The Halifax Elementary School Committee met on Monday, Oct. 7. Chairman of the Ballot Committee to support the Community Preservation Act (CPA), Candy Kniffen, presented to the Committee. She explained, “Halifax is the only town in the region that has not enrolled in the Community Preservation Act… what the Community Preservation Act does is it allows communities to put money aside for specific areas – one is historical preservation, one is open space and recreation, and one is affordable housing.” She said that while there is an assessment that the town pays, there are also “generous” abatements available.
Kniffen, who said that all of her children went to Silver Lake schools and she served on the school committee at one time, asked to speak to the benefit of the CPA for the schools. She said that there are historical projects that could be completed with the funding that would be able to be utilized by the students in town. She also said that replacement of playground equipment or expansion of the existing playground would also be eligible for CPA funding. “Quite frankly, we don’t see a downside to this and when it comes to the schools, we think they could be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the CPA funding,” Kniffen explained. She said that there is a myriad of information on their website and Facebook page.
Committee Chair Lauren Laws asked what the 1.5 percent assessment would equal in terms of funds available. Kniffen said that it would be based on the average home price in Halifax of $511,000 and would total around $250,000 raised at the local level, not counting what the State would contribute. School Committee member Lori Costa-Cline said she has heard from critics of the CPA that it was a way to funnel money toward housing projects as ten percent of the funding is mandated to be set aside for housing. She asked who makes the determination of which projects are chosen and was told that Town Meeting would make those decisions. Kniffen said that regarding housing, the CPA gives the town total control of how to spend the funds and said that they also encourage the reuse of existing buildings over new construction.
Laws said that she has also heard that they could build a senior center with the funding. Kniffen said that she was sure that the town would have one by now if they had enrolled in 2000. Costa-Cline said, “I think that the timing is unfortunate because… this is a worthwhile project… but everyone is so tight and stretched and at their limit, so you’re dealing with that… the MBTA Affordable Housing project… there’s a lot of mish-mashed of misinformation and everything getting lumped together. I think that people should look into what the benefits are… I hope people will look at the long view and not look at the short.” Kniffen said that it is unfortunate that there is misinformation confusing the CPA with the MBTA Communities initiative. She also reiterated that the decisions as to how to spend the funding would be in the hands of the town.
Regionalization
Discussion
Laws told the Committee that Costa-Cline asked that a full regionalization discussion be added to that evening’s agenda. “We all consider ourselves part of Silver Lake even though Halifax School Committee is its own separate entity… but I think we all recognize that there needs to be some symmetry in the way that the elementary school committees do things,” she explained. She said that budget season really highlights the need for full regionalization.
Superintendent Jill Proulx said, “so there’s a community compact efficiency and regionalization grant. Last year this Committee voted to support the town of Halifax looking into that grant. Last year, Kingston applied for that grant. Kingston School Committee also voted to look into that grant. What that grant would allow us to do for the town is to look into the pros and cons, the benefits and perhaps, the downsides of full regionalization.” Proulx said that two out of the three communities support looking into full regionalization. “The majority of regionalized school districts are fully regionalized,” Proulx said. Laws pointed out that it felt a bit disjointed to have the schools regionalized for Pre-K, not regionalized for K-6, and then regionalized for 7-12.
Costa-Cline said she would like to ask the town to apply for the grant and also said that she would like to see regionalization be a standing agenda item moving forward. Laws said that she was in agreement. The Committee voted unanimously to ask the town to support the grant application.
Prize Distribution as Part of Fundraising
A member of the Committee proposed a change to policy to stop giving out individual prizes to students based on how much they personally have fundraised. A representative from Boosterthon spoke to the Committee saying that it was his job to tailor the fundraising efforts to each individual community. “Of course, Booster, over the last twenty years have seen that when you do individual prizes and students are motivated to go home and talk to their parents, that’s when the fundraising is at it’s highest level,” he said. Laws said she would rather leave it up to the PTO to figure out the prize piece.
