Justin Evans
Express correspondent
Halifax Town Administrator Cody Haddad announced his resignation during the Tuesday, April 29 Board of Selectmen meeting, effective at the end of July, marking the end of a two-year tenure that brought stability to the town.
“I will be resigning from my position as town administrator here effective at the end of July,” Haddad told the board. “It was a personal decision. I think that’s best for me and my family at this time.”
Haddad, who will be returning to Dartmouth as Town Administrator according to Dartmouth Week, emphasized his commitment to helping with the transition over the next few months.
“It certainly wasn’t anywhere near as long as Mr. Bruno’s,” Haddad said of his tenure. “But I think looking back I think I gave the town my all. I think we made a lot of progress.”
The announcement followed a meeting that began with heartfelt tributes to Chair John Bruno, who previously served five terms as a selectman before returning for his non-consecutive sixth term in 2022.
“In typical John Bruno fashion, he didn’t want anything big for his last meeting here,” said Haddad, who thanked express Bruno for his service. “In time of instability, you came back and provided the stability that the town needed.”
Jonathan Selig adds his appreciation, joking that “when I grow up, I want to be John Bruno.”
“We were in some tough times, and I always wondered if there was a bat signal that we sent out,” Selig says. “Because John heard it and to many degree rescued the town.”
Bruno, characteristically humble in his response, reflects on his time serving Halifax.
“I wasn’t expecting anything like this. It’s really unnecessary. It’s my town, too, so I don’t mind pitching in when I can,” Bruno said. “This go-around has been an adventure, really, kind of an adventure in a lot of ways. But I think we’ve managed to bring things back to stability.”
Bruno returned to the board after the resignations of two Selectmen and the Town Administrator, leaving Selig on his own, creating a leadership vacuum in the town.
Following Haddad’s announcement, board members express their appreciation for his leadership during his time in Halifax.
“Cody came in at a crossroads much like you did,” Selig tells Bruno. “He not only settled the waters a little bit but kind of charted a course for us.”
Selig notes that many residents have approached him to praise Haddad’s work, calling him “a shining star,” adding “We went from putting out fires in the now to thinking down the road. And that was refreshing. We started developing plans for not just the next six months, the next couple weeks, but like, what are we going to do down the road?”
Thomas Pratt, the newest member of the board, offered his perspective: “I have nothing to compare Cody to. I think with my election about a year ago, just under a year ago, I was supposed to come in with some sort of adversary reaction to the status quo. I never had another town administrator besides Cody.”
“Anybody you talk to in town, in this building, in this room, has nothing but glowing things to say,” Pratt adds. “I always felt prepared. I was always ready. I was never surprised at what was before us.”
The board discusses beginning the search for Haddad’s replacement immediately, with Bruno suggesting they aim for some overlap between administrators to ensure a smooth transition.
“The end of July will come here faster than we realize it,” Bruno says. “It’s better to have ideally… some sort of an overlap where whoever this is, if we could get them in, say by the beginning of July even.”
Haddad offered to reach out to search firms to get proposals for the board to review at their next meeting.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better tenure,” Haddad says. “I think we accomplished a lot. The board has been phenomenal. I speak with my colleagues all the time, and many people are not as fortunate as I am to have had such a phenomenal board.”
He assures the board and residents that he remains committed to Halifax for his remaining months.
“I’m not going anywhere yet. I still have a few months of work here. We still have a lot of work to do. I’m not going to let off the gas here.”
Haddad also promises continued support even after his departure: “My number is not changing. Even if I’m no longer here, I’ll always be supportive of Halifax.”
The meeting also included the introduction of Joe Braga as interim building commissioner, approval of a motorcycle safety awareness proclamation, and discussion of a petition article for town meeting regarding land acquisition.
The board unanimously approved several other items, including a $1.3 million borrowing for water treatment plant upgrades, a contract for Town Hall portico repairs, and a three-year contract for Town Accountant Lindsay Martinelli.

The Kingston Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, April 22. Kingston Police Department Detective/Lieutenant Mike Skowyra, who oversees tactical and firearm training, presented before the Selectmen regarding a firearm’s training request. Skowyra explained that there was a need for a range due to the necessity of firearms annual qualification and training as well as less lethal shotgun training and taser training. He said that they have had to utilize range space from other towns/departments which creates scheduling issues as well as other problems. He said that another alternative would be to pay to use private gun ranges in the area. “If we were to build this range in the proposed space… we currently anticipate… really no additional cost,” Skowyra said. He did note that there could be a potential for a $1,000 cost to bring in an excavator. He also noted that if they had to fire lead-free ammo, there would be a slight increase in cost which would equate to about $250-$500 per year.

Regarding site selection, Skowyra said that they had a number of restrictions to contend with, including being prohibited from being 500 ft from a residence and 150 ft from a roadway. The site is also not allowed on conservation property or within wetlands. He said that left them with one viable property – the waster water and transfer station property. Skowyra did note that they planned to do most of the activity on the range while the transfer station is closed.

Skowyra acknowledged that residents would be able to hear the gunshots. Selectman Kimberley Emberg was unable to attend but did pass her concern along to Selectmen Chair Eric Crone to share. Crone said that both he and Emberg felt that there should be a public hearing available to residents within a certain radius that may be affected by the noise. Town Administrator Keith Hickey said that could be setup. Crone said that while he supported the public hearing, it was a “noisy area” regardless including noise from the nearby train station. The public hearing is scheduled for May 6 and maps are available on the town website.

