actually represent all of the residents of Halifax… I feel like there is a portion of us that may not be represented, so maybe if there were one or two more Selectmen there might be an overall look at the whole town and what we all want.” The Finance Committee did not recommend the article.
Selectmen Chair John Bruno said, “The Board of Selectmen do not recommend; the idea that the generally elected officials don’t represent certain sections of the town, I just can’t agree with.” He noted that the majority of the voting public voted for each of the three members of the Board of Selectmen as well as all other elected positions in town. Bruno said that Halifax has had three Selectmen since 1734. “It seems to have worked fairly well… the Selectmen don’t make all the decisions… it’s really the Town Meeting that makes the decisions,” Bruno said.
A resident asked the Finance Committee why they weren’t voting to recommend. They said that they didn’t feel there was an added benefit and also stated that there may be a financial cost associated with having more Selectmen. Resident and member of the Halifax Elementary School Committee Summer Schmaling spoke saying that the additional cost to the town was only $3,000. She further noted that most surrounding towns of similar size had a five-member board. Candace Kniffen spoke saying, “we have a history in this town that is not admirable where we have elections that are uncontested and more of the times when our Selectmen elections have taken place, they’ve been uncontested. It seems to me that if you feel unrepresented, you put up a candidate that will represent your interests and here we are this year with yet another uncontested Selectmen’s race. We have trouble getting volunteers.” Another resident said, “I don’t feel comfortable in this room, with this small group of people, voting to change the government in our town – I think that’s really risky.” Resident Amy L. Troup spoke saying that a reason to consider five Selectmen would be what happened over the summer when two Selectmen resigned leaving just one until a special election. Another resident said that what happened last year was a once in a lifetime event and the Town’s government should not be changed based on it. The article did not pass.
Article 24 was another petition article by Mary Gravinese to petition the Legislature to change the Town Clerk, the Treasurer/Collector and the Highway Surveyor to appointed rather than elected. The motion had to be amended per Town Counsel to make it legally viable. Current Highway Surveyor Steve Hayward said, “I’m against this article; I have six people – I have five employees that live in the town, and they care about the town. If we start having the Select people or whoever appoint these positions, they have total control. I answer to the taxpayers. They don’t like what I’m doing, they can vote no.” Gravinese responded, “This isn’t about people not caring about the town. The town has to start running like a business and in order to do that we need people that have education, experience, qualifications to do the jobs – they are no longer entry level,” she said. She further said that her child could become the Highway Surveyor because he is 18 and lives in the town. “We can’t have someone that just is popular that wants to put a sign up if anyone left,” Gravinese said. The article was defeated.
Article 25 was a petition article brought forth by Barbara Gaynor that would adopt Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 41, Section 97A, commonly known as the “strong chief” section, concerning Police Chiefs. Police Chief Joao Chaves spoke to the article. The article would give the Chief of Police greater jurisdiction over the Police Department. A resident spoke saying, “The Select Board appointed him as Chief to run the department; the Select Board’s job is to run the overall town, not have their hands in any individual department on daily operations; what this does is it lets Chief have complete control of his Department and set the policy as he sees necessary… so this is a great change as far as the management of the Police Department.” The Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee did not have a recommendation on this article. The article passed.
Article 1 was to hear and act on the reports of Town Officers and Committees and it passed. Bruno acknowledged the tumultuous year it was for the Board of Selectmen and credited Selectman Jonathan Selig and Town Accountant Sandra Nolan for stepping up during that time. Selig remained as the sole Selectman for a time while Nolan stepped in to be acting Town Administrator.
Article 2 amended the Wage and Personnel by-law to change the steps and corresponding salaries for certain positions in town that are under-compensated. It was recommended by both the Board of Selectmen and the Finance Committee. It passed unanimously. Article 3 determines the salaries for several elected positions. It also passed unanimously.
Article 4 was the operating budget. A resident asked for an explanation as to why the new Town Administrator is getting an $11,000 increase as well as why the Town Accountant would be receiving a $17,000 increase. Bruno said the increase for the Town Accountant actually had to do with money being set aside to assist in hiring a new Accountant as the current one will be retiring soon. Moderator Bert Gaynor went through each of the sections of the operating budget individually, grouping line items together. Everything passed including for the $14 million school budget.
Article 7 sought to appropriate $3 million for upgrades to the water treatment plant. Bruno said, “to meet this appropriation, the Treasurer, with the approval of the Selectmen, is authorized to borrow said amount… the amount authorized to be borrowed shall be reduced to the extent of any grants, gifts, or other funds received by the town to be used to pay the cost of this project.” It was recommended by the Finance Committee. The Water Superintendent said that the equipment in question is 40 years old and noted that they already have close to $1 million set aside toward this project. The article passed.
Regarding road maintenance in the Capital Plan, a resident asked for clarification as to the usage for the $300,000. Hayward said that this summer he would be able to use some of it for paving and “fixing up of the roads.” The Moderator asked the resident if that answered her question and she said, “Not fully, no.” She continued, “If you’ve driven around Ocean Ave, Lingen St., the numbered streets, they’re patching them, and I know you guys are doing your best and it’s not against that. It’s putting band-aids on broken legs. It’s ruining our cars, it’s ruining the police vehicles that we are paying to replace and maintain and I just want to make sure that our tax money is going toward things that really need to be done and not just roads that people that don’t live on the town drive on… do we have a plan for when we are going to do that?” Hayward said that just one mile on Plymouth St. cost $400,000. “And that was on a halfway decent road,” he said. “Out of all the 53 miles of road, we’re going to need millions of dollars; I could ask for a bond and nobody wants our taxes to go up… to fix the roads is money we don’t have,” Hayward explained.
There was also some discussion about new vehicles for the Fire Department. A resident said, “The town currently has three command vehicles, the Chief wants to upgrade one and get a new one for himself to the tune of $80,000 and we have a brand-new brush truck … I think the $80,000 is money we don’t need to spend on a new vehicle for the amount of times we have brush fires in the Town…” The Fire Chief said that the current vehicle he is driving was purchased with Covid funds from the State. He also said that some of these vehicles are used across other communities as well. “We do need a proper command vehicle and we do not have one setup at this time,” he said. The Fire Department costs were approved.
