The Halifax Board of Selectmen also met with the Planning Board regarding real estate developments that had been started but the roads never completed – these included Sherwood Drive, Pasture Lane, and Delia Way. Planning Board member Amy L. Troup explained the issues and Steve Hayward handed out photos of Pasture Lane. “Those pictures there, the whole development, the town got part of the bond back but if you look at those pictures where they finished isn’t really finished. There’s some places where the sidewalk has like 2 to 3 inches where they never back-filled; the islands are a complete mess, I don’t know who is going to take care of those,” Hayward said. He did say that the drainage issue appeared to be fixed. Regarding strictly the drainage issue, Bruno said that having conferred with both the Planning Board and the Highway Surveyor, the consensus was that it was fixed.
Gordon Andrews said that he believed that the Planning Board was asking Selectmen to call the bond in so that they could finish the base coat. “The issue the residents are bringing up is the road isn’t completed – the developer hasn’t followed through so you need to call the bond in so the work can be done,” Andrews explained. Bruno said that the only complaint that has been brought to them was the drainage. Bruno did move that the Planning Board ask Town Counsel the right procedures to follow for calling the bond for the Sherwood Drive extension.
The Building Inspector spoke to the myriad of issues that the developer needs to fixon Pasture Lane. “He needs to repair any of the binder that is in disrepair… topcoat the road according to specifications… install sidewalks, loom and seed the area, clean out the detention basin… there’s a safety grate that needs to go on that basin… install bounds along the driveway,” Perry said. Bruno said, “I did drive that road, it’s a mess.”
Finally, they discussed issues with Delia Way. Bruno said that there was a collapse on that road that was fixed over the past weekend. Bruno read a letter from several residents on that street saying, “request appropriate action be taken to correct safety issues that are caused by deterioration on the metal plates on the five manholes which led to the collapse of one of the plates on December 31.” They also asked that the town expedite getting the road accepted formally. Hayward said that the problems were not limited to the manholes saying that the sidewalks were not wide enough among other issues. Hayward noted that they are stuck not being able to properly fix the issues saying, “we are not supposed to spend money on a non-accepted road.” Hayward did say they plow the unaccepted streets for safety reasons.
Delia Way resident Michael Chapin said he was walking his dog on Dec. 31 when he saw an 18 inch hole that had been created. Another resident noted the 18 inch hole is also 4-5 ft deep. “It’s a serious safety issue,” he told the Selectmen. “I’ll move that the Planning Board get in touch with Town Counsel to begin the process of foreclosing on the lot or selling it or whatever needs to be done to secure enough funds to finish that road,” Bruno said. Selectmen voted unanimously to move Bruno’s motion. Selig requested that photos of the holes be sent to the developer reminding them that they are still legally bound due to the bond, particularly if an emergency were to arise.
Raises voted for substitutes
The Halifax Elementary School Committee met on the evening of Tuesday, January 3. Chair Summer Schmaling began by opening things up for public participation. Kathleen Berry of Highland Circle began her remarks by thanking the School Committee for their time and dedication. She said she was there to speak on behalf of substitute and long-term substitute wages as she has been employed as both at Halifax Elementary. “Substitution teachers, they’re not babysitters,” she said stressing their myriad of responsibilities. Berry also said that special education suffers when a sub cannot be secured since a paraprofessional would normally need to step-in to fill the role. She said that after everything was taken into consideration, the positions end up receiving less than minimum wage.
Superintendent Jill Proulx said, “You may recall that last spring, I recommended that we consider changing the long-term sub rate to paying the long-term subs Bachelor Step 1 starting day 1 and to not wait the 21 days.” She continued, “Given the fact that we have had some difficulty attracting candidates for long-term sub positions, I’m asking the Committee to consider this change.” Committee member Lauren Laws suggested that people could be enticed to fill the positions if they were told that there was potential to be hired to a full-time open position. The administrators in the room pushed back on this idea explaining that there were issues from a budgetary and qualifications perspective. The Committee did vote to move the long-term sub rate to Bachelor Step 1 on day one of the position.
Proulx also addressed the rate for regular substitutes. “I believe we have, as Katie [Kathleen Berry] mentioned, an issue here with making sure that we are meeting minimum wage and we have proposed moving from $95 to $107… this would bring us to $16.07 per hour.” she told the Committee. Proulx also said that this same rate change was recently approved by the Plympton School Committee. It was explained that they wanted to make sure the rate was high enough to be competitive but not so high that it was more than what was being paid to permanent positions such as paraprofessionals. The Committee voted to increase the rate as proposed by Proulx.
A report of standing committees was given. For PTO, it was said that the last meeting mainly revolved around preparations for the mingle and jingle event. “It was great, we tried to incorporate several different religious holidays into the celebrations with crafts and decorations,” Karyn Townsend explained. She also said that the position of president was still open. Schmaling noted that Union 31 met in a joint meeting that included all the department heads. She noted that school start times were discussed briefly as was the school calendar.
Principal Kayne Beaudry provided a brief Principal’s report. He said he wanted to recognize that three babies had been born to school staff between December through January. He said that all are doing well. He also acknowledged the retirement of long-time teacher Linda Mullin.
Assistant Superintendent Ryan Lynch provided an update on the way the student survey would be utilized this year. “The purpose of surveying our students is to ensure we are meeting every student’s needs and also evaluate the progress of our social and emotional learning curriculum,” he explained. He said that parents would have the opportunity to opt out of having their student participate in the survey. Laws said that given “recent tragedies” she felt that these surveys were vital as they ask questions about feelings and whether students feel that they have someone to confide in about those feelings. “You just never know what goes on in someone’s head and I hope that students feel comfortable answering honestly,” she said.
Superintendent Jill Proulx provided an update saying that they had a training session with building administrators with an attorney regarding changes to student discipline under MA general laws. The changes include additional steps to be taken before a suspension is considered lawful. Exceptions include infractions that involve assault or weapons charges. Of the changes, Proulx said, “It’s part of a larger mental health concern and also recognizing when students drop out of school, they are more likely to become a problem in society and more likely to become in trouble with the law, so this is a way to force schools to think about alternatives to suspension.”
Proulx also shared with the Committee a preliminary budget presentation. “We always look at what our academic and developmental needs are for our students. We look at trying to maintain class sizes and the structures necessary for effective instruction… we also like to be mindful and considerate and respond to the fiscal conditions of the town,” Proulx said. She also told the Committee that they looked at what would be necessary to level fund services.
