The Plympton Board of Selectmen met on Monday, Aug. 5. Alyssa Papantonakis from the Old Colony Planning Council presented an update on the 2017 Housing Production Plan. Selectman John Traynor said that a similar presentation was given at the library and was met with “great enthusiasm.” Papantonakis described the Old Colony Planning Council or OCPC as “a regional planning agency created in 1967 to improve the physical, social, and economic conditions of the district.” She explained affordable housing and said that a household is considered “house burdened” if they spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing-related costs.
She said that households qualify for affordable housing if they are at or below 80 percent of the area’s median income. According to Papantonakis the median income for a family of four in Plympton is $97,800. “If under 10 percent of the housing stock is affordable, local zoning boards of appeals can approve affordable housing development proposals under flexible rules,” she explained. Plympton is currently around 4-5 percent. From 2000 to 2020, Plympton’s population grew 11 percent. She also said that 22.8 percent of owner-occupied homes and 45 percent of renter-occupied homes are house burdened. Papantonakis went over a “menu” of possible solutions.
Selectman Mark Russo asked if anything set Plympton apart from other towns in terms of their needs. He was told that Plympton’s topography and wetlands as well as its small size sets them apart. It was also said that compared to neighboring communities, Plympton has a high subsidized housing inventory (SHI) at around 5 percent. Russo also asked, “when we get our accessory dwelling unit program really built up, will an ADU [Accessory Dwelling Units] count toward the 10 percent of stock?” He was told that in the State’s most recent iteration of the Housing Bond Bill, ADUs are allowed to built as of right in single-family zoning districts.
Town Administrator Liz Dennehy asked, “Where would you say we’re at as far as the ADUs and the timeframe – like say we wanted to apply for a technical assistance grant to get your help with maybe looking at what we have in place for our ADU bylaw, maybe along with this housing bond bill if that language is in fact implemented, and seeing about a way that we could make better use of it, like actually get our residents to understand what they might be allowed to do with their property.” She continued, “There are people here in town that maybe aren’t even aware that we have some of these regulations in place to assist them if maybe they have a family member who needs to downsize and maybe they want to come live with them.” She was told that Mass Housing Partnership (MHP) might have something available to help with that. Papantonakis also mentioned the District and Local Technical Assistance (DLTA) which becomes available once a year. Dennehy noted that they have taken advantage of DLTA in recent years.
Regarding the plan, the Selectmen were told that the plan would not be adopted until accepted by the Planning Board. “If you’re looking for technical assistance or other support for ADUs or any of this, having an adopted Housing Production Plan is additional points,” one of the representatives from OCPC said.
The Selectmen also reviewed the Code of Conduct for boards and committees and considered it for adoption. Dennehy explained, “the idea was to give boards and committees, in particular, but also department heads to give them some tools that they could use that if they were encountering a difficult situation, either with a member of the public or an employee, something of that nature; it would just be another tool in the toolkit to have something concrete to point to and utilize for documentation purposes.” Dennehy further said that she hoped it would be a reminder to people that “we are on the same team.” She told the Selectmen that she was looking for approval of the concept from them, noting that she planned to get feedback from boards, committees, and department heads before finalizing the document.
During her update, Dennehy said that Selectman Dana Smith donated a P.A. system for the Townhouse. Dennehy said that Area 58 would assist in getting it up and running. “Our people in the audience should hopefully be able to hear us and we should be able to hear them… so big thank you to Dana for setting us up with that system,” Dennehy said.
Dennehy told the Selectmen that Erik and Katrina Player resigned from the Recreation Commission leaving two open positions. The Selectmen also voted to appoint Deborah Batson to the Council on Aging Board effective August 5 through June 30, 2027.
The Selectmen ended their meeting with their raves. Traynor said that the Recreation Commission came to the library on Saturday. “It’s just amazing, the work they have been doing,” he said. He said that the Commission is hoping to get someone to fill the open positions that has experience with construction and project management. He said that they are working on a walking trail around Holt Field that will be accessible by a wide array of people. Selectman Mark Russo said his rave was for some progress by the OCPC on housing as well as the progress on the Code of Conduct. “And actually the one I’m really excited about is Town Counsel coming to the next meeting and updating us on some ongoing litigation,” Russo said. Dennehy said that her rave was for the community liaison for Eversource who pointed her in the direction of a grant opportunity that allows for Eversource to donate $2,000 toward National Night Out in partnership with the Firefighter’s Association.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, July 23. They began by entering into executive session to discuss negotiations with the Assistant Town Accountant as well as to discuss strategy with respect to litigation involving Morse Brothers. After returning to open session, the Selectmen approved a Memorandum of Agreement with the Assistant Town Accountant for a temporary pay increase while they are without a Town Accountant in the office.