Regarding the Police Department costs, a resident asked Chief Chaves how often vehicles are replaced and was told every three years. Schmaling asked what would be done with the vehicles that are being replaced. Chaves said that they would be trading them in to offset the cost of the new vehicles. Residents requested that the article be amended to state that the cruisers would be traded in or auctioned before voting. The amendment did not pass though the overall Police costs were voted through.
Silver Lake Regional School Committee member Gordon Laws read that the SLRS Committee voted to amend Article 14 on the floor of Town Meeting due to increases in labor and equipment costs. Laws moved that the Town vote to amend the amount in Article 14 to $100,100 for the replacement of one rooftop unit. The units supply heat and air conditioning to the high school cafeteria and auditorium. The article previously read that the Town would vote to raise and appropriate or transfer from available funds the sum of $202,458.79 for the replacement of two roof top units at Silver Lake Regional High School. Laws explained, “the air conditioning units are 15-year units and we are at 19 years with those units which is why we were hoping to replace both of them. If they happen to go, it will constitute kind of an emergency for all three towns… the estimate for the two together came in far more than what we had hoped for which is why we are asking for the one.” He further explained that they chose the one over the cafeteria since if that one were to go, it would create unsafe working conditions for the staff in the kitchen. It passed unanimously.
Kingston gives Eversource OK
The Kingston Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, April 25. Chair Kimberley Emberg thanked everyone who came out and voted in the recent town election. “It is my pleasure to welcome the newest member of the Board of Selectmen, Eric Crone and congratulate Don Alcombright who was just re-elected to a three-year term,” Emberg said.
Given the recent election, the Board decided to deliberate on reorganization. They unanimously voted to renominate Emberg as Chair again. Alcombright was unanimously voted in as Vice Chair, and Sheila Vaughn was unanimously voted in as Clerk. “I just love note taking,” Vaughn joked.
“Thank you to everyone who participated in our third Annual Keep Kingston Clean event… I saw lots of cleanup efforts on William Gould Way, Captain Jones, Maple Street, Brightside Ave, all across the nook so thank you everyone that participated and thank you to our Highway Department,” Emberg said.
Emberg said that they had a recommendation from the Highway Superintendent regarding transfer station fees. He noted that it has been five years since sticker fees have been raised. He said that they are trying to get a new vendor as of July 1. With a new vendor will come a reduction in the fee for mattresses but items such as air conditioners and freezers that were previously free, will now come with a fee. “We are not making any additional dollars above what the vendor is charging us to dispose of it,” he explained.
A public hearing was held for Eversource per their request to allow for the installation of lines across a number of public roadways as part of the Carver/Kingston Reliability Project. A public hearing was previously held on February 14 which was continued onto February 28. The Board opened it up to any members of the public that wished to speak. A resident asked why they were meeting on it again. “It was debated, the Board voted, they didn’t get the answer they liked so they got to do it again… I guess I’m just looking for clarification on why we’re doing this whole thing again,” he said. Emberg said that she planned to ask Eversource the same question. Another resident read something from the Plymouth County of Deeds regarding the preservation of conservation lands. Emberg said that the Conservation Commission did vote on this project in 2021.
A resident said, “We haven’t been given any information at all, no numbers, no figures, no nothing – they could be pulling off a scam. It’s just an idea. But someone needs to look into this – someone other than people in this room who have no interest in this at all, probably the State and the federal government need to look at what they’re doing. This is a scam and it’s being overlooked here; I wish someone would take the time to do something.”
Town Treasurer Carl Pike spoke saying, “I’d just like to speak on behalf of the majority of people in Kingston who want to have electricity in this town; we want to have strong lines that will support the town during tough, difficult periods for electric generation. I’m also insulted by someone talking about a scam. Massachusetts has a Department of Public Utilities that all of your public utilities report to… it’s a heavily regulated industry and I believe that only in Kingston would we have people arguing against a power line.”
Emberg then opened it up to anyone from Eversource. Ryan Earle who is with Community Relations for Eversource spoke next. Regarding why they were back, Earle said they did file a petition with the State. “Our main goal is to work with municipalities at all cost… we’ve worked to try to alleviate some of those concerns… and to petition again for the nine street crossings that we came here for in the previous meetings as well as tonight.”
Selectman Tyler Bouchard noted discrepancies between conversations he had with Eversource and emails that he would receive back that in his words, “felt like they were written by an attorney.” He said, “As a public service utility company, I just feel like there is a piece missing. You know, with the poles and certain things and communication and not being totally forthright with those hearings that were two or three years ago. Unfortunately, we can’t go back and fix, but I hope, and I don’t have a lot of faith in this, what I would like to see is for the next hearing that comes up that the neighborhood be in good standing.” Emberg pointed out that the only thing they have jurisdiction over was the road crossings. Bouchard said, however, that he has changed his vote to allow them to cross the street based on having worked through many of the safety concerns that he had initially. “In that capacity, I feel reluctantly comfortable,” Bouchard concluded. The Board voted to approve the construction or erection of poles across Kingston’s public ways as stated in the public notice.
Emberg said that the Board had some appointments to make since there were resignations at the Library, a retirement in the Police Department, and a resignation in the Treasurer’s office for the Payroll Coordinator. Holly Iannucci was appointed to Head of Youth Services with the Kingston Public Library as of May 1. Tyler Potrykus was named as a permanent, full-time Civil Service Police Officer. Katelyn Drapeau was named as the new Payroll Coordinator. “Welcome, it’s very exciting,” Emberg said.
Following the retirement of Kingston’s Wastewater Superintendent, the Sewer Commissioners voted to appoint the current Sewer Foreman, David Walsh, as the next Superintendent. The Commissioners asked that the Selectmen approve the starting salary for Walsh at a Grade 4, Step 8 rate of $94,967. The Board voted unanimously to approve.
Assistant to the Town Administrator Patricia Tucker provided an update as Town Administrator Keith Hickey was absent. Regarding the open Health Agent position, Tucker said the Board of Health did interview two candidates. “One was very overwhelming – they all loved her, so they gave the Chair the authority to negotiate… they came up with an amount and agreed upon it so we’re hoping to get her signed on and to start the end of May,” Tucker told the Selectmen.
Before adjourning for the evening, Vaughn thanked the “500 people who came out and voted.” Emberg corrected her that it was over 600. Vaughn said that she would like to see the election moved to a different weekend and the assumption was that she meant so there would be greater participation.
