The Silver Lake Regional School Committee met for three hours on Thursday, Oct. 22. Newest member Lukasz Kowalksi was in attendance representing Plympton.

Principals’ Reports

High school principal Michaela Gill and middle school principal Jim Dupille provided the Committee with updates. Gill began by saying that the graduation date this year will be moved from Saturday morning to Friday evening as was done this past summer. Gill said they received a lot of positive feedback regarding the switch and also said that it allows the rain date to be the following day. The new date will be Friday, June 4 with a rain date of June 5.  Committee member Eric Crone said that as a parent of a graduating senior last year, he agreed with the change and noted the cooler temperatures during the evening. Gill also said that due to the overwhelming success of the senior parade held due to COVID restrictions, it may become a new tradition moving forward.

The school hosted its first ever virtual back to school night with teachers creating slide presentations and videos for parents to view at their convenience. The presentations remain on the website should anyone still wish to view them. Parent-teacher conferences were also held virtually and Gill said that there was a 10.5 percent increase in parent participation over the previous year. She attributed the increase to the convenience of parents not having to take time off from work or schedule a babysitter in order to attend. Gill said that they will consider restructuring both the back to school event and the conferences in the future, perhaps offering a remote option even after the pandemic is over.

Gill also brought before the Committee a request to approve both drama and band beginning in a limited capacity after school. Band would begin as just one day a week and would include percussion instruments only to avoid the possible risk posed by wind instruments. The drama program, which will include only one show this year during the spring, would also be meeting one day per week after school in the auditorium. Assistant Superintendent Ryan Lynch said the requests complied with DESE guidelines and the Committee voted unanimously to approve.

Due to the pandemic last year, the requirement for seniors to complete community service hours was waived. Gill said she has been fielding questions regarding whether the same accommodation will be made this year. Given that there have already been some opportunities for students to complete hours either virtually or with safety protocols in place, Gill said she would like to hold off on making a final decision on whether or not to waive the requirement until after the new year.

The school participated in raising funds for breast cancer research in October through a small staff fundraising event which was held virtually. Students were also encouraged to wear pink to help raise awareness. Students also participated in a global Unity Day that entailed wearing orange to stand in solidarity against bullying.

Gill also recognized several teachers and staff members for their outstanding efforts in getting school started this year including the school nurse who Gill said is the first one in the building every day. “Without her obviously we would not have been able to open our doors this year… I don’t think she’s slept since March 12,” Gill told the Committee.

Dupille said that parent teacher conferences were coming up at the middle school on November 18 and 19 and said the format would be the same as the high school. He also said that Term 1 progress reports would be issued electronically. Like the high school, Dupille said they held a virtual back to school night. Parents were able to speak virtually with their children’s teachers.

A Halloween costume contest was planned by student council and students in the in-person cohorts were encouraged to wear their costumes to school as part of Spirit Week.

Dupille said he wanted to thank his teachers and other staff such as the custodial staff. He noted their dedication saying, “students are the recipient of all that hard work.”

CARES Act Funds and Technology Needs

The administration was able to speak to the towns of Halifax, Kingston, and Plympton about sharing their CARES Act funds with Silver Lake Regional. A meeting was scheduled so that the three towns and the school could discuss how best to ensure that an adequate share of each town’s allocation is going toward the region. Committee member Christopher Eklund said, “whatever is proportionate to our portion of the towns’ budgets is fair to ask for.”

Director of Business Services Christine Healy said that Representative Kathy LaNatra was able to secure $120,000 in CARES Act funding for Silver Lake to be used for technology infrastructure as well as $26,000 to be used for PPE.

Considerations for technology expenditures include laptops for faculty instead of chromebooks as well as a technology paraprofessional position through the end of the year. Teachers have been finding that the chromebooks don’t support the kind of work they are doing. Silver Lake Technology Director Steve Pellowe told the Committee that chromebooks are not designed to run Google Meets while also having multiple tabs open.