Proulx explained some assumptions that were built into the budget including estimating Circuit Breaker at 70 percent. The regular day preliminary budget represents an increase of 5.25 percent or an increase of $315,177. Special education, tuition, and transportation reflect a decrease of 4.27 percent. The total budget is an increase of 2.21 percent or $192,071 over last year’s budget. “That is to maintain our current programming and staffing,” Proulx told the Committee. She did note, however, that there were some additional staffing requests that Principal Beaudry would address.
Regarding enrollment, Beaudry said that he anticipates that number to decrease with the outgoing sixth grade class and the incoming kindergarten class. Beaudry noted that there was a 16 percent increase in custodial supplies and an 11 percent increase in building supplies. He also addressed proposed costs above the level service budget. Included in those costs is an instrumental music position which was also proposed last year. He said that Halifax Elementary is the only elementary school without an instrumental music program. “That puts Halifax students at a significant disadvantage when they get to the Middle School and High School,” Beaudry said. He said that through a grant last year, they were able to move the math interventionist position from a part-time to a full-time one. He noted that the grant funding would run out in 2024. Another requested position was a shared cost position of a second elementary level curriculum coordinator for the district. There were some building maintenance requests including updated flooring and air conditioning for the fifth and sixth grade classrooms upstairs.
“Currently we have five Halifax students who are receiving English language learner services and currently the way that we provide services because we have so few students who need these services, these services are provided by a Kingston English as a second language learner teacher… Halifax reimburses Kingston’s schools’ operating budget,” Proulx told the Committee. She said that the money comes out of the teaching line. She also said that while they anticipate the number will be similar in the coming year, it can be difficult to anticipate.
Regarding next steps for the second round of the budget, the Committee requested that administrators look into funding the full-time math interventionist position in the long-term. They also requested that the administrators list out the building improvements in order of priority. Schmaling thanked the administrative team for coming to them with a reasonable budget increase.
Proulx also presented the Committee with a calendar for the 2023 to 2024 school year. She said that barring any major number of snow days, the last day of school would be June 12. Townsend brought up a concern that the Chair of the Silver Lake Regional School Committee had regarding changing the names of certain days off or vacations to no longer reflect specific religious holidays, etc. Schmaling said that she was not interested in having that conversation. Townsend made a motion to update the calendar to change Good Friday to No School Day as well as to add the open houses to the calendar. The motion failed in a tie.
Trash training for Plympton
The Plympton Board of Selectmen met remotely on the evening of Jan. 9. Highway Superintendent Rob Firlotte was in attendance to provide an update on the Highway Department. He said that they had all the salt, sand, and equipment up and running for any inclement weather that may be forthcoming. “We are awaiting the first real snowstorm,” Firlotte said.
He also provided an update on the Pay as You Throw bag program saying that bags will be available by March 1 and enforcement will begin as of April 1. Traynor said that he would like to see large signs at the Transfer Station letting residents know the cost for items that go into the trash. Of residents, Firlotte said, “the more they can recycle, the better off they are.” Training sessions will be held in February where residents can see examples of real-life items that can and cannot be recycled.
One resident on the call asked what “yuck” was as laid out by the program and was told it was “pretty much food waste.” Firlotte explained that much of said food waste can be fed to animals or composted. Asked about coffee grinds specifically, Firlotte said they could be put outside. The resident pushed back a bit saying that most people wouldn’t be inclined to move their food waste outside in the winter. Selectmen Chair Christine Joy recommended a countertop composter which would allow food waste to be moved outside when convenient. She also offered that coffee grinds are good for hydrangeas. Joy acknowledged that she was not a particularly good recycler and said she was looking forward to learning more about what can be recycled during the training sessions. Firlotte said that he is always happy to answer any questions people have and that they should feel free to reach out to him at the Highway Department.
Firlotte said he met with Plympton Athletic Youth Sports (PAYS) to discuss the maintenance of various fields including those used for soccer and baseball. He said that a schedule was established to mow on Fridays. Firlotte told the Selectmen that the department is not equipped to do infield maintenance and that PAYS was planning to rely on volunteerism to get the job done. Selectman John Traynor asked what the department would need to be able to be able to maintain the infields. Firlotte said that he was currently pricing out a machine that would handle that, and a myriad of other tasks. He was estimating the cost to be around $60,000 and said that Chapter 90 funds may be able to be used. Traynor suggested the possibility of looking into grant funding that might also be available for such a use.
Firlotte said that one advantage of the machine is the many attachments that come with it. He told the Selectmen that they currently must borrow a sidewalk broom from Halifax noting it was “nice of them but still wear and tear on their machine.” The machine can be utilized year-round for snow removal, mowing, and other tasks. “We have the staffing to do this stuff around town so it would be nice to have the equipment to make it viable,” Firlotte said. Traynor said that the purchase of the machine should be brought into budget discussions.
The Selectmen voted to appoint Robert Orr as a full-time police officer per the recommendation of Police Chief Matthew Ahl. Orr was formerly employed as a full-time officer with the Rochester Police Department. Town Administrator Liz Dennehy noted that he came with excellent reviews saying he would be a great addition to the Plympton Police Department. “This is wonderful news,” Joy said.
Dennehy provided a Town Administrator’s update saying that she would soon be signing the contract for design services for the Old Townhouse roof project. The contract is with Habeeb & Associates and is in the amount of $45,000. Dennehy noted that the funding was already approved at the Special Town Meeting in November.
Dennehy also told the Selectmen that a request for use of the town’s roadways was made for the Best Buddies Bike Ride on June 3. The Police and Fire Chiefs were already aware of the date and the event. The Selectmen voted to allow it.
Dennehy also told the Selectmen that there was an update regarding the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds from the County. She explained, “we may have the opportunity to not be so limited in what we can apply for in terms of projects at the County level.”
In other updates, Dennehy said that she had received word from the Town Properties Committee that they should move forward with a piping system cleanout at the Townhouse and the Fire Station. She also said that they are in the process of closing out funding and projects under Green Communities. Included in those projects was new heating pumps at the library. Dennehy said that Library Director Mike Slawson has reported a cost savings since the installation.
Finally, Dennehy told the Selectmen that the Turkey Swamp purchase and sales agreement was not quite ready yet but said she anticipated having it by the next Selectmen’s meeting on January 23.
Selectman Mark Russo led off the raves for the past few weeks saying, “My rave is for the two swans and the great blue heron who seem to be wintering over at Two Brooks; it’s so beautiful there and it’s wonderful to be sharing this space with these two beautiful animals.” Joy said her rave was for Dennehy and the financial team who are working diligently to put budgets together.
When it came time for his turn, Traynor began, “I don’t know if it’s a rave.” He continued, “I’m happy after the holidays to be home and healthy with the family; it’s my time in life where we are losing friends and it’s kind of hard at times.” He referenced the recent passing of a few friends who he mentioned are younger than him. Joy said that her thoughts and prayers are with those who have recently lost family members.
