The Plympton School Committee met in-person onMonday, Feb. 27, for the first time in nearly three years. Previously, meetings had been held virtually.
Superintendent Jill Proulx shared Version Two of the budget with the Committee. Regular day is at 3.13 percent, special education is at 22.24 percent, and the total budget is an increase of 8.56 percent. Committee Chair Jon Wilhelmsen asked which numbers in the budget were down that would likely increase next year. He said he was worried for down the road when laptops or other equipment would need to be replaced. Director of Business Services Christine Healy said that the funding Technology Director Steve Pellowe has received in grant money, would last for several years. Tech, textbooks, and instructional software were the three areas named in the budget as having significant decreases. “We cannot guarantee that that’s going to carry over to another year where it wouldn’t go back up again,” Wilhelmsen said of those areas. Committee member Jason Fraser called the budget “extremely tight” and “fiscally responsible” despite the seemingly large increase. The School Committee voted to approve the 2023-2024 out of district vocational budget of $60,000, the special education budget of 1,388,644, and the regular day operating budget of $2,854,051.
Proulx said that earlier this year they became aware of some problems surrounding the integrated preschool program. She said the main problem is that Silver Lake Regional is a Grade 7 through 12 program and does not include elementary. Wilhelmsen said, “Just so everyone’s clear what programs we are talking about – we are talking about the integrated preschool, which is pre-k, the sort of in-district special ed programs that are K-6… we’re also talking about certain support staff within our budget for our special ed, in-building program.” The State is allowing for a grace period so the district can make necessary changes.
Proulx said that they need to look at a multitude of factors including the need for additional staffing as well as increases to tuition as they look to find the best option for restructuring. Wilhelmsen said that one option would be to fully regionalize the entire district where you would have a single school committee overseeing everything. Proulx explained that an entire grade level could be added to the regional district but noted that the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) would not allow for individualized programs such as the special education program, to be added to a district. Fraser asked if they could consider running a collaborative in lieu of the program being added to the district. Proulx explained that it could incur additional costs as staffing would need to be added as it couldn’t be shared. Proulx said that as of right now, they can either fully regionalize or one of the schools could fully absorb the programs. Fraser said that he was not interested in having the discussion surrounding fully regionalizing and Wilhelmsen said he thought that the residents of the three towns would likely feel similarly. “Plenty more to come on that,” Wilhelmsen said of the discussion. Fraser said, “I’m just a little surprised that DESE isn’t working harder to make what we have work considering it is right and good for kids.”
Wilhelmsen said, “Kingston is footing the bill for certain extra work for this program; they’re not being compensated for it. The people are doing the work and they’re doing it because there are students in their building and they would not neglect any student in their building but we’re not (we and Halifax) are not paying any percentage based on our students being in that building for administrative staff, for school psychologist, for nurses, for whatever, and that is something that we need to address regardless.”
Fraser gave an update on two policies. He said, “One has to do with access to our security cameras… it’s basically who is allowed to view our cameras and for what reasons and what rights parents have to any of the footage on cameras, for which circumstances.” He further said that the policy allows for emergency responders to access the cameras during emergencies. Parents are also allowed to come in and view the recordings though he noted that faces of students would be blurred. The second policy has to do with the current policy surrounding student surveys and the rights of parents to be notified when said surveys are given. Fraser said that parents would be given plenty of time to opt-out of surveys and would also be given sample examples of questions.
The Committee dealt with unfinished business. Wilhelmsen said that he met with the Police Chief to discuss putting out a sign to let people know that dogs are prohibited from the fields on the school grounds. Regarding the playground, Director of Business Services Christine Healy said that they will be ready to put the new surfacing down in the spring. Regarding the ongoing solar project at the school, Wilhelmsen said, “giving credit where credit is due, I have to thank the folks at DESE for being incredibly prompt in getting us their approval.” He said that panels should be placed on the backside of the building by April. “Hopefully that will have some incremental impact on our cost for electricity,” he explained.
Wilhelmsen gave an update on Capital Improvement and said that himself, Dennett Elementary School Principal Peter Veneto, and Director of Facilities Matt Durkee met to talk through some of the pressing items for the year ahead. He said there are no excess funds this year so they will need to think about things “a little bit differently.” He said that they will need to pay for a few classroom floors through an article at Town Meeting. He also said that improvements to the roof will likely be paid for with ARPA funds. There is a plan to use Town Properties Committee administrative funds to pay for an infrared study of the Dennett’s roof to determine what next steps need to be taken and what will be the associated costs.