There was some discussion among the Committee regarding the need for laptops for students as well. Pellowe said that in an ideal world, laptops would be issued for all students in Grades 7-12 but noted that laptops run approximately $1000 a piece while chromebooks are only $230. Pelllowe also said that the repairs and upkeep for laptops are far costlier. Even if CARES Act funds could be secured for the purchase of laptops for students in older grades, Pellowe said, “the ongoing costs would be so high I think it would be unsustainable.” Crone cited the durability of chromebooks as another reason why they are ideal for students.

The Committee voted to approve laptops for the faculty as well as the tech para position through the end of the year. The estimated cost for these items is roughly $184,000.

Some members of the Committee expressed concern over spending CARES Act funds on technology expenses that assume a remote or hybrid model through the end of the year rather than a return to full-in person learning. Committee member Leslie-Ann McGee stressed that with guidelines and budget restrictions what they are, it would be impossible for schools to open up full time even if the communities stay out of the red zone. Committee member Gordon Andrews noted that the busing restrictions prevent a return to full in-person learning but did note that a change to that guideline might change how best to spend CARES Act funds.

Superintendent Jill Proulx said, “I recognize the hardship that the hybrid model and remote model and basically just not returning to a traditional classroom setting has caused for many students and families and so I am aware of that. We have discussed before some of the issues that will arise with returning to full, in-person and that is the need for the regulations with regards to busing to change because we had determined a while ago that that would be cost prohibitive for us as a regional school district and we are required to provide transportation.”

Proulx said the other issue that would make a return to full, in-person learning difficult is the 6 ft social distance mandate during lunch. While DESE guidance allows for less than that in a classroom setting, lunchtime requires more distance.

Enrollment

Proulx said that as of October 1, enrollment at the middle school was 524 and 1,082 at the high school for an overall decrease of 19 students over last year. Assessment percentages for 2022 stand at a 10 percent increase for both Halifax and Kingston and a 20 percent decrease for Plympton. The shared cost percentage for Halifax will be increasing by 20 percent and increasing by 10 percent for Kingston. Plympton, on the other hand, will see a 60 percent decrease. Proulx told the Committee that there has been an increase in students attending private and charter schools as well as being homeschooled. Additionally, many elementary school aged children have chosen to take a year off before entering kindergarten. Proulx said it was not a Silver Lake problem but rather a problem for all of Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Association of Superintendents has asked the state not to hold these numbers against individual schools given the unusual nature of this school year.

School closures

Proulx told the Committee that there has been a change in regulatory language that would allow communities in the red for more than 3 weeks to remain in a hybrid model. While still subject to change, Proulx said that even If a community remains in the red for three or more weeks, if there isn’t school spread, the schools may remain open. As the schools’ largest population, Proulx said that Kingston is the primary metric for consideration in deciding whether to change models at Silver Lake Regional. Both the Board of Health and the state has allowed Silver Lake to remain in a hybrid model as there hasn’t been school spread. Proulx said that should there be a cluster of cases or school spread, an epidemiologist for the Department of Health may make the determination to close the schools. She said that Cohort D students would be prioritized for in-person learning in whatever capacity would be allowed.

John Lay spoke on behalf of the Silver Lake Education Association (SLEA). He said, “This year will only work with compromise… Since the start of the year, our teachers have worked without any contract because we hold the best interests of the children of the town higher than our own. We’ve been holding up our end of this compromise.” He continued, “Tonight I’m calling on the School Committee to recognize the efforts and the sacrifices of the faculty and staff of Silver Lake by offering the teachers a fair contract and settling the memorandum of agreement.” Before closing, he added, “We’re overwhelmed. We quite literally couldn’t be working any harder for our students. The School Committee has the power to thank us for all that hard work by settling right now.”

Committee Chair Paula Hatch responded to Lay telling him how appreciative the community and Committee are of the staff’s efforts. “The only thing I’m going to say to that is a lot of people put a lot of time in to try to come to terms, your side and our side. I think we are where we are with mediation and fact-finding because both sides have an idea of where we need to be and we just haven’t been able to come to terms on that,” Hatch said.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met Thursday, Oct. 15 for one of their extra meetings that they have been holding during the pandemic.