Selectmen Chair John Bruno said, “We were made aware recently that Morse Brothers had started or were engaged in trucking what we think is sand, gravel, or some such thing off of their property over the last week or so, couple of weeks, I guess. Once we were made aware of that we discussed with Counsel what to do and the result of that is that the Board has issued a letter to Morse Brothers constituting a cease-and-desist order and an assessment of a fine for multiple violations of the town of Halifax’s soil removal bylaw.” He noted that the letter, which he read during the meeting, had been sent on July 18. A portion of the letter read, “the recent earth removal was not authorized by the soil removal permit because Morse Brothers had already removed almost all of the soil authorized by the soil removal permit. By letter dated May 3, 2024, Attorney Rosenberg stated that 19,908 yards of sand/earth had been removed from the property during the period of February 12, 2024 to April 5, 2024.” The letter also noted that the total earth removal allowed by the bylaw was plus or minus 20,000 cubic yards. Bruno told those assembled that they had been advised by Counsel not to discuss the matter any further in open session.
“Almost a year ago, the Selectmen… reinstituted the Zoning Bylaw Review Committee with a charge to review Zoning Bylaw taking into account all kinds of issues… including the potential for the MBTA Zoning that we do need to address by the end of the year,” Bruno said. He complimented the Committee, including the Building Commissioner and Town Administrator on their work on the large task. He said that he anticipated them having their recommendations ready for the next Town Meeting. Town Administrator Cody Haddad said that there were some “changes of substance” and noted that they would try and hold some public workshops to explain.
Library trustees appointed
The Selectmen met with the Library Trustees for some appointments. The Board spoke with Tina Palmer and Holly Dillon regarding their appointments from now until the election in May. Both spoke to their many qualifications before being unanimously appointed by the Board. “That’s two fantastic resume’s right there,” Bruno said.
Government study committee
The Selectmen also discussed the Government Study Committee that is being created to review the town’s governmental structure. Haddad read, “the Government Study Committee shall consist of seven members, five of which shall be voting members, one representative from the Board of Selectmen, four other members at-large appointed by the Board of Selectmen, the Town Administrator and Town Counsel; the Board of Selectmen representative shall serve as Chair of the Committee. The Selectmen are taking talent bank forms for consideration during the first Board of Selectmen meeting in September.
ARPA funds change
Haddad addressed the need for a change in the allocation of ARPA funds for Silver Lake. “The Board had previously allocated $463,380 to fund Halifax’s portion of air conditioning at Silver Lake that was initially supposed to install air conditioning at both the Middle School and the High School; they have gone out to bid on that project and that has come in over budget by $262,980 and that’s actually only going to do half of the AC at the Middle School,” Haddad said. He also said that there was another project to install a rooftop unit on the High School cafeteria. Halifax funded their portion of over $100,000 during Town Meeting; that project came in at a deficit. He asked the Selectmen to move the money around to better meet the needs of the projects though he noted that there was no net increase.
Summer Intern
Haddad told the Selectmen that their intern, Eva Chapman, created a monthly newsletter in order to assist with transparency with the town. Chapman is a rising high school senior. She did an interview with Town Accountant Sandra Nolan upon her retiring, among other stories. She said she was also hoping to come out with a video newsletter. Chapman said that she is also trying a new initiative to highlight different local businesses.
Summer Smash!
Before adjourning, Selectman Jonathan Selig said that the 20th annual summer smash softball tournament, which he called one of the largest in Eastern Massachusetts, would be occurring during August 2, 3, and 4. He warned residents that there would be a lot of people in town during those days. “It’s a lot of fun but so the residents are aware, the school lot will be very full; we’re kind of the crown jewel of town softball tournaments,” Selig said.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met Tuesday, June 25, holding a joint meeting with the Parks Commission to discuss operations at the town beach and boat ramp.
Parks Commission member Michael Schleiff gave a presentation on plans received from Grady Engineering for potential upgrades, repairs, and new amenities to be added. Schleiff also addressed the fee for illegal parking at the beach and boat ramp. He called the $15 fine “antiquated” and recommended raising the fee to $50. Police Chief Joao Chaves was also present to answer questions regarding enforcement of the parking fines. Schleiff also said that they haven’t yet been able to fill the parking attendant position. The Commission voted in favor of raising the fine. In addition to the rules around parking, there are also no wake zones in force for up to 300 ft.
The Commission also discussed some problems they’ve faced at the beach including the portable restroom being knocked over. Potential solutions include either removing it or chaining it to the fence. They also showed an image of all the trash that had been picked up at the beach. They said that it appeared that some people have been using the barrels there for their household trash.