Dennett makes safety a priority
The Dennett Elementary School Committee met on Monday, April 24. Chair of the School Committee Jon Wilhelmsen provided an update on school safety. “Since last June, the event that happened in Uvalde, Texas, we’ve actually been holding with the Police Department, the Fire Department, the Town Administrator and myself representing the School Committee, and of course Mr. Veneto and others, have been meeting to talk about school safety and making sure that we are doing everything we can with respect to both the physical building and trying to make sure that we have the appropriate plans in place; those meetings happen every month, every two months,” Wilhelmsen explained. He further said that a large drill was held at Silver Lake in April and noted that both the Plympton Police and Fire Departments were present. A training was held at the Dennett over winter break as well. Wilhelmsen said that upgrades were made to the building’s security including the front entryway which now has additional security. “We are constantly looking at that,” he explained. According to Wilhelmsen the Police Department has put a request on the warrant for Town Meeting to fund a full-time school resource officer at the Dennett. A member in the audience asked, “as you can tell, we are surrounded by glass… are there additional considerations that are going into as far as swapping that kind of stuff out to bulletproof glass or putting some kind of protective film on that that is bullet resistant?” Wilhelmsen, who said that he didn’t want to go into too much detail, said that they were.
Dennett Roof
Wilhelmsen said a study was done on the Dennett roof. Of the results, he said, “it wasn’t awesome.” Wilhelmsen told the Committee that a follow-up meeting will have to be held with Facilities Director Matt Durkee. “There Dennett Roof
Wilhelmsen said a study was done on the Dennett roof. Of the results, he said, “it wasn’t awesome.” Wilhelmsen told the Committee that a follow-up meeting will have to be held with Facilities Director Matt Durkee. “There were some spots where there is significant moisture in the installation but I want to understand, can we repair that and then utilize the additional roofing treatment or is it just something we are stuck with having to do a complete redo,” Wilhelmsen explained.
Dog Droppings on Dennett Fields
Wilhelmsen noted that sports were starting back up again outdoors and said that it was his understanding that nothing was better with respect to owners not picking up after their pets on the Dennett Fields. He said that signage had been put up and trash bags provided. Committee member Jason Fraser asked what next steps would be and Wilhelmsen said that talking to the Board of Selectmen about enforcement, whether it be an animal control officer or other method. Wilhelmsen also said that an idea might potentially be to explore a dedicated dog park in Plympton. Wilhelmsen noted that it is standard practice for dogs not to be allowed on town sports fields.
Playground
Director of Business Services Christine Healy said that she has had initial conversations regarding the next steps for the removal of the mulch and the installation of the rubberized surfacing. She said they need to figure out where to put the mulch. She also said that they are working on securing updated pricing.
Solar Project
Regarding the solar project, Wilhelmsen said, “the panels are up, the electrical connection is done, the inspection is done, now they’re waiting on the connection piece of that. I have some documents that I have received that I have to sign.”
School Choice Hearing
The Committee held a school choice hearing to decide if they would allow school choice at the Dennett next year. They unanimously voted not to allow it citing concerns over already large class sizes.
Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Working Group
Committee member Jason Fraser complimented Coordinator of Student Support Christine Marcolini on her efforts within the group. Marcolini said that they have looked at different models and what that would potentially look like at the Dennett. “We’re kind of at that point where we have a good framework of what we think this would look like at the Dennett… our vision is that we would be able to do some work over the summer and that would involve teachers, paras, specialists, so that we can really take a whole-school look at this and get together a model that is comprehensive… I did connect with a consultant,” Marcolini explained. Fraser said that ESSER funds were held back to be used for exactly this type of purpose.
Legislative Update
Fraser began, “So the House Ways and Means budget came out – ironically, Plympton, for schools, is down about $2,500 compared to the Governor’s budget which doesn’t typically happen but it’s all around the adjustments made for reimbursements for charter schools… After a student has been out of care for three years, 100 percent of our Chapter 70 funds goes towards that student; we’ve tried to balance out making it fair to the town and also making it fair to the school… so there’s constant readjustments to how much we’re being charged and how much the State reimburses us for.” He said that Representative Kathy LaNatra and her counterparts were debating the budget in the full House, noting there were still a number of steps for it go through before moving onto the Governor.
Principal’s Update
Principal Peter Veneto said that current enrollment stands at 241 students. He also said that on Good Friday, he received a call from Technology Director Steve Pellowe saying that water was coming from the water closet. “Upon further inspection, it was a lot of water… the issue was with the pressure relief valve,” Veneto told the Committee. ServePro was called in to dry everything out and eventually the dry wall was replaced. “Electricians and plumbers confirmed that things were running smoothly,” he said. Veneto said that the water issue was the same day as the power outage; he further said that no one could definitively say if the two things were connected. Veneto said that on a positive note there would be a number of fun events and field trips to come before the end of the school year.
Wilhelmsen’s Farewell
Fraser noted that it would be the final regular meeting for Wilhelmsen. “Appreciate over the eight years of you sitting in the Chair, the leadership that you’ve shown, and your presence is going to be deeply missed,” Fraser said. Wilhelmsen joked, “I was supposed to be gone three years ago.” He continued, “It has been a pleasure to do this, it’s been a pleasure to learn as much as I have with this and even though I won’t be sitting on this side, you’ll always have a supporter in the audience… I wish the Committee and the School and teachers and everything all the best of luck as you keep moving forward.”
Three multi-unit buildings proposed
The Halifax Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, April 25. A representative from Thorndike Development had an appointment with the Selectmen to provide an update on a proposed 55+ development. Founder and President Lloyd Geisinger reminded the Selectmen that approximately a month ago they came before them, “talking about an alternate plan for 255 and 266 Monponsett St. in which we were discussing the possibility of doing an over 55 community as well as working with the town to build a senior center on a portion of the property; since then we’ve put a plan together and we’ve met with Cody and Darlene [COA Director Darlene Regan].”
Geisinger turned things over to his partner David Eastridge who went over the plans with those in attendance. He said that the residential buildings would include two buildings on 265 and one building at 266. He further said that 265 Monponsett would be divided into two lots, one of which would be deeded to the town for a senior center. All the buildings would be three stories tall. One building has 30 units and the other two units will have 36 units. Eastridge explained that Town Meeting would need to vote in favor of over 55 becoming an approved use in a commercial district. The other approval needed would be for 265 to be zoned commercial.