Plympton selectmen meet
The Plympton Board of Selectmen met virtually on Monday, Dec. 19. The meeting got off to a late start following a lengthy Executive session.
Ethan Stiles of the Plympton Board of Assessors met with the Board of Selectmen for a tax classification hearing to decide whether to have a single or split rate. Stiles told the Selectmen that the Board of Assessors had voted not to recommend the split rate due to the small number of properties that would qualify. It was recommended that the Selectmen adopt a residential factor of one which means all four classifications of property get taxed at the same rate. The Board of Assessors also recommended against the residential exemption, the open space discount, and the small commercial exemption. Selectmen Chair Christine Joy asked if any members of the public wished to speak on the matter and no one came forward. The Selectmen voted unanimously to follow the Board of Assesors’ recommendations.
Town Administrator Liz Dennehy provided a very brief update saying that they had distributed the next fiscal year’s budget worksheets. She noted that they were working separately with the Police and Fire Departments as the process won’t work as well for those specific departments.
Asked if her fellow Selectmen had raves, Selectman John Traynor simply said, “Not tonight.” Selectman Mark Russo acknowledged that they had a difficult Executive session but said, “we are in a season of radiant sparkling light and I’m appreciative that there is that and a little bit of solace from the difficult situation.” “Happy holidays and peace and love as we move into 2023,” Joy said. The Selectmen then adjourned to return to Executive session.
State grants $100,000 to Halifax
The Halifax Board of Selectmen met at the Town Hall on Tuesday, Dec. 13. Selectmen Chair John Bruno said they received a letter from the Commonwealth saying that they were pleased to give an update on an economic development bill recently approved by the Legislature. The legislation would provide critical assistance for home heating, MBTA improvements, workforce development, and other economic needs. It also includes several local amendments from local legislators including Josh Cutler and Kathy LaNatra. Halifax is to receive $100,000 for upgrades and improvements to the Halifax Senior Center, $78,000 for Halifax public safety improvements, and $50,000 for Halifax recreation improvements. These funds are in addition to the regular State budget that includes $30,000 for the Holmes Public Library, $50,000 for the Halifax Council on Aging, and $125,000 for Monponsett Pond treatments.
The Selectmen dealt with an open meeting law complaint filed by a resident regarding the Nov. 22 meeting. Bruno said that the recommendation of the interim Town Administrator is to forward it to Town Counsel. The alleged violation has to do with details being left out of the meeting agenda.
Bruno said that they had a request from Veteran’s Agent Steve Littlefield to terminate the Memorial Day Committee and reinstitute it as the Halifax Veteran’s Services Council. “While the Memorial Day Committee has been great for Memorial Day itself, it leaves out many other opportunities for a group of citizens to help our veteran community throughout the year. I’ve had many people ask, “what can I do to help?” and I would like to put their desire to serve to good use,” Bruno read from a letter written by Littlefield. “It sounds like he really just wants to expand the responsibilities of the Committee and name it differently; I don’t think he’s trying to do away with the people who are serving on it,” Acting Town Administrator Sandy Nolan explained. Bruno said that they would address it at a later meeting.
The Selectmen met with representatives from J&J Motorsports. Owner Jake Sullivan was unable to attend due to being in the Police Academy, so his father Jay Sullivan was there in his stead. Nicholas Murphy also attended the meeting saying he was running the day-to-day operations while Sullivan is in the Academy. Bruno read a letter from the residents of Indian Path Rd. in which they said they attended the initial licensing hearing for J&J Motorsports which is located at 413 Plymouth St. “The license was granted for a maximum of 12 vehicles for sale outside at a time; there are always considerably more than 12 vehicles on the premises making it, one, difficult to see at times when merging onto busy 106 and, two, is constantly unsightly and unkept,” the letter read. It continued, “They seemed like nice kids at the time, and we wanted to support the business and town of Halifax; we would have spoken up in the meeting had we known this would be the case.” Murphy told the Selectmen that they currently only have 12 vehicles on the property. He explained that they just obtained a second lot where they were able to move the excess vehicles. Bruno asked Murphy and the elder Sullivan if they were able to rearrange the vehicles for a better sight line for residents.
Police Chief Joao Chaves met with the Selectmen about several issues including the assignment of the School Resource Officer. Chaves said that Officer Michelle McIntyre would be doing a dual role of the School Resource Officer and a Court Prosecutor. He further said that Officer Michael Schlieff injured his ankle during an arrest following a mental health call. The Selectmen approved the one-day injured on duty request for Schlieff.
The Selectmen also dealt with issues pertaining to both Pasture Lane and Sherwood Drive. Bruno explained, “At least on Pasture Lane it’s a development that doesn’t have the roads finished, usually that means there is only a base coat. The drainage isn’t correctly done… And all that kind of stuff and the people that live there and bought houses there are expecting the developer to fix that and they’re mad about that.” He said that the Planning Board used to just put a hold on one lot as a means of security to make sure that the developer did that. That specific lot has been sold to a developer. “I don’t think it really has anything to do with us,” Bruno said of the Selectmen’s purview over the matter. The issue on Sherwood Drive pertained to a drainage issue that Bruno described as the developer’s inability to follow-through. Bruno said that the best course of action might be to arrange a meeting with the Planning Board and “just hash this out.” He recommended getting advice from a land use lawyer. “The quicker I feel like we can get these two issues solved, the better,” Selectman Jonathan Selig said adding that snow was imminent.
The Selectmen met with Edward Gannon of Precision Wildlife regarding a proposal for ACO services. Chief Chaves said that the animal control officer (ACO) left back in August and that the response for new applications was “very minimal.” Chaves said that when the former ACO left she mentioned that East Bridgewater was looking into having a company take over the responsibilities. They did end up with that option and Chaves said that after speaking with East Bridgewater he was told that it was going well. Chaves said that after receiving the bid for Halifax, however, it was higher than what was given for East Bridgewater despite Halifax being a smaller community. “Mr. Gannon’s company provides vehicles, liability insurance – they just require any of our equipment that we still have available,” Chaves explained. “What’s great about his company is they also do bats and my guys are allergic to bats,” Chaves joked. Gannon spoke to the Board saying he has been providing services to East Bridgewater since March and noted that he comes from a wildlife background. Regarding the higher bid, Gannon said that East Bridgewater’s numbers would be getting higher soon as well. The Selectmen voted to have Town Counsel review the agreement with Precision Wildlife to provide ACO services.