Chaves and the Police Department gave a presentation regarding the beach and boat ramp. They acknowledged the frustrations of the residents and said they understand their position. As a result of the issues, several of the town bylaws will be revisited and revised. The Police said that they have enlisted the help of the environmental police.
The Rte. 58 State Boat Ramp is run by the State and the Department of Fish and Game. The Police said that any car found there not to have a boat trailer or being used to launch a kayak or similar boat can be cited. The intended purpose of those parking spots is for taking boats in and out of the water. A resident asked why they can’t do that with the 4th Ave. Beach. He said that his property directly abuts that area and there ends up being a lot of jet skis on or near his property. He was told that the change would require a bylaw revision.
Regarding the Holmes St. beach, the Police said that the sign needs to be amended as it isn’t clear who can and cannot park there. For Lingan St., the Police said that the beach is the busiest it has been in nearly two decades. Individuals wishing to buy a one-day pass, can get one from the Selectmen’s office. The Police noted that many people were just accepting the $15 fine and that increasing it to $50 should help to derail that behavior. The Police also made it clear that they have no authority to tow cars off private property. They said that the property owners would need to contact a private towing company. They also said that, unlike in other communities, there is no enforcement in the town’s bylaws for public consumption of alcohol.
A resident asked what it would take to make a Halifax resident-only beach. Selectmen Chair John Bruno said, “If anything, that would probably be a bylaw change so we would have to get that through Town Meeting, but we can look into it.” Haddad said, “Again, it goes back to an enforcement issue.”
Many residents took to the microphone to express concerns or offer proposed solutions. One resident said that enforcement of regular hours at the beach and ramp would be useful. Another requested that Morse Brothers close the gates to their property to prohibit access there. One resident expressed concern that the jet skis parked along the street could prohibit emergency vehicles from accessing the area were there an emergency. A new resident to the town said that all of the various signage at the beaches and boat ramps is very confusing and had left her unclear of what the rules are.
The owner of 550 Tavern spoke saying they just completed some extensive renovations to the wedding facility. She said that the jet skiers were “clearly exceeding” the speed limit “by probably double.” She said that during a wedding rehearsal the previous week, there were 13 jet skiers close to the shore and the resulting noise left the bride in tears. Of the need for a parking attendant, she also said that she had “loads of staff that would love to monitor a parking lot for $17 an hour.” The business owner said that there was one occasion last year where the jet skiers were yelling “don’t do it, don’t do it” at her clients that were getting married.
Resident Dave Mascio offered to spearhead the volunteer effort to get people to take turns monitoring illegal parking.
The Selectmen also dealt with some old business including holding their meetings at various locations in town. Bruno said, “What we did last year, we did what we called road shows… tried to have Selectmen’s meetings in different locations in the town, for two reasons – one to get us out of the building and the second to kind of provide a little more exposure to groups.” He continued, “It worked well, the only problem is we don’t have the facilities necessarily to do that in regular Selectmen’s meetings so I’m making a proposal that the Board of Selectmen sponsor… individual meetings of the various departments and committees in other parts of the town – the recycling center comes to mind, maybe the Highway Barn… and it would be a ten- minute meeting at this particular place… and we’d have some exposure on Area 58.”
Bruno also told the Selectmen that they had an inquiry from Plympton asking about regionalizing an IT department. Haddad said that he felt that Halifax needed to strengthen their own IT department before proceeding with any kind of joint department. He did note that he has a meeting with Plympton in July to discuss regionalization of various departments, etc. The County is also exploring possible regionalization of areas such as pond management.
The Selectmen reviewed a policy on the lighting of Town Hall. “This is just to make sure that we have a consistent policy since we’ve gotten requests recently; this is something that has come up new… the policy that’s proposed would be – may be lit up in honor of heritage and history months declared by the federal government; all town applicable laws have to be followed; requests have to come to the Town Administrator,” Bruno said. The Selectmen voted in favor of the policy.
Bruno explained a new policy that requires that town volunteers undergo certain trainings. He noted that it would be especially useful for those boards and commissions that require some technical expertise.
The Selectmen also discussed establishing a seven-member government study committee. “The whole purpose of it is to have a group, a committee, dedicated to evaluating our current form of government and making recommendations for changes, if any,” Bruno explained.
The Selectmen approved three separate one-day liquor license requests for Tipsy Mermaid, LLC for July 14, August 11, and September 9 for the Farm at Raven Brook. The Police, Fire, and Board of Health had all previously signed off on it.
The Selectmen acknowledged Town Accountant Sandra Nolan with a plaque for all of her years of dedication to the town. Nolan is retired as of the end of June. “She’s done a wonderful job for us and it’s a well deserved retirement,” Bruno said.