The Selectmen also held a public hearing for a street acceptance for Timber Ridge and Sequoia Dr.

Hickey said, “these two roads are in such good shape and new, the need to have the initial review to determine what improvements need to be made, doesn’t need to happen.” Hickey said that if they received 90 percent of signatures from the homeowners, they might be able to bring it before the town at the fall town meeting. Crone said that it doesn’t cost the town anything in the immediate to accept the streets but noted that it meant in the future they would be responsible for upkeep. Crone asked if any of the affected residents didn’t want the roads accepted and was told “everyone has been positive so far.” The Selectmen voted to approve the request from 34 South St. Homeowner’s Association Trust to move to the next step in the road acceptance policy.

Crone said they had a request to reduce the number of available razor clam licenses which previously had been set at 11 licenses annually. He said that the Board asked the Shellfish Constable to establish a minimum number of shellfish to be harvested by each license holder to maintain their license from the previous year. The Shellfish Constable, however, was not recommending a minimum as there is no waiting list for licenses now. The current Harbormaster and Shellfish Constable is requesting that the licenses be reduced to nine; there are currently nine license holders and no waiting list. The Selectmen voted to approve the renewal of the nine razor clam licenses through June 30, 2026. The license fee was set at $300 and the number of licenses was reduced to nine.

The Board took up whether to allow early voting for the annual town election. Hickey told the Selectmen that the Town Clerk was requesting they not approve early voting for the annual election in May. The Selectmen voted unanimously to support no early voting.
Crone told his fellow Selectmen that they had a request to refinance an affordable living unit. “The owners of the property at 27 Bog View Rd. purchased the property through an affordable living unit lottery through the Office of Housing and Living Communities,” Crone said. The Board approved the request to refinance the property with a few stipulations.

The Board also voted to approve a one-year employment contract with Deputy Fire Chief Adam Hatch.

Before adjourning, Hickey provided some updates including several Fire Department grants. A grant was awarded in the amount of $4k for student awareness of Fire education, $2,200 for senior awareness of Fire Education, and $4,554 for firefighter safety equipment. The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs has also awarded Kingston a $44,000 grant to update the town’s Housing Production Plan and Housing Needs Assessment.

Justin Evans
Express correspondent
Halifax is grappling with significant budget constraints for fiscal year 2026, with town officials projecting minimal new growth and substantial increases in education costs.
Town Administrator Cody Haddad presented the fiscal year 2026 budget overview during a recent Finance Committee budget forum, highlighting the challenges facing the town.
“What we saw for fiscal 26 was we have little to no growth in Halifax anticipated for the year,” Haddad says. “We’re confident we’re not going to get $100,000 in new growth for fiscal 26.”
The town is projecting only $75,000 in new growth for the upcoming fiscal year, a dramatic decrease from the more than $300,000 seen five years ago. This decline in growth significantly impacts Halifax’s ability to fund services and capital projects.
Education costs represent the largest increases in the town’s operating budget. Halifax Elementary School’s budget is increasing by 11.63%, amounting to $793,675, while Silver Lake’s assessment is rising by 5.6%, or $455,530.
To balance the budget amid these challenges, town officials plan to use $745,000 in free cash to subsidize the operating budget, despite recommendations against this practice from the financial team.
“That was not recommended by myself and our financial team,” Haddad explained. “The town relies on the free cash to fund capital items, and without that, we would not be funding all of our capital items. It also creates a fiscal cliff in fiscal 27.”
The total recommended budget for fiscal year 2026 stands at $31,380,584. Town departments, including public safety, general government, and highway, make up 26.4% of the total operating budget. Insurance and benefits account for 12.6%, while the elementary school represents 24.27% and Silver Lake comprises 27.36%.
In addition to using free cash, the town is implementing various cost-cutting measures. These include removing a new ambulance, a police cruiser, and repairs to the blacksmith shop from the capital plan. Staffing reductions will affect the administration and Selectman’s office, building maintenance, and the library.
Halifax Elementary School has also had to make several reductions from its initially requested budget.
The town’s revenue picture shows the tax levy accounting for 65% of total revenues at $20,401,342. Local receipts, including motor vehicle excise tax, marijuana income, and meals tax, are estimated at $2.731 million, representing 8.7% of revenues. State aid is projected at $4.861 million, or 15.5% of revenues.
Haddad notes that state aid, particularly around education, is not being provided at appropriate levels. “We’re not being reimbursed or given the aid at levels that we should be,” he says.
Fixed costs are also putting pressure on the budget. Plymouth County retirement is increasing by nearly 8%, amounting to $150,000, while group insurance for health coverage is rising by 8%, adding almost $100,000 to expenses.
Public safety departments are maintaining essentially flat budgets from fiscal year 2025 to 2026, with some line-item adjustments. The police department is seeing savings due to senior officers retiring and being replaced by new officers at lower rates.
The town is also facing new expenses, including required PFAS testing for the town-owned landfill. This testing will cost approximately $10,000 annually for the foreseeable future.
“We were notified by DEP in late 2024 that we were going to have to start conducting this PFAS testing,” Haddad explains. “We had not previously been required to do that.”
Another notable increase is in the Veterans Agent salary, which is rising by $11,500 to meet state requirements. The state recently mandated that veterans’ agents must work at least 20 hours per week to maintain accreditation for processing veterans’ claims.
The legal account is increasing by $30,000 due to anticipated litigation regarding MBTA zoning compliance issues and upcoming negotiations with five of the town’s seven unions.
Haddad emphasized that unlike households, municipalities have limited flexibility in reducing costs. “Unlike at home, where if you want your heating bill to be a little bit lower because you need to penny pinch a little bit this month, you can turn down your thermostat and throw on a sweatshirt… We don’t have that flexibility within a municipality.”
The town plans to hold another budget forum on May 5, a week before town meeting, to provide residents with additional information and answer questions about the fiscal year 2026 budget.