Bruno told the Selectmen that he had a letter from the Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce. Bruno read, “I’m writing in hopes you can assist me with a letter of support, the Chamber in partnership with the Cape Cod Chamber is applying for a regional economic development organization grant as we have done each year for the last several years. Together, we will be working on a myriad of development initiatives and funding as needed to help us accomplish goals.” The letter continued, “Our regional economic development coordinators have requested that we obtain letters from the municipalities in which we serve.” The Selectmen agreed to table it until they could get a bit more information on the matter.
The Selectmen met with the Chair of the Finance Committee, Thomas Connolly. They set a date for the annual wage and personnel public hearing that needs to occur before the end of January. They voted to schedule the hearing for Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. The incoming Town Administrator will be on the job in time for the hearing. The Selectmen also unanimously approved the contract to make Cody Haddad the new Town Administrator.
Silver Lake Paras plead their case
The Silver Lake Regional School Committee met in-person on Thursday, Dec. 8. Committee Chair Paula Hatch led things off by opening the well-attended meeting for public participation. The first resident who asked to speak said she was currently from Plympton but formerly from Kingston and now has two students at the High School. She said that a little over a year after her son’s autism diagnosis, he entered the preschool in Kingston. “I was terrified that he wouldn’t get what he needed… every single year for 12 years now leading up to his next IEP meeting… I worry about getting him what he needs to be successful during the school day. This is where the paraprofessionals come in… they make it possible for students needing extra support to be successful – this is everything, everything to a parent,” she told the Committee. She said that while paraprofessionals aren’t the ones who write the IEPs, they are the ones that execute them. Regarding the shortage of paraprofessionals she said, “when a person cannot earn a living wage at their job, then they are forced to leave that job… we have to be better than this, we will lose good people.” She told the Committee that the paraprofessionals at Silver Lake are paid less money than her 17-year-old can earn at many retail jobs. The full house gave her rousing applause following the completion of her remarks.
“I don’t want anyone to think that this Committee has not tried to come up with a fair proposal for the paras. We’ve worked over a year trying to come up with a fair proposal and thought that we had found one,” Hatch said before noting that it failed during ratification. “We do, do research to see where the salaries currently fall,” she continued.
The next resident that spoke said she was a Laker herself and currently has three children in the school district, two of which she said have significant special needs. She said that she fought to bring her daughter back to the Middle School after an out-of-district placement. Her daughter was brought back to Silver Lake during the height of the 2020 pandemic she noted. “It was the paraprofessionals that offered so much extra support particularly during those Wednesday half days; teachers went above and beyond the contract,” she explained. She continued, “Then at the end of that year in June of 2021, the very last moments of that school year that we survived was a fundamental change to the way that our school system is structured and that is that they eliminated the CP2 leveling… so when I fought to bring her back to Silver Lake that was the model that I had in mind because I see how wonderful it works. She struggled so much last year.” She said that her daughter ended up out-of- district again but noted that she once again fought to bring her back to Silver Lake. “It is because of these para support professionals that my child is making progress, significant gains. I couldn’t be more pleased. And I find it absolutely insulting that there is this discussion that we are not giving them a living wage and I also find it insulting to insinuate that the people in here do not understand how budgets work,” she told the Committee. Before closing she said, “I want to reiterate the point that if we do not find the pennies to give these paras what they need then there will be more students who need out-of- district placements… moreover we are losing to charter schools.”
President of the Silver Lake Education Association Jon Lay spoke next calling some of Hatch’s statements misleading. “We brought an analysis to the School Committee that showed conclusively that Silver Lake is underpaying our paraprofessionals compared to the local districts.” Lay said that if Hatch had information that contradicted that, he said he would like to see it. He further said he hoped it included health insurance as he said it was a very big part of it. “Even if we may be the average, and we don’t think that we are, it doesn’t change the fact that paras can go to other districts today and get paid more on day one,” he told the Committee. Hatch spoke up and said, “there’s one thing I don’t do, I don’t lie.” She continued, “we make decisions based on data and research.” Later in the meeting, Lay did clarify that he did not believe that the School Committee or any of its members were lying.
Other residents wanted to speak but Hatch said she was limiting the public participation portion to just 15 minutes as she stated at the outset. After objections from those in attendance, Hatch agreed to give two more people a chance to make comments asking them to be “concise.” Someone asked about the negotiations process and the SLEA’s hard position. Lay said that the Committee is looking to resort to fact finding where an impartial third party would be brought in to make a recommendation for resolution. Of their original request, Lay said, “we had been asking for four percent… at one point in the process we had been asking for vacation days – five paid vacation days because right now they don’t get any.” “The initial offer totaled a half a million dollars,” Hatch added.
Plympton resident, Janeen Orcutt, spoke last. She said she taught in Halifax for 31 years before retiring. “I know as a teacher the importance of a para in my classroom for an inclusion classroom for every student there … and I think that when you say that the pay isn’t there, that it is comparable … two of my best paras left the system and went to another system where they’re getting paid for vacation, they’re getting paid for sick time and they got a raise in their pay… you’re going to lose good people,” she said. She concluded saying, “I never speak at meetings. This is so out of my wheelhouse, but I’m so hurt by the School Committee from a system that my kids went to, a system that my kids work in, to see we don’t take care of our paras. It’s shameful.” She also noted that many of the paras hold bachelor’s degrees or higher. She was also met with rousing applause.
Silver Lake Regional Principal Michaela Gill was unable to attend the meeting so Middle School Principal Becky Couet provided the Principal’s Report. She said that over half of the students were on honor roll during the first term. She also said that the Middle School production of Aladdin was that weekend and described it as “amazing.”
Assistant Superintendent Ryan Lynch also provided an update saying, “On Nov. 8, staff met by department to have collaborative time to design curriculum units… there are four professional development days over the course of the school year.” Superintendent Jill Proulx began her update by saying that there was a change to Massachusetts State law that added more steps that must be taken prior to suspension of students. She said that the administration team participated in a legal training pertaining to the change. Proulx said that the exemptions from the change include assault, possession of weapons, or the distribution of controlled substances. Committee member Jason Fraser noted that the change was an attempt to “try and stem the school to prison pipeline… a lot of the zero tolerance policies that were enacted in the 1990’s were suspending kids for non-violent infractions, non-drug related infractions. The more often a child becomes suspended from school, the higher likelihood that they are going to become court-involved and a larger portion of them incarcerated at some point in their lives.”
Proulx was asked about the influx of students coming into the district following the placement of migrant families in Kingston hotels in late October. She said the High School has two new students and the Middle School has three new students. Proulx said they were contacted by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education who said they may become eligible for a grant for up to $1,000 per student. “Sadly, it shouldn’t be a grant, the money should just follow where the students were brought into… there shouldn’t be any application process, there shouldn’t be any heavy lifting or light lifting on our shoulders,” Hatch said.