The Kingston Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, June 18. Plymouth County Treasurer Thomas O’Brien appeared before the Board to present an American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) check for Silver Lake High School HVAC improvements to the cafeteria. Selectmen Chair Eric Crone said that the current rooftop unit has outlived its life expectancy at 20 years old.
O’Brien noted that Kingston was his hometown and said he was neighbors with Crone during his time in town. Referring to Plymouth County, O’Brien said, “our community under CARES Act received twice as much as communities outside of Plymouth County because we took all the funds and funneled them back to our communities.” He also said that Kingston is now the eighth community out of the 27 to use all of the ARPA money allocated to them. He reviewed some of the highlights of ways in which the CARES and ARPA funds had been used in Kingston.
The Board also authorized a letter of support to the EEA for the Housing Production/Housing Needs Assessment Plan update per the recommendation of the Town Planner. The grant request is for just over $44k. The updated plan allows for the town to apply for various housing grants.
Former Police Chief Maurice Splaine was seeking two grant application authorizations for the Police Department. One is for the Department of Mental Health clinician position and another for federal funding for an officer position. Regarding the clinician position, Town Administrator Keith Hickey said, “respectfully, understand that if we are fortunate enough to be awarded this grant, we would have to be going into a fall town meeting looking for some additional funding in some manner to address the 25 percent salary cost share and the benefits as well so that’s the responsibility that the community would have to be absorbing.” The Chief also said that the mental health clinician would be a shared resource with any other neighboring communities that were interested. He also confirmed that were the town to have to absorb the cost in the future it would be in the ballpark of $60k to $100k per year.
Selectman Kimberley Emberg said, “Given the budget constraints we’re about to face this year – that’s my only hesitation is adding anything this year. I think this is a great program. I support it, in theory. This year, it’s really hard for me to add anything knowing that we’re going to be pushing up against the levy limit and looking at potentially an override that we discussed at Town Meeting.”
The Chief said that were he to go through the process and then turn it down were it accepted, it might jeopardize future opportunities. Emberg asked if they would be better off waiting a year. Ultimately, however, the Board did vote to support the Chief applying for both grants.
Crone said that the Board needed to address whether to establish a public safety committee or working group for the Pembroke St. Police and Fire Station expansion per the Fire and Police Chiefs. The recommendation is that the committee include both chiefs as well as the Town Administrator, the Building Inspector, one Selectman, and one Finance Committee member. Hickey explained that they were seeking to form the committee now, so they could pull together a proposal as quickly as possible. The previous committee’s Chair Sandra MacFarlane spoke saying that they were disappointed to learn that they were being disbanded and felt that they were “pushed aside” at Town Meeting. The Selectmen voted to create the new committee with the addition of a Capital Planning Committee member and a former member of the previous committee.
The Selectmen also appointed a Tax Title Custodian. Emberg said the former Treasurer resigned from the role leaving a pile of tax title properties.
Hickey said that one problem in the past was the position has complete control over which properties get sent to auction. After speaking with Counsel, Hickey said that a neighboring community brought forth a bylaw that outlines a check and balance for the process.
Hickey also advocated for not having a volunteer named to the position due to its importance and complexity. Current Tax Collector Ken Moalli spoke saying that he hoped to achieve a AAA credit rating and it wouldn’t be possible without dealing with the tax title custodial work. “I have no agenda here other than to reduce the receivable that we have,” he said.
The other applicant, Jim Franklin, spoke saying that he felt that him coming in as a “third party independent” candidate would be helpful. He said that establishing a “repeatable process” was necessary so that it wouldn’t need to be thought about in the future. Emberg asked if he saw serving on the Conservation Commission as being a conflict. Franklin was adamant that it was not.
While deliberating on the two applicants, Crone pointed out that the position served at the pleasure of the Board and at any time, they could reappoint someone or appoint someone new. They voted 4-1 to appoint Franklin as the new Tax Title Custodian.
The Board discussed creating a working group to investigate the possibility of a privately run transfer station. The proposed group would consist of a Streets, Trees, and Parks Superintendent, a Building Official, a Planning Director, Town Administrator, one Selectman, and one Planning Board member. The Selectmen voted to create the working group.
Crone provided an update as the liaison for the Silver Lake safety issue at the intersection of Rt. 27 and Lake and Station Streets. “There have been more accidents. There have been several and the owners of Nino’s have a great cam… a professional Ring cam, so they’ve provided some video to our public safety,” Crone said. He also described a fairly bad accident that included injuries. “We’re going to be applying for some grant money… there’s been some look into a traffic light… the preference seems to be for a round-a-bout, not a rotary, but a round-a-bout,” he continued.