The Silver Lake Regional School Committee met on Thursday, April 10. Superintendent Jill Proulx introduced the results from various surveys taken. This past winter, students took the SAEBER (Social, Academic, and Emotional Behavior Risk) screener. The level of risk was assessed for each school for Grades K-6. Only three percent of students across Kingston, Plympton, and Halifax were deemed high risk. Plympton had the lowest percentage of students in the “some risk” category at just 9 percent while Kingston and Halifax ranged between 13 and 18 percent. The vast majority of students in Grades K-6 across the three towns fell into the low risk category.
A separate survey was given for students in Grades 7-12, faculty and staff, and families as part of the DESE Tiered Focus Monitoring program. Some key takeaways included that 92 percent of students felt welcome to participate in student activities and that students would like to see new activities/sports offered including dance team, golf, and ping pong.
A presentation was given on student performance through the middle of the year. For English/Language Arts (ELA) students meeting or exceeding grade level expectations in Kingston is 42 percent, in Halifax it is 55 percent, and at the Dennett it is 53 percent. The district-wide goal is to reach 70 percent. For math, 48 percent of Kingston, 55 percent of Halifax, and 56 percent of Dennett students are meeting or exceeding expectations. For science, 52 percent of Kingston students, 60 percent of Halifax students, and 63 percent of Dennett students were meeting or exceeding expectations.
Results from both MCAS and STAR testing for Grades 7 and 8 were also provided. Comparing last year’s MCAS scores to this year’s STAR, the number of students meeting or exceeding expectations for seventh grade is 22 percent higher than last year. It is 18 percent higher for eighth grade. They also reviewed performance for Grades 9 and 10. For reading, 64 percent of ninth graders are meeting or exceeding expectations while 50 percent are for tenth grade. It was stated, however, that the AP Seminar students were not included in the tenth-grade scores.
Chair Gordon Laws said, “Tonight’s presentation represents a lot of progress in my view on a number of levels. Not just from a standpoint of generally good improvements, but from a process standpoint as well. Several years ago, when I started on the School Committee, we couldn’t have a discussion on looking at grade level assessments or pre-assessments other than MCAS and we couldn’t relate whether those pre-assessments were predictive or correlated or related in any way to how MCAS looks. The fact that we are able to do this now… and have data-driven discussion, is really, really good progress.”
While Committee member Jason Fraser was unable to attend in person, he did pass along a Legislative Agent’s update. In it, he said that the House Ways and Means budget was set to be released the following week. Fraser said that significant increases to education appear unlikely but noted that the MASC (Massachusetts Association of School Committees) was still advocating for key measures. Amongst those is a $200 per pupil funding increment. They are also advocating for raising the state reimbursement rate for extraordinary special education costs to 90 percent.
Director of Finance and Operations Sarah Hickey told the Committee, “The Governor’s budget comes out in January – there’s initial amounts for Chapter 70 funding and then that goes to the House. The initial regional transportation reimbursement from the State from the Governor was $795,726; the House voted to fund regional transportation at 100 percent which would give Silver Lake $1,151,117 if that passes the Senate and then the Conference Committee for the final budget.” She noted that there is a potential for Silver Lake to receive $355k from the state and asked the Committee to consider additional staffing for the business office should that happen. Laws said that while it was worthy for debate, it was not on the agenda for further discussion and asked that they table it for a future meeting.
Regarding the School Resource Officer (SRO) at the Middle School, Proulx said, “We had received a request from the Chief for the School Committee to consider funding the SRO at 0.8 FTE for the upcoming school year out of our budget.” She said that the Town Administrator asked if the schools could pick up the cost for full-time benefits as it was not included in their budget. This would be on top of the $80k already allocated for the SRO. Proulx said it would be an increase of nearly $19,000.
The Committee was also told that the position likely wouldn’t be filled until December/January. Hickey said that she had asked their attorney to put together an inter-municipal agreement so they could have something in writing. She noted that what was agreed upon previously was that Silver Lake Regional would pay $80k at an expense of $10k per month. “So then it was explained that the patrolman would have to be hired and would have to go through the Academy and wouldn’t be able to start at the schools until later in the year.” She said that this would mean that the portion of the $80k that wouldn’t be spent on salary, would be used, instead, to pay the benefits.
Committee member Jeanne Coleman called it a bait and switch. Laws said, “I felt like we took a lot of heat from the towns and particularly that town about the state of our budget deliberations… and took a lot of grief over being able to project what our costs are and now that we locked them, we are being asked to readjust them and it doesn’t feel great.” Coleman said that part of the agreement was the understanding that they would not be paying for the benefits. She did acknowledge that the Police Department had asked for an override for their budget that the Selectmen did not vote to support, leaving them to have to find ways to trim their budget. Later in the meeting, Hickey clarified saying that she heard from the Kingston Town Manager and “the cost that he is looking for Silver Lake to pay for salary and benefits is $66,667… which fits within the $80k.”
Principal Michaela Gill provided an update. She said that she was “super excited” to announce that the school had received a $47,000 grant to help create more biomedical pathways. Gill also announced that student Olivia Silveira won a Best in Show award and her artwork will be displayed in Congress in Washington D.C. Gill said there were many staff members, herself included, already wanting to buy her artwork.
Gill also told the Committee that they had a proposal from the Athletic Director to establish a summer strength and conditioning program for student athletes that would be supervised by the trainer. Gill said it would run for six weeks, three days a week. The Committee voted in favor of the proposal.
The Committee also voted on whether to continue with last year’s withdrawal from school choice. The Committee cited both financial and space concerns in their vote to once again withdraw.