Fraser provided a legislative update. Regarding private special education schools, Fraser said that typically the State governs how much those schools can raise their tuition. He said that they usually see three or four percent increases but that a 14 percent increase was approved for FY24. He said that the Governor would be releasing the House One budget soon but said that it appears that Plympton would be receiving an additional $40,000 in Chapter 70 funds next year. “Special ed Circuit Breaker is fully funded already in this first version of the budget for the year at 75 percent but she also included four times more dollars for extraordinary relief which is not paid back for the year that has already gone by; we can access those funds for the years that we are encumbering those expenses,” Fraser explained. He called it the first inning of a nine-inning budget process but noted that it is looking good for schools so far.
Fraser said that State Representative Kathy LaNatra filed legislation that would increase the special ed reserve fund from two to five percent. “This would, again, allow municipalities to establish a Special Ed reserve fund of up to five percent of net school funding in case they ever face extraordinary special ed costs; we’re at the cusp of that locally.” Wilhelmsen asked if there would ever come a time when the State would just take over special education. “We have had that discussion several times that special ed is the unifier of all school districts across the State. When we find assistance in special ed, it helps urban schools, rural schools, and suburban schools – wealthy districts and poorer districts, all the boats rise together when special ed is addressed … we are still advocating for it to be a ninety percent reimbursement at three times the foundation number,” Fraser explained. He further said that the State wants school districts invested financially so they would likely never take over 100 percent of costs.
Veneto provided a Principal’s report which began with letting the Committee know that enrollment stands at 240 students currently. He told the Committee that no one has applied for the open School Psychologist position saying it was a problem for many districts right now. He said that three people interviewed for a building substitute position but all three took other jobs. In a more positive update, Veneto said that the school is celebrating Read Across America.
Fraser told the Committee that the Governor’s press release on her budget was “a little bit nebulous about some language changes that the State’s going to be putting into this year’s budget to lessen restrictions on ESSER dollars from the State perspective to allow school districts to spend down those moneys before they sunset in a more fluid way.” Esser refers to Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds that were issued to schools as a result of the Covid pandemic.
Superintendent Jill Proulx provided an update on students attending private, parochial, and charter schools. She said that Plympton has gone down from an all-time high of seven students to just two students this year. She said that overall students in the three communities attending private, parochial, or charter schools is actually up despite Plympton’s numbers falling. Proulx also said that one student in Plympton is utilizing school choice.

CLINTON, NY–Caitlyn Smith, of Kingston, has been named to the Dean’s List at Hamilton College for the 2022 fall semester.
To be named to the Dean’s List, a student must have carried a course load of four or more graded credits throughout the semester and earned an average of 3.5 or above on a 4.0 scale.
Smith, a senior majoring in history and religious studies, is a graduate of Silver Lake Regional High School.

The Plympton Board of Selectmen met virtually on the evening of Monday, Jan. 23.
Chair Christine Joy said that the first item up for discussion and a vote was the purchase and sales agreement of Turkey Swamp. “We’re just waiting on some finishing touches from the attorneys and to get you the final draft for vote; we hope to have this all set for our next meeting on February 13,” Town Administrator Liz Dennehy said. Selectman Mark Russo added, “I will say, I’ve been in touch with the seller, and she does assure us that she’s excited about moving forward.”
Dennehy told the Selectmen that she filed again this year for technical assistance on the Housing Production Plan update. She said that she was also expecting to hear back regarding who the point person is for technical assistance on the MBTA zoning changes that would need to be implemented. “They’ve toned down the guidelines substantially, so I think it’s going to be something that with some competent technical assistance, we’ll be able to be in compliance with,” Dennehy said.
Dennehy also said that Old Colony Planning Council is working on the final report to close out the Green Communities projects the town has completed. She also said that the town’s energy vendor will be visiting all the town buildings. “I think it would be helpful if they do a new inventory and see what other projects may come up; they’re still operating from the old audit that they did when I first started working with the town so I think it’s time for an update,” Dennehy told the Selectmen. Dennehy said she was also looking into whether the new Police Station could be eligible to be looked at as part of the energy audit process.