A report was given for each of the standing committees. Fraser provided the update for Administrative Review saying he would be reaching out to Proulx to start informal discussions for the Superintendent’s Review. Lukasz Kowalski gave the update for CTE saying that they have 22 students enrolled in a program where they work outside. He also said that the carpentry students built bookcases for the children’s room at the Plympton Library, trail kiosks for Kingston’s Conservation Department, picnic tables and a storage building for the Kingston Recreation Department, sandwich boards for the Kingston Garden Club, and storage boxes and picnic tables for the Pembroke Library. Kowalski also asked for the support of the Committee in opening a new CTE program in the school for IT. The Committee voted unanimously to support the motion. Proulx clarified that the soonest the new program could be rolled out would be FY 2025.
Fraser provided the Legislative Agent’s Report. “So, we had the gubernatorial election this year which means that the first version of the State budget could be delayed until early February. It will be House One this year as we are also entering into a new two-year legislative cycle so all bills that weren’t passed during the last legislative cycle have been referred to Committee… so currently there’s a blank slate. A slew of bills will be filed on January 3 when the next legislature is sworn in and takes their seats… so I’m currently guiding our State Representatives and Senators as to what bills they should be re-filing or supporting if they come back onto the table that would support our mission here at Silver Lake,” Fraser told the Committee. He also said that they had unanimous support from the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) for their Regional School Assessment Stabilization Fund which would be under Chapter 40 and controlled by the town. “It would give a vehicle for municipalities in years where their assessment is lower than normal to put some of those dollars away for years where they might be hit with a higher assessment,” Fraser explained.
Fraser also provided the update for SAFER. “We had a successful tri-town meeting… we went over the Capital Plan for next year… our Capital Plan for FY24 is at $1.5 million and typically our Capital Plan, over the past 8 years or so, has hovered somewhere between $500,000 and $800,000.” He said that HVAC units for the High School as well as roof improvements account for over a half million dollars. Fraser also said that there was also $250,000 included to conduct survey work for turf fields or an athletic complex.
Plympton ground water bylaws under review
The Plympton Board of Selectmen met virtually on Monday, Dec.5. Chair of the Bylaw Review Committee Alan Wheelock appeared before the Board to review what the Committee has been working on as of late. He told the Selectmen that the town bylaws are now fully digitized. He said that they are accessible and “very searchable.” “I think it was a major step forward,” Wheelock said. “Kudos for the codification; it really changes the whole dynamic where any citizen can get their hands on any piece of information rather than hearsay… maybe we need to do a little bit better job of reminding our citizens that the information is there on the website,” Selectman Mark Russo said.
Wheelock next addressed what he said has been the major ongoing project of the Committee. He said that the Committee has been reviewing the groundwater overlay water protection district for the town. “We do have one,” Wheelock said. He elaborated saying, “I’ve never heard about it, and I’ve lived here for almost 50 years… it makes me wonder who has been watching it.”
Wheelock said that in reviewing the water protection district, the Committee spoke to three comparable towns who are all also fully dependent on well water. Those towns were Northfield, Rehoboth, and Rochester. Regarding Plympton, Wheelock said, “We have 1,000 households and every single one of those households is totally dependent on wells.” Of any necessary updates, Wheelock said, “We will take the rest of the winter to develop a recommendation for spring town meeting.” He said that the recommendation would most likely be to retain the existing bylaw with the three zones. Wheelock added, “we’re going to try and strengthen it and modernize it.”
Regarding the importance of the bylaw, Wheelock said that it provides more detail into potential ground pollution that can occur. He said that if an entity were to embark on a project that could potentially pollute the aquifer, they would need to appear before the Planning Board who would enforce the bylaw. He noted that in the past, there was a pollution of the aquifer that happened due to waste from the Middleborough dump. “We believe this is an important service to the town and we’re going to do our absolute best to make sure we bring a high-quality product to town meeting,” Wheelock said in closing.
Selectman John Traynor said he believes cranberry growers and certain businesses in town should have a say in the bylaw. “I want to make sure their voices are heard,” he told Wheelock. Wheelock assured him that they are taking the whole winter to work on it in order to make sure that they confer with all the necessary parties.
Town Administrator Liz Dennehy provided a brief update. She said that Plympton has received the $25,800 in grant funding from Community Compact. She also said that the budget process is underway.
Per tradition, the Selectmen ended the meeting with their raves for the last few weeks. Traynor said he had several raves noting, “there just seems to be a lot going on now that it’s holiday season.” The Plympton Police and Fire Departments prepared and served Thanksgiving meals for senior citizens at the Upland Club in November. He noted that State Senator Susan Moran attended the event. Traynor said he attended the Thanksgiving Feast at Dennett Elementary School with fellow Selectman Mark Russo. Regarding the event, Traynor said, “It’s fabulous – best event of the year… great to see the kids.” He also gave a rave for a local Daisy Troop who performed some Christmas caroling recently.
Russo said he had a couple of raves related to special town meeting. “Really impressed with the turnout… on a really stormy night,” he said. “The second portion of that is the unanimous vote to authorize the Turkey Swamp… it really speaks to the fundamental value all of us in this town really share for open space,” Russo said. Joy piggy-backed on Russo’s rave for the acquisition of Turkey Swamp, calling it a “labor of love” for all the groups that worked so hard to make it come to fruition. Joy provided a second rave for the Selectmen Assistant Bri Martins for all the work she puts into making sure all of the various licenses are ready for approval by the Selectmen.
Two FinCom vacancies filled
The Halifax Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, Nov. 22.
The Board also met with members of the Finance Committee for the appointment of two vacancies on the Committee. Both open terms expire in 2025. Frank Johnston told Selectmen that he was recently retired and had been attending meetings of various towns and committees to figure out what would be a good fit for him. He said that he spent 44 years managing a large environmental firm which familiarized him with bidding, contracts, operating budgets, labor, etc.
Jim Walters went before the Board next and told them that he and his wife moved from New Jersey two years ago. He said that he wanted to help after what happened with the resignations of the two Selectmen. He said that he checked a lot of boxes on the Talent Bank Form. Walters said he is the Director of Programs for State and Local Government for a cloud computing company and has extensive experience writing grants. The Selectmen voted to appoint both Johnston and Walters to the vacancies on the Finance Committee.
Chair John Bruno said they had received correspondence from the treasurer of the Halifax Mobile Home Estates. Bruno summarized the letter saying that for many years, the Mobile Home Estates had been fully occupied at 430 homes, however, that as of December of 2021 one of the homes was demolished in a house fire. They asked for the necessary changes to be made to the fees paid to the town.