A member of the audience asked if Thorndike Development would be paying for the senior center. Eastridge, who called the presentation that day “preliminary” said, “we are contributing toward the construction of that senior center substantially based on current discussions.”
Eastridge told those in the audience that they asked a fiscal impact expert to do an analysis of this project’s impact on Halifax. “The impacts to the town budget… are quite positive and the bottom line here, is he expects that this would have a net positive, after costs, of about $450,000 a year in real estate taxes,” Eastridge explained.
Another member asked if any of the dwellings would be deemed affordable housing and were told that they would not be. “Affordable units with senior housing is very challenging in Massachusetts… it’s very, very hard to find qualified individuals to purchase over- 55 affordable units,” Eastridge said. He further said that affordability is usually not age- restricted.
Requests for
Town Events
Isabella Rose of Generations met with the Selectmen regarding use of the Town Green for Fur Festival on June 4 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. She said that the fundraiser would be in support of the Council on Aging (COA). The charge will be $5 per dog. The Sheriff’s unit will be doing a K9 demo, there will be a costume parade, a blessing of the dogs by a pastor, and there will be dog ice cream available. The Selectmen approved the use of the Town Green.
A live entertainment permit request for Connecting Rods Cruise nights at Walmart on Friday evenings from May 5 to October 6 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. also came before the Board. Both the Police Departments and the Board of Health had previously approved it. The Selectmen voted unanimously to also approve the request. The Selectmen also voted to approve the VFW Field of Flags on the Town Green from May 13 to June 3. They also approved a live entertainment request for a Farmer’s Market for multiple dates from May to October from 10 am to 3 pm. Police and Fire had previously approved the request. “We like to see these things in town… such positive things, I wish we could just talk about those,” Chair John Bruno said of the many events throughout town seeking approval.
MBTA Action
Plan Update
Regarding the MBTA Action Plan, Bruno reminded everyone that a letter was sent several weeks earlier to Halifax’s various elected officials stating their disapproval of the need for the plan. “I do not like being told that we are somehow discriminatory because we won’t put 750 units in the Town of Halifax – that’s ridiculous,” Bruno said. Since that time, Halifax has not heard from anyone regarding the letter. The Selectmen voted to resend the letter this time as an email attachment.
Morse Brothers Complaints
“We are being inundated with emails and so on about Morse Brothers,” Bruno said. He noted that they have taken every single complaint seriously and have investigated them. “So far nothing has come of it,” he said before getting into specifics including a site inspection. “I have spoken with the Water Department, the Water Superintendent, and have asked them specifically does the thing that they’re doing there have anything to do with the wells over at Lingan St… and the answer is no,” Bruno said of a specific concern. He also said that there is no effect to the Lakes either. “It just doesn’t affect the water,” Bruno reiterated. Regarding brown water, Bruno said that they are working with DEP on a water filtration system to deal with too much magnesium in the water. “It’s got nothing to do with the Pond or anything going on with Morse Brothers,” Bruno explained.
Regarding traffic, Bruno said that Morse Brothers have been “quite cooperative” notifying the Selectmen and the Police about when truck traffic would be picking up. “The only complaint that we’ve gotten from the Police Department… the truck was going too slow,” Bruno said. He concluded saying that the public is welcome to continue to send complaints to the Board but noted that there “is just nothing there.” Selectman Jonathan Selig thanked Bruno for all his work investigating the complaints saying, “you’ve checked all the boxes.”
Town Meeting Recommendations
The Selectmen went over their recommendations for Town Meeting. There was some discussion regarding a petition article to increase the membership on the Board of Selectmen from three to five members. The resident that brought forth the article spoke saying that she was unaware of what the Selectmen believed or ran on and she felt that there was a large portion of Halifax residents who did not have their beliefs or views represented. “My own personal opinion… I think that after Town Meeting… we don’t have a charter, I know we talked about it years ago and it might be time to revisit the government structure here, whatever that might be,” Bruno said. He called Halifax’s town government “archaic.” The Selectmen agreed that they would not support the article.
Bruno also expressed concern over another article that wished to change positions like the Town Clerk and Highway Surveyor from elected to appointed. A member of the audience pointed out that despite the rigors of the job, the only requirement to be Town Clerk is that the person be a resident and at least 18 years old. Bruno pointed out that the requested changes would likely require legislation to enact. Town Accountant Sandra Nolan said, “I think that these are professional positions; they’re not positions that can easily be filled by someone that just walks off the street… I also think that we could put in a policy where you have a search committee and with the search committee, you use two or three people from the public that are not already in the town government, members at large… citizens at large.” Bruno said he agreed but added, “assuming this passed, it would be probably a year or two before it went into effect… but we would need to address our form of government.” Selig said he saw both sides of the argument and agreed with the idea of a search committee. Ultimately, the Selectmen decided to recommend the article.
Bruno revisited the Selectmen’s desire to hold meetings in various municipal buildings across the town including the Library, Council on Aging, etc. The intent was to showcase the different buildings on local access television and YouTube. Town Administrator Cody Haddad said that in his meetings with various department heads, they were excited for the opportunity. He said that a schedule would be worked out.
School Committee chops budget by $266K
The Kingston School Committee met on Monday, April 10. Superintendent Jill Proulx provided a budget update. She said that she, Christine Healy, Committee Chair Jeanne Coleman, and Committee member Mike Shekane met with the Finance Committee to discuss their request to reduce the budget by $300,000. Proulx said that they may be able to use ESSER funds to pay for the $60,000 required for furniture for additional classes at KES. She said they would also consider taking some of the technology items and moving them to ESSER. Proulx pointed out that if they take recurring costs out of the budget and move them to ESSER, there is likely to be a greater increase in the budget next year when they appear again. Since there were two placeholders for two out-of-district placements and only one was needed, there would be a $30,000 decrease there. Additionally, $10,000 from the Building Utilization Fund could be used to help offset the budget. These savings totaled $150,000.
Proulx pointed out that 80 percent of the budget is salary which is why they need to look at staffing for potential cuts. She said that the removal of a special education teacher would save $65,000. “There would be less scheduling flexibility for students who require co-teaching,” she said of the reduction. Proulx further said that $30,000 could be saved with the removal of a 0.4 music teacher. The third cut would be the full-time paraprofessional. Proulx said that this would mean that there would no longer be a full-time paraprofessional assigned to each classroom. These cuts would total $116,000. Proulx said that since this still lands them about $40,000 shy of the goal, they would then need to turn to cutting classroom teachers which would result in larger class sizes which was already noted as a problem.