Dennehy said that the budget process was well under-way and that she had most of the budgets in from the various town departments. She noted that she expected that the budget discussions with the Finance Committee would be commencing soon.
Joy said that she had correspondence from the COA Director Colleen Thompson regarding a hands-on training for the seniors in town regarding the new Pay-As-You-Throw recycling program. She said that Thompson recommended doing them in April. Joy said that the town would continue with the plans to run trainings in March but noted that they would plan on coordinating with Thompson to do a training that would be promoted through the Council on Aging.
Joy asked her fellow Selectmen if they had any raves to wrap up the meeting. Selectman John Traynor said, “The library again – I know I’ve raved before.” He continued, referencing Library Director Mike Slawson, “The breadth of what he’s offering now is just phenomenal; I mean it goes from tools to the Roku… the way he’s got the kids programs going, the speaker forums he’s driving… it really has become, I think, the hub of the community.” Russo referred to the contract negotiations in Executive Session saying, “My rave is for some nice progress, particularly tonight on kind of a logical, rational, fair approach to proposed contract terms in the next fiscal year; I think we’re making really good progress and working in an orderly fashion.” Joy said, “My rave would be for the nice email that we got from John Sjostedt about a medical incident involving our Police and Fire and how well they worked to, I think, save a resident’s life.” She continued, “It’s just great to see and hear how they are working together.”

The Halifax Board of Selectmen also met with the Planning Board regarding real estate developments that had been started but the roads never completed – these included Sherwood Drive, Pasture Lane, and Delia Way. Planning Board member Amy L. Troup explained the issues and Steve Hayward handed out photos of Pasture Lane. “Those pictures there, the whole development, the town got part of the bond back but if you look at those pictures where they finished isn’t really finished. There’s some places where the sidewalk has like 2 to 3 inches where they never back-filled; the islands are a complete mess, I don’t know who is going to take care of those,” Hayward said. He did say that the drainage issue appeared to be fixed. Regarding strictly the drainage issue, Bruno said that having conferred with both the Planning Board and the Highway Surveyor, the consensus was that it was fixed.
Gordon Andrews said that he believed that the Planning Board was asking Selectmen to call the bond in so that they could finish the base coat. “The issue the residents are bringing up is the road isn’t completed – the developer hasn’t followed through so you need to call the bond in so the work can be done,” Andrews explained. Bruno said that the only complaint that has been brought to them was the drainage. Bruno did move that the Planning Board ask Town Counsel the right procedures to follow for calling the bond for the Sherwood Drive extension.
The Building Inspector spoke to the myriad of issues that the developer needs to fixon Pasture Lane. “He needs to repair any of the binder that is in disrepair… topcoat the road according to specifications… install sidewalks, loom and seed the area, clean out the detention basin… there’s a safety grate that needs to go on that basin… install bounds along the driveway,” Perry said. Bruno said, “I did drive that road, it’s a mess.”
Finally, they discussed issues with Delia Way. Bruno said that there was a collapse on that road that was fixed over the past weekend. Bruno read a letter from several residents on that street saying, “request appropriate action be taken to correct safety issues that are caused by deterioration on the metal plates on the five manholes which led to the collapse of one of the plates on December 31.” They also asked that the town expedite getting the road accepted formally. Hayward said that the problems were not limited to the manholes saying that the sidewalks were not wide enough among other issues. Hayward noted that they are stuck not being able to properly fix the issues saying, “we are not supposed to spend money on a non-accepted road.” Hayward did say they plow the unaccepted streets for safety reasons.
Delia Way resident Michael Chapin said he was walking his dog on Dec. 31 when he saw an 18 inch hole that had been created. Another resident noted the 18 inch hole is also 4-5 ft deep. “It’s a serious safety issue,” he told the Selectmen. “I’ll move that the Planning Board get in touch with Town Counsel to begin the process of foreclosing on the lot or selling it or whatever needs to be done to secure enough funds to finish that road,” Bruno said. Selectmen voted unanimously to move Bruno’s motion. Selig requested that photos of the holes be sent to the developer reminding them that they are still legally bound due to the bond, particularly if an emergency were to arise.