Bruno requested of the other Selectmen that on one of the off Tuesdays per month, they establish Selectmen’s office hours where residents can come and discuss any concerns that they may have. The first Tuesday of every month was decided upon from the hours of 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and the third Tuesday of the month from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.. The first hour will be on Dec.6.
The Selectmen dealt with several recycling abatement requests including one for a home where a resident had passed away and the son didn’t realize he had to request an abatement. In the aforementioned case, the Selectmen voted in favor of abatement.
The Selectmen had an appointment with Steve Littlefield, who is the acting Veteran’s Agent. “He is now looking to fill the vacancy on a permanent basis; he has done a wonderful job on the Veteran’s ceremony,” Acting Town Administrator and Town Treasurer Sandy Nolan said. Littlefield was previously the Assistant Veteran’s Agent. Littlefield noted that he will soon be stepping down from active military service. The Selectmen voted unanimously to appoint him through June 30, 2023.
The Selectmen also met with Susan Hill, the Vice Chair of the Halifax Fireworks Committee. “We have decided to forgo our craft fair in December because of a lack of vendors,” Hill said. Hill said that they had been approached by someone requesting to be a multi-year sponsor of the fireworks display. She said they are considering doing a craft fair in the spring.
Council on Aging Director Darlene Regan met with the Selectmen as well regarding a few issues. Nolan said that Regan was hoping to hire a van driver at Step 4 rather than Step 1 due to the qualifications of the particular driver. Regan explained that they had lost drivers in the past due to the salary range. Regan said that the driver in question is GATRA qualified. The Board voted to hire the driver at Grade 2, Step 4.
Regan also requested that the receptionist title be changed to administrative assistant calling the former title “antiquated.” She also said that administrative assistant better suited the tasks being fulfilled by the role. Selig said if it was just a name change, then he saw no harm in it. His concern was if there was a grade change associated with the title change. The Selectmen passed a motion to change the job title name from receptionist to administrative associate. Regan also said that the Outreach Coordinator position is not truly defined as clearly as it should be, based on the community’s needs. She told the Selectmen that she rewrote the job description as Human Resource Service and Case Worker. Bruno asked if they could hire for a position that doesn’t exist yet in the bylaw. Nolan said she would need to propose the position to the Wage and Personnel at the public hearing in January and then it would need to be voted upon at town meeting. Bruno asked if he could take it under advisement so that he could gather more information before deciding.
The Selectmen also had an appointment with Municipal Environmental Law Attorney Richard Hucksam regarding a proposed condominium complex of 200 units on 25 acres. Hucksam, who is representing the town, said that Mass Housing wants the town to submit comments on the project. “At this point, in my view, the very best thing we can do is get from the various town boards and officials all the comments that we can about the project,” Hucksam said. Bruno asked if those contained abutter comments and was told that this was really for town officials to submit. Hucksam said that they would have a problem not going through the 40B process. Chapter 40B Housing is a Massachusetts program that enables developers to overrule local zoning bylaws in order to increase the number of affordable homes in certain municipalities. “Does our ZBA not have as much bargaining power because it is a 40B?” Selig asked. “In one sense it has less bargaining power because if you’re just dealing with zoning bylaw, it has criteria that have to be satisfied and that’s it unless there’s a variance granted and the variance standard is very strict under Mass law,” Hucksam said. He continued saying that 40B pits the local concerns against the need for affordable housing. “They’re going to be balanced against each other and that’s where the more the town can establish that there are real issues… during the hearing process the better position its in to have some kind of control over what the project ends up being,” he explained.
There was a conversation on the Building Inspector certification. “I’ll say that we have received several letters relating to this issue, I’m not going to read them all because some of them go on for four pages, but they will be part of our public record,” Bruno said. Bruno summarized the issue saying that they don’t have complete certification for the Building Inspector. “We’ve had a couple of concerned residents reach out wanting to point out to the Board that our Building Inspector had not received all of his… certifications yet. I spoke to Mr. Perry, our Building Inspector and he told me that it is in the works,” Selig said. He further said that they have on record an extension request from the Building Inspector. He said that the State would rule on the extension of time request. Bruno asked James Perry how close he was to being certified and was told that he needs to complete a fire test. Perry confirmed that taking that test would be enough to certify him as a local Building Inspector. He would need three more sets of tests to become Building Commissioner. Perry said they do have a Commissioner out of Bridgewater who signs certificates of occupancy alongside Perry. Perry said, “just for the record, my predecessor also received an extension of time.”
Bruno said that they received an email of a donation of land at 0 Hill St. to the town. “Maybe we can find a use for it someday,” Bruno said. The Board said they were in favor of adopting the small land parcel pending it passing at town meeting.
Selig provided an update on the Holidays in Halifax planning saying that traditionally it is the second Saturday in December. The plan is to have the event from roughly 4 pm to 8 pm on December 10. He said that there would be an ice sculpture, hayrides, Silver Lake carolers, and food trucks. There will also be balloon animals, jumpy houses, and Santa.
The Selectmen also dealt with a complaint of an open meeting law violation at one of the Selectmen meetings that were run when just Selig was at the helm on October 25. The complaint stated that he accepted meeting minutes from the October 11 meeting without a quorum. Town Counsel recommended that the two new Selectmen watch the recording of the meeting and then approve the meeting minutes.
Halifax Town Administrator interviews
Halifax Selectmen select Haddad as next TA
Halifax hired Bernie Lynch of Community Paradigm Associates to find and vet candidates for the open Town Administrator position. A screening committee was also created that included the Town Accountant Sandy Nolan, the Town Clerk Sue Lawless, both the Fire and Police Chiefs, and three citizens-at- large. “We had those folks act as our first pass through with the help of Bernie as well,” Selectman Jonathan Selig explained during the Board of Selectmen meeting on Friday, Nov. 18.
Selectmen John Bruno and Naja Nessralla joined Selig and Lynch to interview the three finalists.
Edward Swartz was the first candidate to be interviewed. Swartz said that at 27 he was elected as a City Councilor for Taunton. “It was instilled in me, at a young age, to get involved,” he explained. He said that he moved to Dighton in 2000 when his children were young. “In Dighton, for 17 years, while I was the Chairman of the Finance Committee, we didn’t have a Town Administrator, so I acted as a quasi-Town Administrator,” Swartz said. He said he is very loyal having spent a decade or more with a few of the companies he has worked for, having been at the most recent one for the last 17 years. “I live by a motto of always look at what we can do, not what we can’t do,” Swartz told the Selectmen.