The Board also unanimously voted to approve an agricultural fair on September 29 on the lawn of the Town House.

The Plympton Board of Selectmen met on Monday, June 3. They began the meeting with a license renewal for the town of Plympton’s cable. Selectman Mark Russo said that federal and state law mandate that they hold a public hearing to ascertain the community’s need for continued cable services.
Russo explained the role of Area 58 before proceeding with public comment. “Public access TV in Plympton is funded by a small percentage of revenue from the local cable company. The funds are used to establish a cable studio which we call Area 58 Community Access Media; it’s a nonprofit organization and the way these things are set up it is separate from town government and therefore has more freedom from perceived or real oversight,” Russo explained.
Marilyn Browne, chairman of the Finance Committee spoke saying, “I know how critically important it is for people to be informed and not isolated and I think that this program offers that opportunity for people who may be ill or weather related incidents and they can’t get out and I just think it’s very critical that we keep it up and keep people informed.” Kimberly Russo spoke next saying it was needed for history. Russo said, “We’ll have it forever… we use it to settle a lot of arguments in town… so I think we need it.” Colleen Thompson, Director of Elder Affairs and member of the Town Properties Committee said, “I do believe this is very important to the town.” She noted that they recently held a well-attended forum in town on the importance of new buildings, but said that those that couldn’t attend were able to watch it back.
Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy also spoke saying that she felt that it was ultimately about transparency and noted that she hoped for a beneficial contract between the town and the company. Russo said that he came up with a list of reasons why cable access was necessary. The first on his list was that despite the number of volunteers, etc. in town, they are a small community with limited expertise in broadcasting and publishing. Russo said that they also offer a training program. He also noted transparency and the elderly population as being two additional reasons to continue with Area 58. “Area 58 is a shared service, it combines the cable access activities of Plympton, Carver, and Halifax… it is a beautiful example and maybe one of the best examples of shared services and how dynamic that model can be because in my heart of hearts, I ultimately believe these small towns that are so strapped financially – one of the main ways out of it, is finding additional ways to share services,” Russo said.
Executive Director of Area 58 Rich Goulart also spoke. “We’re just starting really in what we can do for the town, I would really love to see more and more people really come in and do the public access side of things and really start producing their own programs on any of their own interests, we’ll do everything we can along the way,” he said. He also said that they would continue to do what they could for the government including the schools. Goulart said that they do what they can to get things posted to YouTube as well as their own channel.
The Senior Manager of Government Relations for Comcast, Michael Galla, also spoke saying they are happy to work with the town to get whatever they need with relation to Internet and fiber. “I just want to let everyone know we have our internet essentials plan; we have two plans available, one for $9.95 per month and one that’s a little higher that offers two different speed tiers; it does allow for people to get access that are lower income,” he explained regarding seniors and others that may be in need. Selectman John Traynor asked about the qualifications and was told that they are income based and take into consideration things like whether or not they are on social security. “It’s not very cumbersome,” he said.
The Selectmen closed the public hearing before moving onto a departmental update from the Town Accountant Lisa Hart. “I’ve begun setting up FY25… I did set the Special Town Meeting articles have all been done… the money that was approved from the schools from general stabilization and the line transfers.” She also said that she can’t officially close the books until roughly September or even October.
The Selectmen discussed with the Accountant the DOS database system employed by the town for presentation of financial information. Russo said, “If we could present it in a more vibrant way, I think that would be very helpful.” Traynor agreed saying that if they could have a technology person to turn to, it would greatly help with such things. Russo said, “we just need to fund that position and that might just be one of the ones for a shared service.” Traynor proposed using Silver Lake’s technology department potentially.
The Board also discussed pricing for mosquito and tick control on the fields in town including Holt Field. Dennehy went over the pricing structures for some of the different companies. The cost for spraying Harry Jason Park was significantly greater due to the larger acreage. Traynor said he would like to talk to recreation first. “So they’re building that walking path but we have to get it so it’s a walking path that’s usable by seniors and disabled people, but I don’t know what the cost of that is,” Traynor said. Dennehy said that there were no plans to pave that walking path until they get further into the town campus-wide projects. Dennehy noted that Plymouth County Mosquito Control can come and do the spraying from the back of the truck. She said that the substance that is sprayed is different than that from private companies and often doesn’t reach the back of the property. She also told the Selectmen that aerial spraying is outside of their purview. Russo said that his preference was to begin with hiring someone to spray Holt. Regarding the walking path, he said that he is more than glad to do fundraising to ensure that an accessible pathway at Harry Jason Park is created. The Selectmen voted to have Oh Deer conduct spraying twice a month through early September.