Board of Health Agent Bob Varley began with an update saying there have been four new cases recently in Halifax. The cases were reported on October 1, October 2, October 9, and October 10. Varley also gave an update on the state of various restaurants in town saying that a few were currently open for indoor dining. Grille 58, which Varley said is currently utilizing every other booth, could put a 6 ft partition around the booths in a way that complies with the fire code in order to utilize all of them.

Selectman and Chair of the Halifax School Committee, Gordon Andrews gave an update on the school saying that during the last school committee meeting it was agreed that gators are not to be worn to school. Masks are to be at least two layers thick. Neither Plympton nor Kingston allow gators to be worn either with the exception being outdoor sporting events at the high school.

Andrews also told the selectmen that there have been a handful of cases in schools throughout the district including a few at KIS, one at the middle school, and another at the high school. Varley said, “From what I’m hearing… it’s not the activities that are going on within the schools that are triggering these cases, but it tends to be the after-school sports activities or weekend sports activities, specifically hockey.” He said that the Department of Public Health is working on more stringent guidance for the sports that tend to include more close contact including basketball and hockey and possibly soccer.

Andrews also took a moment to thank Seelig for his willingness to work with Halifax Elementary and Silver Lake in securing CARES Act funding. “Our town has really been the only town that has, from the very beginning, tried to include the schools in dealing with COVID and the CARES Act money,” Andrews said.

Halifax Fire Chief Jason Viveiros said the Fire Chiefs Association of Massachusetts is receiving $2 million in PPE which will include an additional 2,000 surgical masks as well as some gloves and other PPE. Viveiros also said that eventually they would like to have dispensers, similar to hands-free paper towel dispensers, that are filled with masks for placement in various municipal buildings.

With the approval of the Halifax Fire Department’s Community Emergency Medical Service, Viveiros said the department is now eligible to setup a COVID testing program. Both a 15-minute rapid test and an antigen blood test would be available. Antigen tests would be $10 and if there was a positive test result, a nasal swab test would be administered at a cost of $140. It remains to be seen if the department will elect to setup such a testing program.

Seelig also shared a letter from current Holmes Public Library Director Jean Gallant. Gallant said that former library director Betsy Randall requested permission to replace the tree that was in front of the library. Work would include replacing the existing stump and planting a new tree. Andrews said that he thought it would be fine as long as the tree was far enough away from any roof lines.

Seelig told the selectmen that up to this point, the State has allowed hearings on land use to be continued indefinitely during the state of emergency. This stance appears to be changing as the State is requesting that land use boards hold hearings even if it needs to be done electronically via Zoom or another platform. Seelig said that since the Chapter 40B hearing for Country Club Estates has already been postponed multiple times due to the pandemic, the Zoning Board of Appeals will begin the hearing on November 18 via Zoom. Andrews suggested that letters be sent to abutters to notify them that hearings are to start soon.

A town employee was recently questioned about political signs on town property. As a result of a Supreme Court decision a few years ago, the portion of the current bylaw dealing with signs is not enforceable. Seelig reviewed the town’s current policy regarding signs on the town’s property. No political signs are allowed on town owned property; this extends to the shoulders/right of ways near municipal buildings, etc. Seelig said, however, that there are a few traffic islands where signs have been allowed.

Seelig said his position is to disregard any anonymous complaints regarding signs in the traffic islands or the right of ways. Seelig said that he has yet to receive a complaint from anyone willing to attach their name to it. He said, however, if he were to receive a signed complaint in writing, he would work with the Building Inspector/Zoning Enforcement Officer and the Board of Selectmen.

Assuming permission was granted by the aforementioned groups an announcement would be made giving two weeks to remove the signs from town property or have them removed. Seelig did note that the polling place on election day is a “free-for-all” assuming signs are taken down at the end of the day.

Finally, Selectman Tom Millias said he wanted to acknowledge the retirement of Deputy Fire Chief Stephen Heath who recently retired after 37 years.  Viveiros said he wanted to, “thank him for his service and wish him well.”