There was discussion surrounding the fact that there were budgeted positions within the sub-separate programs that were unfilled and as a result money was being spent on contracted services. It was said that the positions were posted but unable to be filled. “What I’m hearing is if we were able to proceed with the adequate staffing in that program, you’re confident that we would have been able to keep some of those placements in,” Committee member Timothy Lewis said. He said that he was therefore hesitant to fill the behaviorist position and would prefer instead to fill the current vacancies. Grable said she agreed but noted the difficulty in filling the positions. “I would add that Mike [Bambery] brought to the table the amount of time that his adjustment counselor and his current behaviorist were dedicating themselves to the Silver Lake substantially separate program,” Proulx said. Bambery, Grable, and Proulx still advocated for the addition of the behaviorist position.
Lewis asked what could be done in the future to avoid large increases in the budget like what was being seen this year. “It was an unusual year in that we had a population increase in not only kindergarten but in Grade 1. The Committee has approved the addition of several positions which is adding to the increase in the budget. We’ve talked about the issues that are putting pressure on the special education budget; some of which were caused by the pressures of Covid, for example, transportation was increased because smaller transportation companies could not survive… we lost those competitive rates… I think there are some other drivers,” Proulx said. Healy said there was a 14 percent transportation increase. She said she hoped this year was not a precedent setting year.
Lewis made a motion that they reconsider their previously voted budget with the cuts as outlined by Proulx. Coleman said that she would not support a motion for a $300,000 cut since that would require an additional $44,000 being cut that had not been discussed. She said that she would entertain a motion to cut a total of $266,000 as discussed. Coleman said, “the data as well as the information is out there for any taxpayer who is questioning our budget.” She further said that as School Committee members she did believe it was their job to be at Town Meeting to answer any questions that members of the public may have. The updated budget represented a 10.4 percent increase, down from a 14 percent increase. The Committee voted to approve an elementary school operating budget of $10,239,747, a special education budget of $5,989,065, and an out-of-district vocational budget of $198,000.
Kingston Elementary School Principal Kerri Whipple provided an update. She said that they have been focusing on citizenship. Whipple said that they had their second visit, this time virtual, with author Beth Berry. The students are working with her on creating their own stories. Whipple noted that school pictures took place and due to an error, every student would be receiving a free class picture regardless of whether they ordered one. Whipple said that family surveys went out and that two concerns of note were class size and recess.
Kingston Intermediate School Principal Mike Bambery also provided an update. He said that the art mural event would be April 28. “We’re deep in MCAS… that’s our focus right now… the last day will be the twenty-sixth… things have been going very, very well,” Bambery said.
Fourth grade teacher Brette Blette provided an update for Teacher’s Corner. She said that MCAS testing was underway. “I know that myself included are very appreciative of the PTO donations to our classroom libraries from the book fair… a lot of the students were very excited to get new books,” Blette said. She noted that the grades that have not yet had their field trips were preparing for them. “Hopefully all of the sickness that many of the kids have had over the last few weeks will go out the window with those windows open as we head into the spring,” she told the Committee.
Director of Business Services Christine Healy also provided an update. She told the Committee that there was $300,000 in Circuit Breaker funds that will not be used this year that can be carried over for a reduction in the FY24 budget. They discussed the number of students in out-of-district special education at the K-6 level in Kingston and noted that they were up from a year ago. A Committee member asked if the addition of a behaviorist at Kingston Intermediate School could help keep some of those students in district and effectively save the district from the out-of-district costs. “When we get to the point where we get to an out-of-district placement, the kids, they aren’t accessing the curriculum and that’s the number one threshold for me,” Bambery said. He continued, “If we’ve tried everything possible and then the teacher says the kid is not accessing the curriculum regardless of what we do and what strategy we put in place, that’s when we look to move to an out-of-district placement.” Bambery said that to Administrator of Special Education Marie Grable’s credit, when she had the outside evaluators come in, they were not able to identify any strategies that had not been tried and concurred with the decision to move students.
Bruno argues against MBTA action plan
The Halifax Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, April 11. Selectman Chair John Bruno said he wanted to provide an update on the MBTA Action Plan. “Just to refresh our memories, the State, about two years ago, passed a law regarding what they call MBTA communities, which lucky for us we are one, where they are trying to force us to change our zoning to add a significant amount of multi-family housing. I don’t have any problem with multi-family housing, and I do think we need to add some to Halifax. What I do have a problem with is overreach of the State government on this project,” Bruno said. He further said that he had drafted a letter stating his opinion which he would like to see sent to State representatives and surrounding towns. He then proceeded to read the letter which can be found in the recording of the Selectmen’s meeting on Area 58. “Glad to sign it and send it along,” Selectman Jonathan Selig said. “I think the only way we can really address this, other than crossing our arms and refusing to do it, which is going to cause problems, is to bring our representatives in – that’s what their job is. Their job is not to show up on Facebook every other day saying I went to a Needle Scout ceremony, I just got appointed to this community or that community – their job is to look out for us and I think we need to put the heat on a little bit… it’s time that they did their work,” Bruno said.
Bruno said that Police Chief Joao Chaves, Highway Surveyor Steve Hayward, and Fred Corrigan with the Traffic Safety Committee were all in attendance to discuss changing the speed limits on Route 106. “You can’t just go changing speed limits, especially on 106 or any numbered road. We might take care of it, but it is still a State road, so you have to have studies done,” Hayward said. He further said that the change would be to make the speed limit 25 mph throughout all of Halifax unless otherwise posted. Corrigan argued using excerpts from State law that you do not need a survey done to change the speed limit.
Chaves said that it was brought up at Town Meeting a few years ago and voted down. “The issue with asking the State to do a study is they could actually tell us, your street is too low,” Chaves said. He further said that 85 percent of the vehicles that travel that road do so at an average speed of 41 mph when the posted speed limit is 35. Corrigan noted that Old Colony Planning Council (OCPC) does these studies without additional cost to the town. Selig said, “I know there have been residents that have been concerned where 106 is getting built up with businesses so I wouldn’t be opposed to slowing things down in that business area but we just have to be sure we aren’t opening up a can of worms with setting a town-wide speed limit so I would be for the OCPC recommendation.” Corrigan asked if anyone asked why the Traffic Safety Committee was formed and Bruno said, “I absolutely do” and referenced a pedestrian that was struck. The Selectmen agreed to contact OCPC.