Sub Committee and
Administrative Updates
Costa-Cline provided an update on the Pilgrim Area Collaborative. She said that right now there are 112 students in the day program and a little over 100 in the extended services program. The Executive Director offered a tour to anyone on the Board that is interested in seeing the program. They are applying to be a service provider to students 22-30 years old as right now they are only able to provide services through 21 years of age.
Principal Kayne Beaudry introduced new Assistant Principal Kristy Luperon. He told the Committee she has been doing a great job. He also provided an update on the bus routes since dropping from ten to eight buses. He said that they haven’t seen any changes with the numbers for parent pickup and drop off and said they are comparable with last year’s. He did say that they may have seen a slight uptick in children biking to school. He also compared bus misconduct slips and said that they haven’t seen any more problems as compared to last year. He said the adjustment to new bus stops for families has been the biggest issue. He also provided an update on enrollment saying they were at 532 and the kindergarten class is 82 students.
Proulx provided an update. She said that homeschool enrollment for Halifax for Grades K-6 went up from 11 last year to 17 this year. A decline was seen at the 7-12 grade level. She said the overall enrollment population hasn’t been changing much with a slight increase seen for Halifax at the elementary level.
Proulx asked the School Committee what they would like to see from administration in their preliminary budget. Laws said she would like to see a level services budget as well as potential places in the budget for cost savings. She referred to the cost savings of going from ten buses to eight as she said it had a significant impact on the budget while causing minimal disruption for students. Costa-Kline recommended having a prioritized list of budget wants/needs. Laws said that her priority would be to add back staff.

The Plympton School Committee met on Monday, Sept. 23. Chair Jason Fraser said that they would be discussing budget restoration priorities. “If you were involved in our budget discussion at the end of last school year, there were some cuts that we needed to make. There were some consumables that we took off the table, some computer programs we took off the table; we also currently don’t have a math interventionist in the building… and in addition to that we’ve acknowledged that there’s some areas of need within the district. One would be looking to hiring an ELL teacher here at the Dennett.” Dennett Elementary Principal Peter Veneto said that they currently have a good number of ELL students at eight. Fraser also said that for the past two years, they have identified a need for two more staff members in the Business Office which would be a shared cost.
Committee member Jon Wilhelmsen said, “We can’t just look at Dennett, so we’re going to have to be cognizant of what’s going on at a Silver Lake perspective, especially with the recognition of the budget.” He continued, “There isn’t really going to be any extra money here. We have to look at total costs of the town because there isn’t really any extra money at the town level either because we used that up last year… the last couple of years we have utilized that to help pay for budget shortfall.”
A member of the audience asked, “is there an actual deficit to the need to the budget right now currently as we stand?” Fraser replied that as of right now the budget is “whole.” He clarified that prior to Town Meeting last year the school was asked to trim $100,000 from the budget. “So we just want to make sure as we lean into next year’s budget, we can restore as much as possible but I just want to make sure that we’re prioritizing what we’re putting as the number one thing to restore, then the number two,” Fraser explained.
Wilhelmsen said that he, Superintendent Jill Proulx, and Director of Finance and Operations Sarah Hickey met with Town Administrators from the three towns to gather a sort of state of the state. “As we approach budget season, how things are looking – what do they have for levy limit, what do they have for free cash, what other challenges are they seeing walking into the budget season,” he explained. He said that a meeting to review all these items will take place in December at the Kingston Town Hall. He encouraged everyone to attend.
Veneto provided a playground update. He said that the initial quote they got to make necessary repairs was $5,200, but it had since increased to $5,800. He said that they were able to find a reputable company that would do the work for a third of the cost. He also noted that parts have been ordered. Fraser asked if the playground was still accessible and safe. Veneto said that one small section had been roped off, but the rest was in use and safe.
Regarding capital projects, Wilhelmsen said that they did get an earmark from Senator Moran’s office for $35,000 to replace one of the rooftop units. He said that unfortunately those units are now costing upwards of $75,000 to $80,000. “In order for us to take the… money from the State, we’re going to need to be able to come up with other funds to be able to purchase one of those units and those are six units that need to be replaced over time,” he explained. He also said that they would need to prioritize that unit to take advantage of the earmark this fiscal year.