The Kingston Board of Selectmen met on April 1. They discussed the warrant for the upcoming Town Meeting.
Town Administrator Keith Hickey said that in the warrant there is a request for a Proposition 2 ½ override of $653,000. He told the Selectmen that what they were viewing that night was his attempt to provide alternatives to get the town below the threshold for a Prop 2 ½ override. “The two warrant articles I’m suggesting is not including a Proposition 2 ½ override for $575,000 for the Police Department and also removing the warrant article to fund the independent school operational out of $100,000. If those two articles are removed from the warrant, you’ll have an excess property tax levy of $21,656… not a lot of money.”
Selectman Eric Crone said that as far as the Selectmen were concerned the $575k override was already a no vote. He said that the idea to reduce the transferred employment liability reserve fund from $150k to $100k was favorable. Hickey said that the reduction would not have an effect on excess levy capacity, but rather on free cash. Hickey also suggested reducing the OPEB (Other Post-Employment Benefits) from $100k to $50k. There would also be a transfer of $100k from stabilization. Hickey noted that they were not putting the town into any type of financial risk with these changes. Finally, Hickey told the Selectmen that the Finance Committee voted to restore the $25,000 book budget that had been previously cut from the library.
Hickey said that there is just over $3 million in the Stabilization Fund and noted that it has been years since they’ve had to access that and called it a last resort.
The Selectmen also discussed the school budget. Selectman Kimberley Emberg said, “I think we need to dig in deeper with this and I know the School Committees are doing as much as they can with the State… trying to adjust funding formulas and things. My understanding is we do have audits done, both at the town level and the school level already. I know Whitman-Hanson did a separate audit and found some interesting findings. My hope was that we would do an audit prior to having to ask for an override.” She said that she didn’t believe the town to have $100k, however, to do that. Crone recommended that they talk to the other two Silver Lake towns to look at everything. “And I want to point out, I’m not bashing any school committees because I think that everyone is trying to get a hold of this,” Crone said. He noted that they have a lot of work to do before next year’s budget “in preparation for the fiscal cliff that we’re going to see next year.”
The Selectmen also heard several FY26 capital requests. These included $25,000 to repair or replace folding wall panels at the COA, $51k to replace computer servers, $50k for traffic safety improvements, $233k to replace three police vehicles, and $167k to replace police tasers. There is also $82k to replace a lift at the Highway Department, $50k to replace the KES drain lines for the restrooms, and $50k to replace driveway and other asphalt surfaces at KIS. The top five bicycle and pedestrian safety projects were discussed as there is a grant available to cover construction. The town would need to pay for engineering to secure said grants. Included in that engineering cost is $151k for one project, $160k for another, and finally $49,500 for the most pressing of all the projects.
Town Planner Valerie Massard presented to the Selectmen. She said that they have been working with Second Horizon Capital on the redevelopment of the Kingston Collection. She said that in addition to purchasing the mall, they’ve also purchased the Macy’s building. “In order to generate traffic and get people on the ground at the mall, is a gas station,” Massard said. She said that there was some unused Fire Department land that could be named surplus property and redistributed toward the gas station project. Massard said they fully support the article and hope that the Selectmen will as well.
Massard added, “All of us are familiar as residents if you’re driving on Kingston Collection way and away from Plymouth and toward the highway, there’s a place where you’re coming around the bend on your way to the signals… and you can’t see them, there’s a blind hill that keeps you from seeing them and part of those negotiations do include the taking back of that hill to improve sight lines so it’s a safety consideration that the town gets as a win-win.” Selectman Kimberely Emberg said, “commercial business is good for everybody.”
The Sewer Commissioner presented before the Selectmen requesting their support for an FY26 warrant article funding request. She said, “In the late 1990s the town embraced the role of environmental steward of our local waterways with the introduction of our municipal sewer system… with the introduction… our local waterways… are being utilized to their fullest extent.” She went on to talk about the fishing and recreation opportunities that have come as a result as well as the clean drinking water. She said that the general fund has also seen an increased tax base due to increased property values.
She read from a 1998 document that discussed two different phases including a leaching field. “The town is currently paying one-third of the cost of phase one… the town is not paying one-third of the cost of the planned phase two as described in the notification from 1997. At this time, we are asking for the town to pay one-third of the cost of the leaching field project… the estimated final cost of the leaching field project as it was part of the adopted plan from 1997; the estimated final cost of the leaching field project is $8,200,000 including interest.” The town’s share would be just under $3 million. She spoke about needing to set up a debt schedule that would commit the town for twenty years.
Crone said that the Board would be voting their support for or against the article and speaking on the Town Meeting floor either supporting it or not. Hickey said, “The impression I’ve been left with… the agreement that was made twenty-five years ago where it said initially that the sewer commissioners would set the percentage of debt that was going to be shared by the general fund and later modified a little bit did not bind future town meetings; it’s been going on because it’s been accepted practice.”
Crone reminded everyone that Town Meeting will be held on April 26 and the Town Election on May 17. It was also said that Gray’s Beach stickers went for sale and can be found on the Recreation Department website. Out of town stickers sold out in a mere 15 minutes.