With early voting already underway in municipalities across the state, the Express is investigating the statewide ballot question, Question 1, the “Right to Repair Law” Vehicle Data Access Requirement Initiative (2020).

In 2012, Massachusetts became the first state to pass the Motor Vehicle Owners’ Right to Repair Act with 86 percent voter support. The legislation required automobile manufacturers to provide independent auto repair shops the same access as dealerships to necessary diagnostic and repair information about a vehicle. The law as it currently stands, however, excludes telematics or “systems that collect and wirelessly transmit mechanical data to a remote server.” The proposed law would affect motor vehicles sold in Massachusetts beginning with model year 2022. Those vehicles which utilize telematics systems would be required to be equipped with a standardized open access data platform. According to the ballot measure, this increased accessibility would be available via a mobile based application.

A “no” vote opposes requiring vehicles with model year 2022 and later to be equipped with a standardized open data platform that would allow vehicle owners and independent repair shops to access data and run diagnostics through a mobile app. A “yes” vote supports the standardized open data platform necessary to access information needed for repair through a mobile app.

The Express spoke with several local, independently owned automotive repair shops. Owner and manager of Dave’s Automotive on the Hanson/Halifax line, Eric Hatch, was concise in his support of the ballot measure saying, “We’re voting yes. All we need to do is vote yes.”

Jack Ferry, owner of Ferry’s Automotive in Hanson, said, “We’re for yes on the question, I know there are pros and cons on both sides, but from our point of view we need it just to keep up with technology down the road.” Ferry said that for the most part, they currently have what’s needed to deal with cars coming in for repairs. He noted however, that once later model years equipped with telematics begin to come into independent repair shops, they won’t have the platform needed for diagnostics without this legislation passing. Ferry compared telematics to Onstar in its ability to access and monitor the vehicle. “Technology has come a long way,” Ferry said. “We just want to be able to keep up with it.”

Hennessey Automotive who has been operating out of Kingston for nearly thirty years, is a family owned business. Owner Ed Hennessey said that he found the proposal to be a bit convoluted in the way it is written but noted that ultimately a no vote was to the advantage of the dealerships. Hennessey, who said he would be voting yes, said, “If it’s good for them, it’s bad for us, that’s the way I look at it.”

The Express also spoke with Frank Perry, the manager of Perry’s Automotive on Monponsett St. in Halifax. Perry said that he hopes that people will vote for the measure in order to ensure that independent shops are able to access the information necessary to perform repairs. Perry was quick to point out that since the initiative begins with model year 2022, it will likely be a few years before the benefits of a yes vote are felt. “In the long run it’s going to help us,” Perry said. He continued, “… In another five or six years when the warranty expires, people are going to need to come to places like me or want to come to places like me and unless the dealers are mandated to sell it, I’ll have a hard time.”

Perry also pointed out the potential future benefit of the measure as automotive technology continues to develop. “When the self-driving cars and all the other fun stuff that they start coming out with are going to really be all part and parcel and basically be in that law already. They have to sell it rather than saying it’s their stuff and it’s proprietary.”

What is the argument against Question 1? Leading the opposition campaign is the Coalition for Safe and Secure Data. As quoted from the website Ballotpedia.org, Conor Yunits, a spokesperson for the Coalition said, “This ballot question will create easy opportunities for strangers, hackers, and criminals to access consumer vehicles and personal driving data – including real-time location. It will put people at risk, without doing anything to improve the consumer experience.” Top donors to the no campaign include General Motors, Toyota Motor North America, Ford Motor Company, American Honda Motor Co., and Nissan North America.

The Thursday, Oct. 1, Halifax Board of Selectmen’s meeting began with a COVID-19 update. Board of Health agent Bob Varley told the selectmen that since their last meeting there were three new confirmed cases in Halifax.

Varley said that the Director of Contact Tracing for the state has made a number of new forms available to assist cities and towns. He also said that the state has started to provide new assistance to towns. They will follow up on individual as well as clusters of cases. “So as fast as we know something, they should know something,” Varley explained.