Veneto provided a principal’s report saying that CASA had their Harvest Fair the previous Saturday. He said that they had a busy month filling vacant roles including the nurse position as the Head Nurse is out on maternity leave. He named a few other leaves and retirements as well. Veneto said that he was able to fill the Title I position. He said the school was holding a “gold boot” fundraiser for kids with cancer. Veneto also said that the school received a $10,000 donation from a donor that wished to remain anonymous.
Jill Proulx introduced Dr. Tricia Clifford as the new Assistant Superintendent for Silver Lake. Proulx said that they had three leadership institutes over the summer where they reviewed the strategy for district improvement. She also said in August they held trainings with legal counsel for Title IX. She shared a reduced version of the presentation that was shared with staff regarding what was accomplished last year and what still needs to be done.
Proulx said that new staff was introduced. She said that in addition to Clifford, they welcomed Athletic Director Rick Swanson, Elementary Curriculum Coordinator Brian DeSantes, HR Director Liz Grindle, Integrated Preschool Principal Sarah Chick, Math Coordinator at the Middle and High School Dan Correia, and Special Education Coordinator for K-12 Elizabeth MacKay.
Proulx told the Committee that they plan to expand Second Step, the anti-bullying curriculum into the high school as well as pro social skills. She also said that the principals will be working on ways to improve parent and community involvement

The Silver Lake Regional School Committee met onThursday, Sept. 5, for the first time since the school year began. Mark Guidoboni provided a SAFER update. He told the Committee that a Facilities Director notified the subcommittee that there were several HVAC failures throughout the buildings that could result in a loss of heat. “Come budget time next year, we’re going to have to make some decisions on these units and facilities going forward,” he explained. He explained that there may be some available funding sources.
He turned things over to Director of Finance and Operations Sarah Hickey to elaborate. She said, “As you know, there were changes in personnel and Mike Lawless, Director of Facilities, and I pretty much got up and running in January and so the money that was voted for the FY24 capital projects, we weren’t really getting going on spending in the spring and summer and so what I put together for you is a spreadsheet that has the fiscal year of when something was voted, what the project was, what the budget was, what has been expended, and then any balance or shortfall.” She continued, “Mike and I brought an idea to SAFER about having a comprehensive facilities study done and Mark mentioned HVAC repairs… we’re required by law to provide heat.” Hickey said that they were hoping to use the $100,000 for FY25 and the excess for FY24 unspent projects to fund a comprehensive study to guide the discussions of the Capital Committee in the future. She said that any money not spent on the study would go toward HVAC repairs. She added, “One of my big concerns since I got here is priorities of projects and I have to be honest with you, I sort of hit the roof when I found out that we spent a half a million dollars on tennis courts and we have portions of the building where the heat doesn’t work.”
Guidoboni explained, “I would like to vote to use the excess funding from the projects at $42,442.00 and the other revenue… so a total of $142,442.00… for an HVAC and comprehensive study.” Committee Chair Gordon Laws questioned whether it should be voted on as it wasn’t explicitly stated in the agenda. Committee member Jason Fraser said that since it was part of a subcommittee report the Committee could vote to accept the report with the recommended movement of capital included. Committee member Paula Hatch made a motion to reallocate the dollars in the capital plan for a comprehensive facility plan with the remainder of the funds being used for HVAC fixes. The Committee voted in favor of the motion.
Guidoboni also discussed the possibility of moving the administration building. The first of the three options is an $8 million, 8,000 square ft. building. The second option is renting or purchasing an off-site facility in one of the towns for around $1.8 million. The third option is to build a 4,000 square ft. annex adjacent to the existing building.