The Kingston Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, March 25. Kingston Police Chief Brian Holmes had an appointment with the Board. “He’s requesting that we reconsider the March 12 vote to sponsor a prop 2 ½ warrant article to provide an additional $575,000 for a sergeant, patrolmen, and related benefits to the Police Department,” Selectman Eric Crone explained.
Holmes said, “One of the most prevalent issues in the recent presidential election was national security… I did a live interview with WATD yesterday… and then we shared that interview on Facebook with the concerns we have with staffing. Once again, we’re asking for the town to allow for the annual Town Meeting to make the call about whether or not this town has the appetite for an override.” He continued, “Failing the success of an override for the Police Department, we could literally end up waiting years for any kind of significant growth. This is a workplace safety issue; this is an officer safety issue… and this bears the potential for liability on the part of the town on so many levels.” He alluded to pending grants and said that he has worked on finding alternative sources of funding for the Department.
Holmes said that Silver Lake Regional has agreed to fund an additional school resource officer. He noted that Duxbury’s override just failed and said that going for these overrides were becoming a way to deal with increasing financial crises in surrounding communities. “I believe that the town residents should have the right to weigh in. The options before you, in my opinion, are 1. Take no action. 2. Reconsider the vote of two weeks ago and let the Town Meeting decide by way of a warrant article or 3. Hold a public hearing in a week. Hold that hearing to determine whether or not there is support for it,” Holmes said. He told the Selectmen he has heard a lot of support for the Department’s request. The Selectmen clarified that the Department would like to see the addition of a Deputy Chief, a Sergeant, and three more Patrolmen.
Selectman Kimberley Emberg said that in the last 33 years, Kingston has asked for an override six times and four of them have failed. “My concern is if we ask for an override this year, we will not be able to ask for one next year – that we would be setting up a potential override for next year to fail… we’re up at the levy limit, we have no excess levy capacity; to the point where if something happens, all we have is half a million dollars in free cash – that’s not much of a saving’s account,” Emberg said. She said that while she supported the Police Department and their needs, the numbers this year don’t warrant the requests. She added, “If we go to Town Meeting now and ask for a Police override, we’re putting Police over everything else because it will shut everything else down for next year and that’s my fear.” The Selectmen decided to hold off on taking a vote until they have the full Board present.
Fire Chief Mark Douglass appeared before the Board for a supplemental budget request in the amount of $125,000 to assist with a $159,551 deficit within the personnel lines. “This past year we’ve had a number of extended injuries that have gone long-term… due to the increased call volume, we’ve ended up calling people back a lot more than we were,” Douglass said. He noted a significant increase in call volume over last year. The Selectmen voted to include a warrant article at Town Meeting seeking supplemental appropriation for the Fire Department in the amount of $125,000.
Selectmen also voted to support a resolution in support of the No Cuts to Public Schools Act which would protect funding that allows public schools to serve students of various needs appropriately. The resolution recognized the ways in which special education tuition and transportation as well as other educational needs are outpacing available funding in most surrounding communities.
Two members of the Agricultural Commission spoke during open forum. They said that they would be sponsoring a vegetable growing/gardening event at the Senior Center in April. They also said that Karen Johnson would be resigning from the Commission and they thanked her for all of her hard work over the years including her work with 4-H and rescuing horses.
The Selectmen also accepted a resignation from the Council on Aging Advisory Board for Mary Hayes. They also appointed Lucy Coletta as an associate member to the Council on Aging Advisory Board. Finally, Joseph Cunningham III was appointed to the Kingston 300th Committee for the duration of the project.
Town Administrator Keith Hickey provided some updates. He said that the town received a call a few weeks back from a company called Business View Magazine. Kingston was selected by them to be part of a television series called The Best of Massachusetts: A Talent for Innovation. Hickey said a small magazine would also be published as well. “I think it’s a great opportunity for Kingston to be highlighted,” he said. He did note that it would be at no cost to the town.
Hickey also said that the town met with MassDot to discuss the final paving of the Main Street water line. They will be closing two exit ramps off of Rt. 3 during the work which is tentatively scheduled for April vacation. Hickey noted that there will be traffic impact.
The Selectmen held a public hearing for a street acceptance for Russell’s Pond Road. “Best case scenario, we’re probably looking at a fall Town Meeting to potentially approve the road depending on whether everything gets done that needs to get done,” Hickey said. Town Planner Valerie Messard, who has been working with the residents of the street, also spoke. “The benefit for the residents, obviously, is that we would be plowing that road and maintaining it during the winter and also paving it every couple of years using Chapter 90 funds,” Crone added.