Dennehy provided a Town Administrator’s update. She said the town was working with the Old Colony Planning Council on a road safety audit on the intersection of Rt. 58 and Center St. “They’ve done some preliminary traffic counts and things of that nature,” she explained. “It’s a dangerous intersection,” Traynor added. She also said that the Green Communities Grant application she applied for to finish out the work on the library heating system is still pending. The application is for just over $240,000. Dennehy also said that $36,720 for another HVAC rooftop unit at Dennett Elementary School was earmarked through Senator Susan Moran. Another $5k would be going toward a lease agreement on a new police cruiser.
The Selectmen ended their meeting with their raves for the past few weeks. Russo said that “transparency and civility in town government” is a sub-context that got him started in local government and that he enjoys seeing it furthered. Traynor agreed about transparency and said that he feels that communication is vital.
He also raved for the Memorial Day Committee. “So far, all of the feedback I have heard is very positive so looking forward to next year,” Traynor said. Selectman Dana Smith agreed and said his rave was also for the Memorial Day event. “It’s just a great event,” he said.

Kristy Zamagni-Twomey
Express correspondent
The Plympton School Committee met on Monday, June 3. Superintendent Jill Proulx opened the meeting as it began its reorganization by asking for nominations for a Chair. Jason Fraser was unanimously elected Chair while Jon Wilhelmsen had unanimous support for Vice-chair. “We have an important year ahead of us and a lot of work to do,” Fraser said. Kate Johnson was voted Secretary.
Fraser thanked those who came out to Town Meeting and voted to support the Dennett budget for FY25. “That budget will continue to include reimbursement in the form of Circuit Breaker for this upcoming fiscal year, however, we have now split the cost of educating students with extraordinary disabilities who need out-of-district services between Silver Lake and the Dennett’s budget. This is going to cause us to have to look at the budget, as a whole, much like we did this year for the total cost of education in Plympton. We saw around a 6.7 percent increase in the total cost of education from last year’s numbers to this year’s numbers. I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention, I can thank the town for supplying us with $187,000 at Special Town Meeting for the override that we had in our special ed line and Peter [Veneto] and his staff for putting the budget freeze in place,” Fraser told the Committee. He continued saying, “Anticipating already, just based on some of the cuts we had to make to the budget this year and some of the natural growth due to contractual obligations, we could be potentially looking at a 6-8 percent increase of our budget from Go as a level-services budget.” He called the financial situation “precarious.”
Director of Business Services Sarah Hickey addressed some faulty equipment at the new playground. She said the hemisphere is currently shutdown due to missing nuts and bolts. She said that some routine maintenance would be done per the recommendations of the manufacturer.
During an update for Capital Improvement, Fraser said that Senator Susan Moran had earmarked funds for an HVAC system at the Dennett. Wilhelmsen said that they had an earmark of a little over $36,000 which they hoped would be enough to replace a rooftop unit. He noted that while they replaced one with CARES Act funds, many of the others are nearing end of life.
Fraser said that Represenative Kathy LaNatra was able to secure an earmark of $50,000 for Silver Lake Regional performing arts. The Middle School planned to use the funds for ADA compliant risers while the High School planned to use them for repairs to the stage. During his Legislative Agent’s report he also said that the Senate increased the per pupil miminum increment to a historic $110 per pupil. Rural aid has also been increased. He said that the best budget news of all is that Circuit Breaker reimbursement will be increased to 75 percent for FY25.
Principal Peter Veneto began his report with an update on enrollment saying that they currently have 255 students enrolled. Veneto said that they had Future Lakers Day, that day where the sixth grade students from the three towns come together to have a field day and meet future classmates. Step up day for the sixth graders was later that week. The Dennett had “Ride your Bike to School Day” as well. The last day of school is Monday, June 17.
Fraser told the Committee that one area that was cut during budget discussions was overtime for the custodial staff. “We no longer felt as a Committee that we could bear the burden of paying the overtime cost for custodians to come into the building for organizations that we believed should be able to foot the bill themselves,” he said. Veneto came up with a facility utilization fee schedule. Wilhelmsen asked if this would extend to Town Meeting using the building and was told that they should be exempt. The wording was changed to exempt Plympton Town Government or school-sponsored organizations. The Committee voted to accept the new fee schedule.
Veneto also went over how test scores compared from last year to this year. He said that the March 2024 scores were better than the scores from May of 2023 for almost every grade in the Reading STAR assessments. There was a slight drop for both fifth and sixth grade. For the Math STAR testing, the scores for March 2024 are equal to or better than May of 2023. Veneto said, “The scores are down a little bit from September 2023 to March 2023. He noted that they didn’t have a math interventionist during that time and they still won’t moving forward. Veneto said that in spite of that they are still trending toward their end-of-year goal.