Varley said he would like to see Halifax take a more proactive approach in combatting the spread of the virus. He referenced a recent incident in another local town where, according to Varley, a restaurant hired a new employee despite that person awaiting a COVID test. That employee began work prior to receiving their results which ended up being positive. Other employees were infected, and the restaurant had to close down. “I’ve been observing a lot of people being lackadaisical, in my opinion, losing the focus on what we need to do by wearing masks and if you think you’re ill, you don’t report to work,” Varley said. He also said that restaurant managers and owners need to have proper policies in place and revisit with their employees what all the standards and expectations are that must be followed in order to remain open.

Varley also noted that for communities with low risk, the minimum number of people at gatherings would be increased per the state’s regulations.  Currently, Halifax is in the yellow zone. Varley explained how easy it would be for a community like Halifax to enter the red zone saying,  “It only takes two to three cases for our numbers to move given the size of our population.”

Varley thanked Town Administrator Charlie Seelig for a memo he sent out to employees of town hall calling it “a very powerful message.” Varley asked to borrow from Seelig’s memo and has since posted a message to residents on the town website.

The selectmen also discussed how best to deal with Halloween. Regarding Halloween, Selectmen Chair Tom Millias said, “I mean, I don’t think we’re going to go out and stop people but I don’t think its something we want to promote.” Selectman Troy Garron said that people that didn’t want to participate would be best served by leaving their lights off. Seelig said that if the Board believed trick-or-treating to not be enforceable, it would be best to leave it up to families and to recommend that people use their best judgement and follow CDC guidelines. “I don’t want to see us policing it,” Selectman Gordon Andrews said. Garron did note that he did not want to see the town closed down again.

The selectman said that they are still awaiting more details about a proposed drive-up Halloween to most likely be held at the Elementary School.

There was, as has often been the case, more debate over whether to issue recycling abatements. Andrews was for doing so while both Garron and Millias were not. Andrews said in the future he would like to see the town move to two separate rates – one for pickup which is more costly and another for drop off.

Millias said the town would need to have some sort of sticker program as was done in the past. Of the current recycling program, Millias said, “Regardless of what you think of the program, my estimation of it is it works pretty good and it’s relatively inexpensive.” Millias did say, however, that he would like to get input from the general public. It was agreed that a meeting to discuss recycling should probably be scheduled.

Andrews, who is also the Chair of the Halifax School Committee, told his fellow selectmen that DESE sent out a survey about municipal contributions for school budgets. He said that the intention is to ask DESE to increase state aid beyond the $30 per pupil minimum. Andrews said that Halifax actually receives more than that, but that Silver Lake Regional is different. “We’re getting subsidized at the elementary level; that money is supposed to be spent at the elementary, but because Silver Lake is not getting more than the $30 per pupil our money is being shifted from the elementary to Silver Lake. They really need to apportion the regional school systems based on the three towns’ affordability,” Andrews explained. He noted that according to his rough estimates from earlier this year, Halifax brings in 45 percent of the state aid while Kingston and Plympton bring in 35 percent and 27 percent respectively. Andrews said, “the way the numbers come in everyone is getting Halifax’s proportionality of state aid.” Andrews asked the Board to vote to request that the state break out the state aid based on the town. The selectmen did so unanimously.

In other school related news, the Halifax Elementary School Committee has received 5 or 6 candidates interested in serving. Interviews with both the school committee and the selectmen will have to be scheduled to select a new member.

A virtual public forum will be held over Zoom on Tuesday, Oct. 20 to discuss expanding the town’s Host Community Agreement with Bud’s Goods and Provisions. The company, which will be establishing an outdoor marijuana cultivation site on River St., said that they would like to expand the agreement to include both manufacturing as well as indoor cultivation.

Finally, the selectmen voted Thursday to prorate liquor licenses for 2021 to account for the time that local restaurants were closed in 2020.

Millias noted that he was certainly in favor of helping the businesses in this manner.