The Halifax School Committee met on Monday, March 10. The budget and the potential override were the main topics of conversation.
Chair Lauren Laws opened the meeting to public comment. A concerned resident spoke about cost-of-living increases and the town’s request to ask various departments to look at places where they can reduce their budgets. The resident asked if the schools had looked at all possible places to cut and recommended looking at things like paying for busing and/or kindergarten rather than cutting teachers. He said that class sizes of 30 plus students was not ideal.
Resident Katherine Schneider spoke saying she had a few questions that she put together based on previous meetings she has attended as well as speaking with teachers. She began by suggesting charging for buses as a previous speaker had recommended. “Is there a new curriculum being discussed? I’ve heard a few times about a new curriculum; no offense but like why are we cutting teachers and thinking about a new curriculum when we’re above average? Can we slash unnecessary professional development?” Schneider asked. She also inquired why there have been no cuts at the high school. She further said that she couldn’t understand why anyone would want to move to the town if the schools become decimated.
A former teacher spoke saying that while he doesn’t have children of school age any longer, he still supports the school budget. “If I have to spend a little more money every year, I guess that vacation in the Bahamas is going to have to go… because it’s important that the kids have certain things – don’t take music away from them, don’t take sports away from them; don’t take those things away from these kids,” he said.
Halifax Selectman Jonathan Selig spoke saying that he would like to provide some insights into what the town was doing on their end to help the elementary school. Selig told those assembled that the cost of education in Halifax has increased an average of three percent each year over the last decade. “This year it is a 21 percent increase at Halifax Elementary and an almost six percent jump for our assessment over at Silver Lake,” Selig explained. He continued, “I will admit, I was hoping some concessions could be made by both school committees… In light of these school budgets, the town is turning over every stone to try to attack this deficit from all angles; asking all town departments to submit budgets with a ten percent cut to try to start searching for possible solutions.” Selig said that everything from reducing hours in town buildings to cutting town positions were on the table. Selig asked the School Committee to consider making further concessions. He said that if they were relying on an override, they should try to make the figure as small as possible. He also said that Silver Lake using one-time E&D funds to bridge gaps will likely result in all three towns facing overrides next year.
The Director of Finance and Operations Sarah Hickey spoke as well and said that the current level service budget for FY26 including shared costs for Halifax Elementary is $8,284,489. She explained that Halifax’s assessment for FY26 is $9,030,026.55 which represents a $414,808.83 increase over FY25. She explained that the increase is significantly more than the other towns as there is a portion of the assessment calculation process where the Department of Education allocates Chapter 71 funding to Silver Lake. She said that there was a $400k increase that Halifax had to pay of those funds.
Hickey said that the 18.4 percent increase for the Halifax Elementary School budget is not something the town feels they are able to accommodate. She said that the total cost of education for Halifax combining the budget that was voted on at the last meeting for the elementary school and the Silver Lake assessment is $17,277,137.55 for FY26. This represents a $1.7 million increase or a nearly 11 percent change. Selig clarified that regardless of whether Halifax passes an override, they would still be forced to support the Silver Lake budget if the other two towns did support the figure. Laws asked if that money would come out of the elementary budget or elsewhere in the town. Selig said he believed it was set aside, but needed to verify.
Hickey reviewed the Tier one cuts of approximately $77k that were made back in December. She said that a request was made to see what class sizes would look like if three teachers were cut at a savings of $210,000. She said the estimated class sizes would be 21-23 students in kindergarten through sixth grade.
Tier two cuts, which amount to over $495k, include a grade 3 teacher, a grade 4 teacher, a grade 5 teacher, a grade 6 teacher, a tech teacher, a special educator, and a bus. Tier three cuts, which amount to over $337k, include a math specialist, a reading specialist, a custodian, a 0.5 librarian, and a 0.8 art teacher. Tier four cuts were called unrealistic, but totaled an additional $400k. These would include another kindergarten teacher, a grade 1 teacher, another grade 3 teacher, another grade 4 teacher, and another grade 6 teacher. Tier four cuts would result in some class sizes going up to 35. If Tier two cuts are taken, the increase from FY25 to FY26 goes to 11 percent, adding in Tier three and it drops to 6.5 percent, and with Tier four it becomes less than 1 percent.
There was some discussion about cutting out the cost of a new curriculum. Superintendent Jill Proulx said, “We don’t have a complete K-grade 6 written curriculum in any plan; we won’t have a resource that can be used by all teachers in each grade that is aligned with State standards. We can expect teachers to align their curriculums with State standards but without those materials it is more difficult to do.”
A resident asked why there was a staggering increase to the budget. Proulx said that all of the budget presentations since January are available online and noted that budget discussions have been ongoing since November. She further said, “It’s not just increases in special education albeit that is an area that we don’t have control over… just think about your own grocery bills… the reality is it’s a flaw in the funding mechanism in Chapter 70; the cost to educate is far outstripping the resources to pay for that education.” Selig said that this is not a problem that’s unique to Halifax and noted that he will be asking the rest of the Selectmen to support a letter to State legislators imploring them to look at how they are approaching education funding. “When you have towns like Duxbury that are six million in the hole and Norwell that are five million in the hole… and these are affluent communities, so the fact that you are seeing it across the State means the problem lies a lot higher than Halifax… I urge people to reach out to your representatives at the state level,” Selig said.
Asked about exploring asking residents to pay for full day kindergarten, Hickey said that they would have to first move to half day kindergarten and then ask people to pay for full. Laws said that they would save money either way since if they moved to half day kindergarten, they would save a teacher salary and if people paid for full day, it would make up some of the difference in the deficit. Hickey said that neighboring communities charge between $3k and $3.5k per student for full day kindergarten. Laws pointed out that they would be adding two buses to transport students for half day kindergarten. “So, it would be cutting teachers but adding bus costs… this is why it’s such a hard decision” she said. Hickey said if they had to run three buses it would be approximately $30k to do the midday runs.
Laws said, “If we were to freeze the budget, have some excess funds… I’m just trying to think of ways that we could push some of the special education surplus we have at the moment toward next year.” Hickey said, “Tuitions that were paid in FY24 are reimbursed to us to be used in FY25, so I believe what you’re asking is to freeze the Circuit Breaker account as it stands.” Asked for an estimate, they were told “under “$391,000.” Someone referred to it as “a whole tier [cuts].” Circuit Breaker is Massachusetts’s reimbursement program to help offset the costs of special education. A motion was made that the Superintendent be directed to reduce the Circuit Breaker funding for the FY25 budget by $200,000 which is the projected excess. There was a lot of debate back and forth by the School Committee as it was a “gamble” since there was a possibility that those funds would be needed this school year.
Special Education Director Christine Panarese said, “There’s a lot to win if you take the gamble; I don’t have anything on the horizon that would make me say we need to be cautious here – we need to be conservative. I think it’s pretty safe to say we’re just going to take $200k of that excess we have and apply it to make sure our budget is a little bit better, presentation-wise.” The School Committee discussed cutting both the $200,000 in Circuit Breaker excess and the Tier one cuts of $210,000 from the budget for a total reduction of $410,000. The Committee also discussed reducing the budget by $38k which represented a budgeted out of district placement for FY25 that hadn’t happened.
Asked what would happen if the override doesn’t pass, Laws said all the cuts would happen, including Tier four. “If we don’t get the override and then we’re in a position again next year, we would most likely go into receivership the following year which means the State takes over your school and you do what they say,” Laws said.
The Committee came to the conclusion that cutting as much as possible from the budget request would give the override the best possible chance of passing as they would be asking for under $1 million. The total amount taken from the budget request was just over $448k. The reduction included the Circuit Breaker excess, the tier one cuts, and the out-of-district placement excess. Ultimately, this means that the Halifax School Committee approved $7,648,313 as the FY26 local education operating budget.