Fraser said that he has been hearing that classroom management has become more time consuming compared to six or seven years ago and asked if that was affecting the time allotted to teaching. Veneto confirmed that this was the case and noted that class sizes are beginning to approach numbers more typical of an average elementary school. Fraser said that he would like the Committee to figure out what they can do in assisting with that.
Veneto shared a chart which showed median growth from September to March. Proulx said that 50 SGP (student growth percentile) is average. “You want to see something above 50,” Proulx said. The percentiles for Grades 2 through 6 in Reading were all over 50 percent with numbers ranging from 54 percent to the highest in Grade 4 at 68 percent. For math, however, Grades 3-5 were all below 50 percent with Grade 3 at 41 percent, Grade 4 at 34 percent, and Grade 5 at 38 percent. Among other takeaways, Veneto said that they will be working to restore the math interventionist. “This was the work of a lot of people and we spent quite a lot of time making sure that we had accurate data so that we’re making better informed decisions for our kids; trying to figure out early on, what do they need and how can we provide it,” Veneto said.
Assistant Superintendent Ryan Lynch provided an update saying that he appreciated Principal Veneto and all the principals across the district, presenting testing data in a uniform manner. He said that he hopes to see similar uniform approaches in ways to meet expectations using consistent, research-based interventions. Proulx followed with a Superintendent’s update saying that Silver Lake held their graduation the Friday before. “So I just wanted to extend my congratulations to our graduates from Halifax, Plympton, and Kingston. It was a beautiful evening – one of our favorite events,” Proulx said. Proulx also said that during a State-wide meeting of superintendents, it was announced that chronic absenteeism is down nearly 5 percent. She said that updated standards for Health and P.E. have been provided and will be followed next school year.
Wilhelmsen told the Committee that Plympton Library Director Mike Slawson was able to get a grant for $20,000 for accessibility improvements. Wilhelmsen said that Slawson was taking ideas from the general public regarding suggestions for accessibility improvements, including things as small as adding devices to the Library of Things offerered there. Wilhelmsen pointed out that there may be an opportunity there for helping older people as well as children in the community.
The Plympton School Committee will meet for their end-of-year closeout in July.

The Silver Lake Regional School Committee met on Thursday, May 16 for their final meeting before their closeout in July.
A Halifax resident spoke during the public participation portion of the meeting. “There are three specific areas I would like to talk to you about – ongoing failure to provide a safe learning environment for my son… the effect it has had on our child and our family… and recent retaliatory responses by your administration on my child,” he said. The resident said that his family felt they were dealing with bullying, but said that Silver Lake Regional Middle School Principal Becky Couet said, “there’s only been one formal case of bullying during her tenure.” He said that information was misrepresented including where a teacher was in relation to their son during an assault. He said that his son was “incredibly reluctant” to engage with the school regarding the bullying. The resident said, “he knew it wouldn’t help, he would be labeled a snitch – an outcast, and the teachers and administrations would turn against him. Sadly he was right.” The resident and father said that the chain of events eventually led to his child engaging in self-harm. He said that his son was harassed “physically, emotionally, and mentally.”
“The school entertained our correspondence, however no plan to help (his son) rejoin the student community or take steps to look at his well-being going forward were taken,” he explained. He continued, “In short, we had a document called a safety plan written for very specific antagonists and specific actions, but that was the extent. It was also unclear and often proven that classroom teachers weren’t aware of what was happening.” He said that his son has since been implicated in two different incidents which the school claimed had him in the wrong. The first incident involved what was deemed “inappropriate touching” and involved a brief touch on the back of another student. He said that the investigations into these incidents were in stark contrast to the ones held in regard to the bullying against his son. He said that to his family’s knowledge their son had had no prior disciplinary incidents with the school. “He’s gone through a terrible year and we have advocated fiercely on his behalf. It’s odd that now for the first time ever he’s been implicated in uncharacteristic disciplinary investigations. One can see a high degree of correlation here and even draw causation,” he explained. He said he has spoken with many other families whose students have suffered similar situations. He pointed out that the average teacher salary at Silver Lake is far greater than the average salary of a Kingston, Halifax, or Plympton resident and said those teachers should be held more accountable.
Committee Chair Paula Hatch thanked him for coming in and having such thoughtful remarks. “Bullying and such is nothing this Committee condones,” she said. She asked if the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) had been contacted and was told that they had. Superintendent Jill Proulx said that she couldn’t share the details of that investigation with the Committee during open session. Hatch promised the parent that she would respond back to him after digesting the information.