Appointment to Zoning By-Law Review Committee
The Selectmen had an appointment with Jeremy Gillespie to discuss his appointment to the Zoning By-Law Review Committee. “I just see a lot of things in there that could be simplified and then things that need to be addressed,” Gillespie said. “I know… you’re a very passionate guy especially about environmental things in the town… you’d be open to, I guess, other takes on different issues and other ideas and working together to come to some sort of consensus?” Selig asked. Gillespie said “absolutely.” Resident Alan Dias spoke up saying, “I did send a letter to the Board suggesting that they not appoint Mr. Gillespie based on his Facebook posts, his anonymous complaints to DEP, Conservation Commission and I don’t know that that type of action would be helpful to the town.” A Conservation Commission member disputed the claims saying that Gillespie never files anonymous complaints. Bruno said that he doesn’t have a problem with someone being passionate and unafraid to tell the town when they are wrong. The Selectmen voted unanimously to appoint Gillespie.
50k for Park Commission and Youth and Recreation
Bruno said that there was an issue of $50,000 that needs to be allocated between the Park Commission and the Youth and Recreation Commission. At a previous Selectmen’s meeting, the Board had gone over Youth and Rec Director Dick Steele’s proposals for using a share of the funds. Steele said that they were looking to take care of some of the more costly items in their small budgets. He noted that they were looking for approximately $16,000. The Selectmen agreed to submit the Youth and Rec request for the $16,000 of earmarked funds while allowing the Park Commission to take another week to finalize their requests for the remaining $34,000.
Open Seat on Board of Registrars
Haddad told the Selectmen that there was an opening for the Republican seat on the Board of Registrars. He said that the Board of Registrars would submit three recommendations or nominations and then the Selectmen would select one for a three-year term. The Selectmen had a brief discussion regarding whether to choose Gordon C. Andrews or Summer Schmaling. “I know they’re both passionate Republicans and I think both would, for that capacity, be fine – splitting hairs,” Selectman Selig said. Bruno moved that they appoint Schmaling and they all agreed unanimously. “And that’s just because I had to pick one,” Bruno explained.
Morse Brothers Update
Haddad said, “they did notify us that they would be moving a second pile of dirt with two trucks – they would be avoiding the school bus schedule. We obviously have had various discussions with counsel and engineers, we brought in our Water Commissioners, Water Superintendent to make sure that there was no negative impact on the water. We’ve been assured by everyone involved that there is not and at this point, they are not digging anything further.”
Review of Town Meeting Articles
Haddad said that Town Meeting would be held at 6:30 p.m. on May 8. “It’s only an annual town meeting, we do not have a special town meeting,” he explained. He said that the election would be on Saturday, May 13 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Haddad reviewed the articles with the Selectmen. “Many of the articles are housekeeping, annual articles,” Haddad said. There were no significant changes to salaries of town employees. He did note that they are recommending a part-time Conservation Agent. “The Wetlands Protection Act and our bylaws are very diverse and they require a professional who really understands this. If we get a call for enforcement, we are really limited in who can go out and make that assessment,” Haddad said. He noted that it was a recommendation of the Conservation Commission. The town also wishes to add a Deputy Chief to the Police Department.
Regarding the schools’ budgets, Haddad said that overall, they are at a 2.9 percent increase, and the Elementary School is at a 5 percent increase. “We’ve had discussions with our schools to voice our concerns that we cannot continue to sustain large increases like this,” Haddad said. There was an article for $38,000 to support the School Resource Officer.
“We have a total operating budget of $28,113,913 for this year,” Haddad said. “One million more than last year,” Bruno said. Haddad noted that despite the large increase, the budget is mostly level-funded.
Some of the larger expenses from the Capital Plan article included a wield excavator for the Highway Department for $150,080, ADA Compliance projects for $500,000, town hall portico repairs for $50,000, library window replacements for $45,000, A fire command vehicle for the Fire Department for $80,000, and two police cruisers for $110,000.
Article 22 allows the Board of Selectmen to lease a landfill for the purposes of solar for up to 30 years. Article 23 is a petition article to increase the size of the Board of Selectmen from 3 to 5 members. Article 24 is an article to change the Town Clerk, Highway Surveyor, and Treasurer/Collector from elected to appointed. Bruno noted that he was not in favor of either Articles 23 or 24. “I don’t see how it gets any more efficient by increasing the size,” Bruno said of increasing the members on the Board of Selectmen.
Teachers voted 3% increase
The Plympton School Committee met on Monday, March 27. Dennett Elementary School Principal Peter Veneto provided an update. He said that current enrollment stands at 241 students. Veneto said that the School Psychologist Mrs. Jenkins had a baby boy in March. He also said that on March 16 the Dennett students performed at the All-Band District Concert. “This is something that did not even exist seven, eight months ago… they did a great job.” Veneto also said that they recently held their school talent show. He thanked Mrs. Hemple, Mrs. Hickey, Mrs. Sheehan, Mrs. Prario, and Mrs. Murphy for their work on the talent show. Veneto noted that there were a lot of school events upcoming with spring on the horizon. Those include Field Day, Future Laker Day, Ride Your Bike to School Day, and potentially a blood drive in June.
Veneto said, “The Fire Department came down to do lessons with all our students from kindergarten to Grade 6. They did a great job, and the kids really got a lot out of it: I witnessed some kids playing jeopardy games; I saw fifth and sixth grade kids actually putting on helmets and jackets and putting out a live fire.” He thanked Captain John Sjostedt.
Regarding contract negotiations, the Committee voted to approve the contract with the teachers for a three percent increase over the next three years. They also voted to approve the aides’ contract at a three percent increase over the next two years.
Committee member Jason Fraser spoke on behalf of two updated policies. “These are the policies that we spoke about a meeting or two ago… one on surveys being given to our students here at the Dennett and some of the polices and protocols we would like to see in place to ensure that parents have all due notice, both the fact that they are coming, the content of the questions, access to the questions, and contact people for opting-out and also the guidance office reaching out,” Fraser said. “The security policy has to do with who has access to our security cameras and under what situations,” he explained regarding the second policy. The Committee voted unanimously to accept the policies.