The warrant is now open for Halifax’s 2025 Annual Town Meeting which is scheduled to occur on Monday, May 12, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. at the Halifax Elementary School. Citizen petitions must be submitted to the Town Clerk’s Office by 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11, 2025.
In order to participate in Town Meeting, residents must be registered to vote. The voter registration deadline to participate in the 2025 Annual Town Meeting is Friday, May 2, 2025. For all questions relating to Voter Registration, contact the Town Clerk’s Office by calling (781) 293-7970 or e-mailing [email protected].
Any questions regarding the Annual Town Meeting, submitting warrant articles, etc. should be directed to the Board of Selectmen’s Office by calling (781) 294-1316 or e-mailing [email protected].
A copy of the Warrant will be posted on the Town’s website and mailed to every household when it becomes available.

Revision 2/13/2025 10:26 am: Correction of the citizen petition submission deadline; Tuesday, March 11th, 2025.

The Halifax Board of Selectmen met on Tuesday, Feb. 11. The Finance Committee, as well as members of the School Committee, were in attendance. Town Administrator Cody Haddad said that the Selectmen would be voting to open the annual and special town meeting warrant that night with it set to close on March 11. Any citizen petition articles would also be due by March 11.
Haddad introduced the budget discussion. He noted that public safety “continues to be cognizant of the budget” saying, “their request this year, across all public safety, is a zero percent increase from fiscal 25 to fiscal 26; that’s unprecedented.” He said that this allowed for a 3.5 percent increase for education. “Halifax Elementary School Committee did meet last night; their level service budget request was around a 23 percent increase and they did move forward and vote to request that,” Haddad said. He continued, “if we were to fund all of those requests in addition to the reasonable requests that we anticipate from the town side that we’ve cut down already, we are looking at a deficit of around $1.15 million.”
Silver Lake Superintendent Jill Proulx said that Circuit Breaker, the State’s reimbursement program to offset costs of special education, was largely responsible for the 23 percent increase. Director of Finance for Silver Lake, Sarah Hickey, said that they were directed to present a Silver Lake budget that was a 2 percent increase over FY25. “The preliminary assessment using that 2 percent increase for Silver Lake would have Halifax’s preliminary operating assessment at $8,610,322.50,” Hickey said. She said it would be a 5.1 percent increase over the previous year. Hickey also said that that the total cost of education for Halifax is $17,301,856.69 which equates to an 11 percent increase over FY25. She called them preliminary calculations.
Selectman Thomas Pratt said that he attended the meeting where the school budget was voted. He said there “was a lot of passion in the room.” He asked, “any administrating positions being cut?” Proulx said, “we did consider administration positions and we consulted with our attorney; we are legally obligated to honor contractual obligations and we have contracts that currently haven’t expired.”
Asked about whether the Town could expect large increases and override requests every year, Hickey clarified that comparing FY24 to FY25 “doesn’t work.” She said, “At the behest of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Silver Lake Regional School District and Union 31 did a major restructuring last year.” She said that for future years she anticipates merely cost of living level increases of approximately 3 percent.
Someone asked if special education students are ever moved off an IEP and was told that if that were to happen, it typically occurs at the Middle and High School levels. A resident spoke saying that if math and reading interventionists were included in budgetary cuts, as was suggested, her child who did move off an IEP, wouldn’t have, therefore arguing that the cuts will end up costing the schools and towns more in the long run. It was also said that there would no longer be an adjustment counselor which will impact the social and emotional support.
Pratt said that his disappointment with the School Committee’s vote to support the budget request is that they “went all in.” He expressed concern that if the override doesn’t pass, the schools will be decimated. “So, the balance is getting something on the budget that makes an impact on the future of the children but that you’ll have buy-in from the town that invests in those kids to pass.” He referenced the need for it to pass, “not once, but twice” alluding to a vote at Town Meeting as well as on the ballot. He requested that the schools provide a Plan B.
According to Haddad, whether the Silver Lake budget will require an override on behalf of any of the three towns, still remains to be unseen. If it does and two of the three towns support it, Halifax would still be on the hook for their portion regardless of their vote.