“I find, and I found it in Dighton all the time, the towns underutilize their opportunities of what they can get from their State legislators because they just don’t know how to proceed with it and they control a lot of what goes on with the grants,” Swartz said. Swartz also said that he is all about community involvement. “I love events, we have tree lighting ceremonies I always attend… doesn’t matter what parade,” he said. He also said that he is a runner and is involved in a running group out of Abington. “Going to events, getting to know people, that’s who I am,” he said.
Asked about how he would handle criticism, Swartz said, “When you put yourself out there as an elected official… whether it was in 1995, 2015, or here in 2022, the only thing is people are a little more vocal about it now and we have social media… you don’t get yourself into social media wars… I’m going to look you in the eye and we’re going to have a conversation.” Swartz added that he sees social media as a tool to relay factual information about what is going on in the town.
The Selectmen told Swartz that one of the roles fulfilled by the previous Town Administrator was Chief Procurement Officer which they noted required some schooling. Swartz said, “I took the first class… and I have plans to take the next one.”
Selig asked Swartz how he intended to maintain the small town feel of Halifax while also keeping growth in mind. “In order to keep the balance between residential and commercial taxes, you have to involve growth, you have to find a way to bring the right commercial into town in the right locations,” he answered.
Cody Haddad, the current Assistant Town Administrator in Dartmouth, was next to interview. He said that prior to that he was the Director of Development and Grants. “I’m ready to make the step to be a Town Administrator. It’s important for me to find a good fit; not just for me to be a good fit but also for the community to find me a good fit,” Haddad explained. He continued, “When I look at Halifax and I look at some of the projects you have upcoming, I think this is somewhere I can come in and be very successful.” He referenced the recent instability in Halifax and said that he feels that Halifax is the kind of place where he could put his roots down and stay for twenty plus years.
Haddad noted that he oversees affordable housing in Dartmouth and said that he helped to improve the Capital Improvement Plan there as well. He said that were he to be hired in Halifax, he would look to update the Master Plan. Regarding the Master Plan he said you need a “tool of some sort where you rank the items and say these are the items that we’re going to pursue. Not because we think the Highway Department is more important than the Police Department or anything along those lines, but this is where they rank, and we have a process… so the items get funded.” He also said, “I view it really as a strategic plan for the town… it sets the goals, the guidelines for how departments should work. Select Board goals is another important strategic plan based off of that. Your compensation and classification study is something that needs to be done,” Haddad said. He said he would also focus on recruitment and retainment of staff, noting that he recognizes that the town is limited in what they can pay.
Haddad was asked about his grant experience which he described as “quite extensive.” He said, “When I came in the town would average, on a good year, a million dollars in grants. Since I’ve overseen the grants in the town, 3 million is what we’re averaging and that’s completely me.”
“My management style is very open door,” Haddad said. He continued, “I’ve been very successful in Dartmouth of creating that atmosphere where staff and department heads have issues, I’m the one that they come to… they come to me with issues and we’re able to talk through them… I’m a big collaborator so I think teams on almost everything is very important.”
Haddad said that better communication with residents is vital. He said that in Dartmouth he launched a separate website that he referred to as “an engagement portal.” He explained, “It was an opportunity for the public to engage with the town. We would post updates on projects… it was a place you could go and still can go to get factual information about things going on in the town. What happens, lots of times, is misinformation gets out there and then that’s it once it gets out there, it’s really hard to control.” He said that there was a spot on the website called “what the fact” where people could post questions about things in town and himself or the Town Administrator would respond within 48 hours. “One of the things I like to say is if I don’t know the answer, I’ll get you an answer,” Haddad said.
Asked about his experience with collective bargaining he said, “I’ve really been involved with collective bargaining entirely from doing research in other communities, looking at contracts, costing out contracts – that’s one really crucial thing that you have to do before you even bargain. Looking at what the town can the town can afford, first… so we don’t get in a bad position where we offer something and then the town isn’t financially in a good spot…. I’ve actually been at the table leading negotiations with the unions – we have 11 unions in Dartmouth.”
Rebecca Meekins was the final applicant to appear before the Board. “I grew up with a mother who served as town councilor for the community that I grew up in in Vermont. So, it’s sort of always been in me… I like to say that I was born with the public servant gene,” Meekins said. “This is the career that I intend to pursue until I’m done,” she continued. Meekins said that she has served as the Assistant Town Administrator in Grafton and currently serves as the Assistant Town Administrator in Northborough. She said that her time in Grafton was largely finance based saying she was responsible for putting together the annual operating budget as well as the five-year capital plan.
Regarding her wanting to take a job on the South Shore when she currently works in central Massachusetts, she said her parents recently moved to Kingston. “My wife and I recently started a family and it’s amazing what having children will do to your worldview… and we are looking to move up here and get closer to family,” she explained.
Asked about community involvement, Meekins said, “Part of the reason that I love doing this work is that you really get to immerse yourself in a community. In seeking to become a Town Administrator it’s not about a steppingstone for me, it’s about developing a long-term relationship with a community and its members and seeing the fruits of my labor come to fruition over time.” She said she looks forward to coffee hours at senior centers and participating in public input sessions for various projects. She said that she doesn’t want to sit behind a desk and noted that she loves that every day is different, and you get to interact with many different people including legislators.
Bruno asked about grant writing and human resources saying, “In our town we have some holes in our process.” He said he believes Halifax loses a lot of opportunities in terms of grants. He also noted that problems sometimes arise in town due to a lack of a human resources department. With respect to the human resources issue, Meekins said the town she is in now doesn’t have a human resources department either, so she is familiar with how to handle those things. “Classification and compensation, I think, is incredibly important so that the staff understand that there is a fair and equitable way that this has been decided, that there is a process,” she said. Selig then asked about retention given a limited salary value. “I don’t think there’s a municipality in Massachusetts that hasn’t faced that challenge as of late,” Meekins said. She said that she believes in being transparent about salary ranges and steps at the beginning when hiring. She also noted that she believes in being creative in the steps taken to retain people.
Meekins said she was certified as a procurement officer. “Ninety-five percent of grant writing is just knowing that the grant exists. I like to think of myself as fairly tapped in. There are a lot of financial resources floating out there right now particularly coming out of covid,” she explained. “The Community Compact Program, I do believe will be continued by the new administration… that’s an incredibly valuable resource for cities and towns to be able to implement best practices in a variety of services,” she continued. She said she was able to secure the ADA grant in the town of Grafton. “The great thing about that grant is that once you complete the self-evaluation plan, you then become eligible for construction money, construction grants. We can identify all of the infrastructure problems we have but if we don’t have access to funds to improve it, that doesn’t do us any good… Every year you can apply for up to $300,000 from the State to make those improvements,” Meekins said.