Guidoboni told the Committee that Kingston recently discussed establishing a school zone as a result of a safety audit that was done. He explained, “we didn’t have authority to have a school zone in the past. High schools did not qualify and our middle school was set too far back from the street to qualify… we went through this when we built the schools almost twenty years ago… the State changed the rules and allows high schools now to have school zones,” he explained. He said that Kingston voted in favor of putting a school zone together in front of the schools complete with a flashing sign. He said that they are looking for different funding sources to pay for the sign, etc. Guidoboni said that the Kingston Town Administrator said he has found all but $10k to $20k of that money. Guidoboni asked the Committee to vote to support a school zone along Pembroke St. in the mornings and afternoons. The Committee voted unanimously in favor of it.
Proposal for EV Charging Stations
The Committee listened to a presentation on a proposal for EV charging stations to be installed on the Silver Lake campus. A representative from Innovus Power told the Committee that they have installed about 1,000 ports in 15 different states. “There is a limited window that is closing on fast-charging rebates,” he explained. He further said that if they just did a station at the high school, they would offer a 20 percent profit share, but if they did one at the Kingston Elementary school as well, it would be 30 percent.
Asked where the stations would be located, they said there were two options. One would be on the corner of 27 and the senior/upper parking lot. The other option would be the first six spots next to the admin building. There was some concern discussed regarding safety issues with random people wandering around the school grounds while school is in session. The representative said that anecdotally people tend to sit in their car on their devices while charging. Asked about cost, it was said that the only potential cost would come with needing to ensure the spaces are free and clear of snow.
The representative said that the application submittal is not obligatory. “We can get you in line, but you don’t have to move forward even if you get an approval… the downside is if we miss the window, we miss the window,” he explained. The Committee voted in favor of submitting the application since it doesn’t bind them to a decision either way. Laws said, “I can tell you from my own personal standpoint… I am extremely interested in fighting even for nickels and dimes in terms of pulling in revenue and free cash flow given what could be… the challenges of our finances at the end of the year.” The Committee voted unanimously to submit an application “pursuant to further diligence, discussion, and final approval of the Committee.”
Potential Cell Phone Ban
Laws told the Committee that a concerned parent wrote to them expressing their desire for a schoolwide cell phone ban as has been adopted in other schools. Middle School Principal Becky Couet said that the policy in their school is that the phones need to remain in the students’ lockers. She said that a new teacher commented to her that he has never been in a school where he has never seen a phone until this one. Couet said that she doesn’t feel the need to have a stricter policy. High School Principal Michaela Gill said that they have a slightly laxer policy that prohibits phone usage during instructional time. Questions were asked regarding Apple watch usage, specifically regarding cheating. Gill answered that the teachers were savvy but noted that if a student really wants to cheat, they will find a way.
Principals’ Reports
Couet listed off some new teachers as well as a retirement. She said that she wanted to call attention to the front of the school and said that Amnesty ambassadors came in August to help organize the opening ceremonies for the school. She also said that she wanted to recognize the custodial efforts over the summer to get the school ready for the year.
Gill also provided a report. She recognized all of the student support and volunteerism that enabled them to do the Freshmen Orientation. She also asked the Committee for approval for an out-of-state spring trip to Carnegie Hall for chorus and band members. The Committee voted to allow the trip. Gill did note that any student who was accepted to perform wouldn’t be denied due to finances.
Gill told the Committee the Silver Lake Hall of Fame Committee reached out about fundraising for and creating a memorial on campus for Buddy Teevens. Teevens, who attended Silver Lake (Class of ’74), was the winningest coach in Dartmouth football history. He passed away last year. Laws said, “If you don’t know American football very well, Buddy Teevans was not just a great coach at Dartmouth, he actually changed the game across America. His practices of how he managed his team to reduce injuries and head injuries and things like that have generally speaking been adopted everywhere.”
Gill also said that an issue of MIAA eligibility came up for students who are now attending a state-sponsored virtual high school. She said that after investigating it they found out that permission could be granted for such instances. A Committee member asked if the same was true for charter and home school students. Gill said that home-schooled children were absolutely eligible to participate in district sports though she wasn’t sure about the charter school issue.