Fraser also touched on SEL (social and emotional learning). “The SEL working group is actually a mixture of School Committee, parents, administrators, and teachers working together to try and bring programming that is consistent within the school building to have consistent expectations within the building, consistent language from classroom-to-classroom K-6,” Fraser explained. “I appreciate being part of the group… I appreciate the teachers who volunteered to help with the early work, but this is really something that we’re going to have to wrap our arms around and really join as a community to make sure we are supporting our kids here,” Fraser said.
The Legislative report was given by Fraser who said that remote participation will be extended until March of 2025. “Extra dollars to make sure that the free school meals for all we hope to go through June 30,” Fraser explained. He continued, “Other than that, the House Ways and Means Committee has had some testimony delivered to them for some of the other items that we would like to see included in this year’s budget, but nothing has been reported out.” May 4 will be MASC (Massachusetts Association of School Committees) Day on the Hill. He said that people will be invited to hold meetings with their State representatives and State Senators.
Superintendent Jill Proulx told the Committee that Silver Lake Youth Cheer wished to have registration flyers sent home with students advertising the program. Proulx made it clear that despite their name, they are not affiliated with the school. Similarly, Silver Lake Hoops, which is a private program not affiliated with the schools either, also wished to have their flyers distributed in the schools. Proulx noted that the program has been running in the district for at least as long as she has been there. The Committee voted to approve.
Committee Chair Jon Wilhelmsen told the Committee that the school would have a warrant article at the upcoming town meeting for $30,000 to complete work on the three classroom floors that were requested. There will also be an article at the special town meeting to move $60,000 from out-of-district vocational and then another still undetermined amount to be transferred from regular day as there was some surplus there. They will also need another transfer from some other town source. “Just to clarify all of the transfers are for this year to supplement our special education line due to some changes in tuition and education that were not anticipated in last year’s budget,” Wilhelmsen explained.
Regarding the additional surfacing that needs to be laid on the playground. Director of Business Services Christine Healy said that they can use the Mass Higher Education Consortium to lay the surfacing. This would allow for it to be done as quickly as possible, ideally as soon as school wraps for the year.
Regarding solar panels, Wilhelmsen told the Committee that they likely noticed some paneling already on the building. “They’re moving fast with that; they’re moving forward in April,” he said. He noted that the town would be paying to have five or six different boxes that will be added to the building. They won’t all be able to be placed at ground level so siding will be removed from a section to put in a proper backer board. This would allow for siding to be replaced in the future without disrupting the board.
Wilhelmsen told the Committee that they had some equipment in the Dennett kitchen to be declared surplus. Nutrition Director Megan Ahrenholz asked that the Committee vote to approve declaring both the steamer and steam kettle as surplus as she has a grant to purchase updated equipment. “It’s important to note that… some of the equipment we are getting rid of has been here for 50 years so it’s definitely time for an upgrade and I’m sure it will have a significant impact on our electricity bill,” Wilhelmsen said.
Proulx said that the next meeting would be the school choice hearing which is held annually. The meeting will be on Monday, April 24.
Halifax votes down school choice
The Halifax School Committee met on Monday, April 3. They began the meeting with their annual school choice hearing. Committee Chair Summer Schmaling said, “school choice allows residents and students from other towns to choose Halifax Elementary as a school that they can send their child to even if they don’t live in our district.” No one from the public asked to speak during the hearing and there was no conversation amongst the Committee on the topic. Superintendent Jill Proulx said that the Committee would need to cite a reason for declining school choice. Schmaling said that she felt it would be a financial hardship to the town to accept school choice as well as the negative impact it could potentially have on class sizes. The Committee voted unanimously against school choice.
For correspondence, Schmaling said that Committee member Jim Keegan had submitted his letter of resignation with a year left on his term. “His position is open on the ballot in the spring,” Schmaling explained.
Updates were given for the standing committees including PTO. It was said that they are running an HES apparel fundraiser. Discussion was also had at the last PTO meeting surrounding the increased costs associated with busing for field trips. There was some talk of fundraising per grade rather than per pupil since some grades have significantly more students than others.
Principal Kayne Beaudry said that Grade 5 had MCAS for ELA the first week of April and Grades 4 and 6 the second week of April. Grade 3 will have their ELA MCAS the week after April vacation. Beaudry also said that they had a 70 percent response rate to the School Council survey. Schmaling asked what the survey included. “Every couple of years, we put together a survey that we send out to families and it’s about the climate in the building, the effectiveness of our staff, the relationships that we’re building here in the school; and it’s all designed around our strategy for district improvement at the building level,” Beaudry explained. Beaudry said that the book fair during conferences raised almost $15,000. He said that the PTO “generously bought a book for every student in kindergarten through fourth grade.”
Beaudry told the Committee that each year they send out a student placement feedback form for parents. He said that placement teams are starting up now before the end of the school year. “We don’t take teacher requests, but we look for some feedback in terms of how their child learns best or if there’s any particular friendships or any details that a placement team will know,” he explained.
Assistant Superintendent Ryan Lynch said he had an update on the elementary school team leadership meeting on March 16. He said that Beaudry and Assistant Principal Brian DeSantes shared their data on student growth with the other elementary school principals in the district. “They played a leadership role in our session by sharing their data… and the way in which they track student growth and achievement over the course of the year… they did a great job with the visual display… we thought that was great to share with all of our elementary principals because data analysis is a key part of student growth,” Lynch said. Lynch said that the assessment tools used include both DIBELS and Star Math and Star Reading. Beaudry said that the most useful data is typically from the spring scores to the fall ones as there is usually a dip over the summer.
Kingston school committee votes budget
The Kingston Elementary School Committee met on Monday, March 20. Town Treasurer Carl Pike asked to speak at the beginning of the meeting regarding the budget. He called himself a strong supporter of schools and school budgets over the last decade before saying that it was difficult for him to speak up regarding the preliminary budget and what it would do to the Town’s overall finances. He noted the $2.1 million increase this year saying that even with $600,000 removed due to increases in state aid, they were still at an increase of approximately $1.5 million. “What that does to the residents of the town of Kingston – we have about 4,500 residential parcels so that would equate to about $350 of a tax increase for every residential house in the town of Kingston for the next fiscal year.”