Sarah Hickey gave an update on the bids received for the CTE overhead door project. It was explained that it isn’t simply a garage door but rather “a pretty extensive project” involving the rebuilding of the steel frame around the door as well. Hickey said she asked the Emergency Response Team for the High School regarding the current doors, “If the doors were open and the building were to go into a lockdown, is this going to need ten minutes to shut the door – is that a concern and the answer back was yes.” The two doors needing replacement are in metal fab and automotive. The Committee voted to change the budgeted amount for the two doors from roughly $181,000 to $201,000. Committee member Gordon Laws asked if it was over the capabilities of the CTE students to build the doors and was told that it definitely was outside of their scope.
CTE Director Elliot Glass spoke to the Committee regarding a carpentry project. “We have a great project that we’re recommending that we’ve been working with the customer on; I previewed this quickly with our CTE Sub-Committee last time we sat together in April; I did share the plans and the application with Paula [Hatch]… this project is within walking distance of the High School,” Glass explained. He said that it is a two-car garage with a mudroom built off the side of a single family home. “All of the pieces that we looked at to evaluate from course curriculum to the scope of work, safety considerations, travel and location, customer readiness were all very high… so it’s a great project,” Glass said.
The principals both gave updates. Couet presented the school improvement plan which the Committee voted to approve. She also presented a learning update thanking the curriculum coordinator in particular. She said that they utilize STAR testing for an assessment specifically in English/Language Arts. It is computer adaptive which means that students get moved to higher levels as they answer questions correctly. She said that the meeting grade level expectations went up from fall to spring. She did note that the exceeding expectations category was going up for math, but not ELA. She said that the school was working on cross- curriculum assessments and assignments between ELA and social studies.
High School Principal Michaela Gill said that they spent the first half of the school year as a faculty analyzing student MCAS scores and “really breaking down where do they perform well and what are areas that we need to help our students improve.” Gill said that common assessments were administered in ELA across all four grades targeting multiple standards. She said that while they were falling short in meeting or exceeding expectations in several standards in the fall, they have since made improvements in achieving those goals. She said that they would continue to work toward improving things further through professional development, student interventions, and other means. She also shared math updates including growth in students meeting or exceeding expectations in algebra.
Student representative Connor Doyle, who will be attending Assumption College in the fall, recapped student activity for one final time. He said that students enjoyed spring spirit week following April vacation which included soccer mom and barbeque dad day. He said that the AP government mock election took place between the breakfast sandwich and the French toast stick with the latter coming out on top. He also acknowledged many upcoming events including graduation and prom. He said that the class of 2028 would be coming to the High School for step up day. He thanked the Committee for allowing him to serve as their student representative.
Hatch told everyone in attendance, “We have a budget for next year, all three towns – hard fought, was not an easy process. I want to thank the taxpayers for supporting the budget… I want to thank this Committee for everything you did this year to get us to this point, it was a brutal year… I want to thank the SLEA for putting your heads together… having said all that, I want to thank everyone at this table… and everyone who had a hand in this administratively.”
There was a lengthy conversation about hiring additional staff to ensure that Silver Lake doesn’t miss deadlines, etc. per the required corrective action plan that came about due to an audit from DESE. Someone asked what would happen if they were to miss a deadline in the future and Hickey said they could withdraw federal grants from Silver Lake. Committee member Jason Fraser said, “I would like to see them try.” He said they would support Hickey were they to miss a deadline, etc.
Superintendent Jill Proulx provided an update saying that negotiations for several key positions within the District were underway. She said the only one that could be announced that evening was the new Assistant Director of Student Services Elizabeth MacKay. “Elizabeth is an experienced school psychologist and special education administrator,” Proulx said. She also said that they are in the process of hiring a new Athletic Director.
Fraser provided the Legislative Agent’s report. According to Fraser the House budget came through for Silver Lake “quite a bit.” He credited Representative Kathy LaNatra for the record high $104 per pupil minimum increment in the House budget which had previously been set at $30 by the Governor. Fraser said that this would help the town of Halifax, in particular.
Fraser also thanked Senator Bruce Tarr saying he was named the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) Legislator of the Year. Fraser said that Tarr put in quite a few amendments to be debated including one to fully fund regional transportation. Another is to increase the per pupil increment to $125 per student. Yet another amendment is to get the inflation index from 1.35 up to 4.5 percent with provisions for catch-up years coming in the future. Fraser said that Circuit Breaker is fully funded at 75 percent for tuition and transportation. “MASC was the organization calling for that and the Senate listened and it’s in the budget already,” he told the Committee. One of the Committee members commented on how lucky Silver Lake Regional School Committee is to have Fraser who works to get money not just for Silver Lake but for the entire State. This comment was met with applause.