Gill said that the School Resource Officer Richard Allen has made many connections with students who might otherwise struggle to make meaningful connections. She said that he is heavily involved with boxing and several students have expressed interest and even attended the gym where he boxes. As a result of growing interest, the Police Department is looking to establish the Kingston Police Boxing Club which would be open only to Silver Lake students. The Committee voted to approve the request to share the flyer.
Student Representative Carissa Smith addressed the Committee. She told them that the first football game would be the following day. Spirit Week as well as an in-school Student Council retreat and NHS induction are both coming up soon. The main thing she spoke about was Silver Lake hosting the SEMASC (Southeastern Massachusetts Association of Student Councils).
Assistant Superintendent Report
Assistant Superintendent Tricia Clifford addressed the Committee. She said that she has been working on ESSER title grants to fund various things throughout the District. She also said that she worked on new teacher orientation on August 21 where they spent time discussing the strategy for district improvement.
Superintendent Jill Proulx spoke next. She said that in August they had a training with legal on new Title IX requirements. She introduced some of the new staff including Clifford, new Athletic Director Richard Swanson, and new Integrated Preschool Principal Sarah Chick.
SLEA Update
New Silver Lake Education Association (SLEA) President Jessica Drew addressed the Committee. She called their roles as educators more than a job saying it was a “passion and identity.”
Legislative Update
Committee member Jason Fraser said that over the summer he spent considerable time working with the Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators (MAVA). He said there is a bill on the table that would create a blind lottery for CTE admissions. He said that MAVA is staunchly against the bill. “The ultimate goal is to increase funding for CTE programming so every single student in the Commonwealth will have access to a seat in a CTE program if they so desire,” Fraser said.

The Kingston Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, Aug. 27. The Kingston School Committee called a joint meeting with the Selectmen to interview candidates for a vacancy left by Timothy Lewis’ recent resignation. The seat would be filled by appointment until the May election.
Candidates Sheila Vaughn and Ronnie Litif took turns making statements. Vaughn, who has been a resident of Kingston for 20 years, said that she has three children ranging from six years old to a senior in high school. She noted that she served on the School Committee for nine years as well as having served as a Selectman for four. Additionally, she is currently active on the Affordable Housing Trust. Vaughn said that she felt her experience would come in handy, particularly as the town heads into budget season.
Litif told the Selectmen that he has four children with the youngest being just a year old and the oldest being in fifth grade. “Last year, all of the budget stuff was kind of alarming to me, and I started showing up to meetings,” Litif said. “I have probably too many ideas my wife would say.” He said that he is a baseball coach in town and his wife is on the PTO. “Whatever you guys decide is going to be best for the schools that’s what I hope,” he concluded.
The School Committee members and Selectmen then interviewed each of the candidates. Both were asked if they would run for the seat come the election. Litif said he would consider it, but not commit to it. Vaughn, on the other hand, said she probably would run for the three-year seat if she’s going to be on the Committee for the next several months. Vaughn also touted the fact that she was already accustomed to the time commitment, saying it was much more than once a month. Crone asked Litif if he has ever been involved in any kind of committee that followed parliamentary rules. He answered that he had not done anything beyond instructional baseball. Both were asked what their goals were and both answered that saving teachers’ jobs would be high on the priority list.
Selectman Kimberley Emberg said that it was a “tough” choice between new ideas versus experience. School Committee member Jeanne Coleman said that given the difficult budget season they were entering into, she felt that Vaughn’s experience would be invaluable. Both Crone and Coleman said that regardless of whether Litif was selected or not, they would hope that he would continue to be involved and share ideas.
Vaughn was voted in unanimously. Litif left everyone laughing after saying that he probably would have voted for her too. He did let everyone know that he would continue to share his myriads of ideas including potential solar on the roof of the school in exchange for a free, new roof. Many in the room echoed the sentiment that they hoped he would run for a different seat or one of the two available seats on the School Committee come election time.