There was also some discussion about a hiring freeze or an overtime freeze. It was said that an overtime freeze would likely affect public safety where it was needed. Bruno also said that if there are snowstorms, overtime would be needed to plow the roads, etc. Pratt replied, “there are some things that you could cut that are overtime. There are some things, I hate to say it, but the woodchipper on Saturdays; if things are tight in the schools, we don’t have to have the woodchipper on Saturdays. Let’s call a spade a spade. And the other thing is, public safety aside, if things are okay this year, but maybe if we didn’t budget for so much overtime, the elementary school wouldn’t have had to cut so much last year as they did.” The Selectmen did decide to implement a hiring freeze for the time being.
Elementary School Committee member Jessica Page said she has been hearing from many parents that if the school’s budget doesn’t pass, they will move their children to charter or private schools. School Committee member Lori Costa-Cline suggested that there is room at some of the elementary grade levels to reduce the number of classroom teachers while maintaining equitable class sizes. She noted that this would result in class sizes of 22 or 23 and not overly large classes of 30 or more. She also noted that the vote for the level service budget was not unanimous, saying two members were looking to reduce the budget further.

Morse Brothers
The Selectmen went into Executive Session to discuss the Morse Brothers case. “The Board has discussed the Morse Brothers lawsuit; just to remind everyone that the Superior Court found in favor of Morse Brothers and so we have asked our Town Counsel to file an appeal,” Bruno said

Halifax Pride
A request was approved for the fifth annual Halifax Pride celebration from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 8 to use the Town Green. They also have a live entertainment permit.
Resident Karen Fava of 66 Clyde O Bosworth Rd. asked to speak saying, “I know that there was conversation that they used the bathrooms here last year for Pride and that shouldn’t be happening.”
Lana Eldridge, who was there on behalf of Halifax Pride said, “I’m one of the coordinators for Pride and we actually provide port-a-potties outside.” From her seat, Fava insisted that they were used for “changing costumes.” Eldridge clarified saying, “Up here in the Green Room; {should be Great Hall?} we pay to use this room, just like anybody else does that wants to use this space… we’re a part of town as well.” There was controversy in years past about the presence of drag queen performers at the event.
Resident John Spada of 59 Firefly Rd. said, “Is there any way we can possibly find a different location not right across from the playground?” Bruno said, “The Town Green is used as a public space and it’s available to anybody; in fact, we probably aren’t allowed to discriminate against one group or another. Because we have it open to everybody, it’s either going to be open to everybody or closed to everybody… as long as it’s okayed by the Fire Department and everybody else.” Fava asked what the performance was “rated.” Eldridge clarified that it was a “family-friendly event.” Eldrirdge said, “If you have a preference and choose not to enjoy the entertainment that we offer, you don’t have to come.”
Fava said, “What I’m asking is are there going to be men dressed as women?” Eldridge replied, “As we have done in the past for the last four years, yes, there are drag performers involved. Again, we’ve had them every year for the last four years. Nothing has been inappropriate… it’s family -friendly and again, if people don’t enjoy that type of entertainment, you don’t have to come.” The Selectmen voted to approve the event.

MBTA Communities
The Selectmen took up the issue of the MBTA Communities Law which requires that towns comply with submitting an MBTA Action Plan that allows for multi-family housing close to MBTA transit stations. The town held a public forum recently where residents came out in droves to express their overwhelming rejection of the law and the subsequent action plan. Towns not in compliance risk losing valuable grant opportunities.
Bruno, who is against the law, said that should the town choose not to be in compliance they will likely risk litigation from the Attorney General.
Chair of the Halifax Elementary School Committee Lauren Laws spoke saying that the schools, like the overall town, are in dire need of funding due to budget constraints. She pleaded with the Board to remain in compliance for the time being so as not to risk losing grant funding such as the grant to explore K-12 regionalization.
Selectmen Thomas Pratt and Bruno voted against staying in compliance. Selectman Jonathan Selig voted nay but was outvoted.
At the current time, only a revised plan, rather than any actual action is needed to stay in compliance.