Asked how quickly she could start, she stated that there was a relocation aspect involved as she would need to buy a house and move her family. “I am here because I am very interested in the opportunity to relocate,” she said. Asked what she sees as the role of the Town Administrator she said to the Board, “I am carrying out your vision.” Bruno asked how she would handle disagreement with the Board. She said, “I believe in civil disagreement; I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I think that’s somewhat lost on people especially these days.”
Asked about her views on social media, she said that she had conflicting feelings. She noted that in larger towns that have staff available to be dedicated to answering questions on social media, she felt that it could be useful. For smaller communities, she said it was best used for one-way communication.
The Selectmen conferred with one another before making a decision toward the end of their meeting. “I think anyone would be fortunate to have any one of the three of them,” Bruno said. Bruno said that he felt that Swartz might be the best fit. Selig said, “those were the best three interviews I’ve seen for a Town Administrator on this Board.” He continued, “It comes down to flavors of ice cream.” Selig said he was leaning toward Swartz or Haddad with a slight advantage to Haddad. Nessralla stated his preference for Haddad as well. The Selectmen voted unanimously to hire Haddad pending contract negotiations.
Dennett kids score above state MCAS average
The Plympton School Committee met in person at the Dennett Elementary School on Tuesday, Nov. 1.
Assistant Superintendent Ryan Lynch gave a presentation on the results of the 2022 MCAS testing. Lynch said that data was provided for Grades 3, 4, 5, and 6 for both math and ELA but noted that the science data was for just Grade 5. No test was administered in 2020, a half test was given in 2021, and in 2022, all students took the full test. Lynch said that 52 percent of Dennett students are meeting or exceeding expectations in English Landuage Arts compared to 41 percent State-wide. In math, 50 percent of Dennett students are meeting or exceeding expectations compared to just 39 percent across the State. The school’s science scores were significantly higher than the State average. Lynch called science a “bright spot” for Plympton.
“The goal here at Dennett and across the District is to try and move that number back to where it was in 2019… the goal is to get to 70 percent meeting or exceeding,” Lynch explained. He further explained that while high achievement was noted for Dennett students, slower growth was also observed. The implementation of Collaborative Literacy in Grade 5 was among the programs instituted to ensure continued growth and improvement. A math interventionist and reading tutor is also part of the Dennett team as is a student support team who identifies students who may need increased interventions and progress tracking.
Superintendent Jill Proulx also provided an update to the Committee saying that the Admin team met with building principals regarding interventions and said that it was an important reminder of the role of data in identifying students that may need additional supports including those that are not on an IEP. She also said that herself and Lynch met with building principals, assistant principals, and local Police and Fire Departments regarding emergency support plans.
The Committee voted to join litigation against Juul Vaping for marketing its products to minors. Many other school districts, municipalities, and states have also joined the large-scale settlement. Silver Lake Regional School Committee voted to join during their last meeting as did the Halifax Elementary School Committee.
Chair Jon Wilhelmsen touched on some of the unfinished business including the ongoing issue of dog waste being left on the fields at the Dennett. Wilhelmsen summed up the problem saying, “new signs, no change.” The Plympton Police Chief has been approached regarding placing a large-scale sign by the school’s driveway. If that doesn’t yield results, the issue will again have to be revisited. Regarding the additional rubberized surfacing at the new playground, Director of Business Services Christine Healy said, “we’re on pause until later this winter to see if going out to bid is the best option.” Regarding the solar project at the Dennett, Wilhelmsen said, ““it’s still going… a bunch of emails going back and forth… trying to negotiate the agreements…. there’s just general disagreement about what should be in the contract.”
Each of the standing committees also provided a report. Committee member Jason Fraser provided the status for Admin Review saying that when they last met, they went over the Superintendent’s goals for the year. He noted that they would be meeting back with her again after the new year for the formative review process. Wilhelmsen provided the update for Negotiations saying, “all contracts are done.”
For Union 31, Superintendent Jill Proulx said that it just came to their attention that the current structure of the Silver Lake special education programs at the elementary schools isn’t allowed for under the Regional Agreement. She said that there are 34 staff members who fall under the special education umbrella in Kingston and two or three each in Plympton and Halifax. Proulx said that one of the first recommendations was to bring the pre-K into the regional agreement. Of the proposed change, Wilhelmsen said, “We voted in principle to support that.” Fraser said that DESE will give the District until June 30, 2024, to implement further changes. Proulx said, “We are working with our attorney and the Department of Education on how best to proceed.”
Fraser provided the Legislative update saying, “Next Tuesday is Election Day… please take the time to go out and vote and thank you to those people who put themselves out there to be candidates.”
Principal Peter Veneto was not in attendance so Assistant Principal Christine Marcolini provided the Principal’s Report saying that student enrollment currently stands at 238. She said that CASA put on a luncheon for staff on October 5 and that parent teacher conferences were held on October 27. Marcolini said, “We had a very successful book fair last week… we are grateful for that.” She also said that the entire staff was led in ALICE training by one of the Police Department’s officers.
Marcolini said that Melissa Ritter, a parent of a Dennett kindergartener, was hired for an open Title I reading position. She also reminded the Committee of the upcoming Thanksgiving feast at the School on November 17.
Healy provided an update on Circuit Breaker, the State’s special education reimbursement program. Healy said there is a threshold of anticipated costs and that once those costs are exceeded the Circuit Breaker kicks in and the school is eligible for some form of reimbursement usually in the 75 percent range. Anticipated costs this year are around $46,000. “We’re waiting for that final release of information, so we have some idea of where we stand at the end of the year,” Healy explained. She also told the Committee that Plympton still doesn’t have any students attending out-of-district vocational so the money that was budgeted there would likely be returned to the town at the end of the year.
Proulx told the Committee that budget season was officially underway. She said that she has asked that principals and directors submit their budget proposals for review by November 15. She also asked the School Committee to begin to think about their priorities and goals for the budget so they can work on those with their building principal. She also shared with the Committee that homeschool enrollment has remained static for Plympton at the elementary level while increasing by one for Grades 7-12. Finally, she said that while Plympton’s shared cost percentage was previously at 13 percent, it was down to 12.5 percent for FY24.
Before adjourning for the evening, Wilhelmsen shared some important dates to remember. He said that there would be no school for students on Tuesday, November 8 while it would be an in-service day for teachers. There will be early release on November 23 and the Thanksgiving break would be on November 24 and 25. The special Town Meeting will be held on November 30 in the cafeteria of the Dennett. There will be a joint school committee meeting on December 1 and a regular meeting on December 12.
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