Pike also spoke about what the school’s increase would mean for the rest of the town. Pike said that the other town departments were challenged to stay around a 2 percent increase. “We have always strived to leave about a million dollars on the table; what that means is if I could tax the residents $40 million across the town, we try to only tax them $39 million so there’s a million on the table.” He said that with the school’s increase that wouldn’t be possible. He noted that this leaves the town in a dangerous position. He noted that the million dollars carrying over each year prevents a Prop 2.5 override. He encouraged the School Committee to reconsider their budget saying that he would have trouble supporting it as-is and said he suspects that the Finance Committee and Selectmen likely would also have difficulty supporting it.
Selectman Sheila Vaughn, who noted she is also the parent of an incoming kindergartener, thanked Pike but said it is very difficult to run a school and level-fund it. “We have schools… we need to be taking care of them… we’ve done more with the legislature to try to secure more funding,” Vaughn said. She said that cuts always come out of the regular day operating budget because it is difficult to cut from special education and out of district vocational. “We have parents and we have people who will support this,” she said.
Superintendent Jill Proulx shared version three of the budget with the Committee. She noted that Circuit Breaker was still estimated at 70 percent. “No cuts were made to this since the last time we met… regular day in this includes the addition of three classroom teachers, one kindergarten para, a 0.5 para, $60,000 in equipment, 0.4 music, and 0.4 art bringing it to a 9.53 percent increase. “Special education in this budget, we have added the paraprofessionals for the program, we have added the behaviorist… they show up in the form of tuition increases… so now special education is at 23.2 increase,” Proulx told the Committee. She said that there was some discussion about using free cash and carrying over some of Circuit Breaker into FY24. “We are very much open to that idea,” Proulx said. Committee member Tim Lewis said he was “absolutely passionate” about the three new classroom teachers and the special education educator.
There was some discussion about whether the behaviorist was necessary. Some Committee members argued that the time taken away from students while teachers dealt with these issues was immeasurable. Other Committee members felt that the data was not there to warrant the position. Kingston Intermediate School (KIS) Principal Mike Bambery said that the need was imminent due to the strain on other staff. Coleman spoke in favor of the behaviorist but questioned the need for a third classroom teacher. She did note, however, that she didn’t want to be put in the position they are in now where kindergarten parents are outraged about the large class sizes which are approaching 30.
Proulx said that in speaking with the Technology Director and the Curriculum Coordinator “we felt that we could absorb $19,000 for curriculum and $30,000 for technology because we felt we could move some of that into ESSSER.” The Committee also discussed reducing positions, such as music from 0.4 to 0.2., to save money. Proulx pointed out that it would be difficult to find someone to take over a 0.2 position. Coleman said that she was comfortable bringing the budget as-is to the Town Meeting floor. Lewis said that one hundred percent of the people at the public budget hearing supported the budget. Coleman said that she spoke to a mother of a kindergartener and a third grader who moved across the country sight unseen in part because of the Kingston’s schools. “I don’t want to lose that,” she said.
There was considerable conversation around the budgetary impacts of students who transfer into the district mid school year. Lewis asked, “Am I correct in saying that there is a law on the books that if a student moves into the district after a certain date than the previous district owns that bill; so when we talk about an extraordinary year because of move-ins, aren’t those move-ins being paid for by the previous district?” Administrator of Special Education Marie Grable said “Correct, there is an April 1 move-in law, so if there is someone who moves into our district after April 1 that we did not have a chance to budget for, then that district owns and assumes the tuition for the rest of the school year but there are other taxes.” If students moved-in earlier than April 1, the district still has to pay for them regardless of those students not being included in the approved budget.
The excess cost that was spoken of was $700,000. Grable said that the bulk of that came from students who turned 3, move-ins, and some out-of-district placements that were not foreseen. Grable explained that if students that move-in are private then the April 1 law applies. She continued, “if they are collaborative, then we look to see if we have some in-district program that can meet their needs, so we are not bound to the move-in law if we have a comparable program.” Grable said, “we received students that weren’t on an IEP that were challenging to place; I’m really toeing the line here.” Committee Chair Jeanne Coleman said, “I think the majority of the public might be able to connect some pieces with the timeline that we’re looking at… and now we’re fiscally responsible… and the State dropped the ball on providing appropriate funding.” While it was not explicitly stated, the implication was that the conversation centered around the 64 migrant children who were housed in a hotel in Kingston in October. Director of Business Services clarified that that situation only made up a small portion of the additional expenses.
After considerable conversation and debate, the Committee voted to approve a regular day operating budget of $10,410,747, a special education budget of $6,354,065, and an out of district vocational education budget of $228,000. Coleman noted that the increase was actually 8.6 percent.
The Committee listened to some changes to two policies that were previously discussed at the Halifax and Plympton School Committees. The first dealt with access to security footage from the schools. The changes allowed for more emergency services to access the footage in the event of an emergency. Previously, only Police were allowed but the changes allowed for both Dispatch and Fire and Rescue to also view them. The second policy was regarding the opt-out option for parents for student surveys. Parents have the option to opt-out of the social and emotional surveys being administered by the schools. The Committee voted to approve both policies.
During the Teacher’s Corner for the month of March it was said that the reading focus was Dr. Suess. It was noted that author, Beth Ferry, came to work with students and would be returning to work on creating their own books. The second grade participated in a March Madness book tournament where books went head-to-head until one was voted as the favorite. The first grade participated in a STEM project creating Leprechaun traps. After School programs led by KES teachers and being put on by Kingston Youth and Rec have been very successful.
KES Principal Kerri Whipple provided an update saying the focus of the past month has been curiosity. Whipple called Ferry’s visit a success and noted that they had positive feedback on the visit from many families especially those with students with special needs. Whipple said that the first-grade celebrated beach day where they studied marine animals. Whipple said that the program “germs alive” was incredible. “There’s a lot of events coming up; it’s our busy time of year,” she told the Committee.
Bambery also provided an update on recent goings on at KIS. He said that the infrastructure trials for MCAS have gone well. He said that the student/staff basketball game went wonderfully, selling the entire place out. “The kids just had a fantastic time; I had kids coming up to me harassing me because I didn’t call any fouls,” he said laughing. Bambery also said that the fifth grade would be going on a field trip and the sixth grade would be having a cyber-bullying presentation.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 36
- Next Page »