Town Administrator Keith Hickey addressed some concerns about EEE. “I’ve heard a couple of comments about something the Board of Health may be doing or should be doing regarding EEE. I had a conversation with our Health Agent who has been communicating with the Board of Health. Our Health Agent is reviewing the current status of the EEE situation in Kingston as well as some of the neighboring communities. At this point, fields and outdoor town properties are still open for use. If there is a need to potentially close from dusk to dawn, like Plymouth has recently done, could be a recommendation. That will occur at a public Board of Health meeting,” Hickey said.
Hickey addressed some changes to their agreement with the business Elevated Roots due to changes in State law. State legislation has modified the three percent franchise fee that allowed three percent of the gross sales to be paid to the town. “The town would need to provide expenses that are eligible to be reimbursed by the organization to be refunded to the town… frankly, I believe there have been little to no costs associated with having Elevated Roots here in town… they’ve expanded their business from retail to now growing.” He called them a “good corporate neighbor.” He said they now get a percentage of the sales from growing as well as retail. “Our revenues have increased as a community because Elevated Roots has expanded their business as they said they would,” he explained.
There was a request for several one-day liquor licenses for Forty Second Brew Co. at the Weir Family Christmas Tree Farm for the dates of 11/29, 11/30, 12/1, 12/7, 12/8, 12/14, and 12/15 from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. “The application has been reviewed and signed by the Fire and Police Chiefs and all documentation has been received,” Crone said. The Selectmen voted unanimously to approve.
Hickey said that he met with the Police Chief, Fire Chief, Streets, Trees, and Parks, Superintendent, Planning Director, and school staff members to identify a school zone that they believe complies with State law. He said that it was submitted to a traffic consultant and engineer for their review and concurrence. A request to take the costs associated with the project, approximately $59k, from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds will be made in coming week. Hickey noted that those funds plus just over $11,000 needed for fiber optic improvements would likely be the end of available ARPA money. The Board voted unanimously to approve the $11k and move the approval of the $59k to a meeting at a later date.
The Board also discussed the possibility of establishing a “no jake brake: area on a portion of Main St. He said that despite Mass DOT and Old Colony Planning’s hesitation that such a restriction can be enforced, the Police Chief feels that they could police it through a noise ordinance. Police Chief Brian Holmes read from the law that he believed enabled the Board to make a specific section of the road a no exhaust brake zone. He did note that “jake brake” is a specific brand and not a general type of brake. Selectman Donald Alcombright said that he was against the restriction saying that he believed that driver safety should supersede a noise complaint. Alcombright said, “These are implemented for truckers for a reason and if it’s not breaking noise levels, they should be allowed to use what’s in their vehicle to stop their vehicle.”
Crone said he was in favor of it. Hickey said that the hope was that it would become a “learned behavior” that using a jake brake would not “be acceptable behavior in Kingston.” Emberg recommended holding off on the vote until they had a “full Board” as she sensed that the vote might end up 2-2. The Board agreed to table the vote.
Hickey said that Governor Healey recently passed the Heroes Act that allows local control for communities for additional tax exemptions for veterans who are property owners. He said that the Board of Assessors would be reviewing the legislation and making a recommendation. “It’s important to understand that any monies that are shifted from veterans… its not a reduction in taxes, it’s being shifted to those who aren’t veterans,” Hickey said. He called it a “bit of a balancing act” noting that they would take into account “what the community can afford.”
Hickey said that the Water Commissioners decided not to bring a warrant article forth for the funding of a new well on the Kelleher property. He expressed dismay saying that a lack of new water connections would mean continuing the water ban which would have detrimental effects on residents.
Hickey also said that he and the Conservation Agent met with Brockton’s Mayor about the amount of water that’s being withdrawn from Silver Lake for the city of Brockton. He said that the Mayor said that Brockton had additional repair work that required that they withdraw more water than normal from the lake. Hickey said that the work is now done and the water being withdrawn should be back to acceptable levels.
Longtime Streets, Trees, and Parks Superintendent Paul Basler is retiring. Hickey said they are considering changes to the position, but said if there are no changes, they will post the position as-is soon.
During their meeting, the Selectmen also voted unanimously to declare September as Suicide Prevention Month.