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Plympton and Halifax head to polls

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Town elections for both Plympton and Halifax will be held this Saturday, June 20. The Plympton town election will take place at the town house from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Halifax will hold their election at the Halifax Elementary School gym from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. These elections mark the first time the state has allowed early mail-in voting for local elections.

Halifax Town Administrator Charlie Seelig told the Express that to his knowledge, there wasn’t anyone that tried to pull papers to run for an elected position that was unable to do so due to the shutdown. Seelig did say, however, that there were some town officials who elected not to run again. Several candidates are running uncontested for re-election. This includes John Shiavone for a three-year term on the Board of Assessors, Patricia McCarthy for a four-year term on the Housing Authority, Diane Ruxton for a three-year term on the Board of Library Trustees, Edward Desharnais Jr. for a three-year term on the Silver Lake Regional School Committee, and Troy Garron for a three year term on the Board of Selectmen. Richard Clark is also running for re-election uncontested for a five-year term on the Housing Authority as well as a three-year term on the Board of Water Commissioners. Both Robert Johnson and Alison Vance are running for re-election uncontested for the two spots available on the Halifax Elementary School Committee.

There is one seat available for a one-year term on the Planning Board with two candidates running against one-another. Candidates Alan Dias and Ashley DiSesa both appeared before the Planning Board and the Board of Selectmen in January to fill a vacant position on the Board. At the time, DiSesa won the seat through a vote of the selectmen and Planning Board members though support was not unanimous. DiSesa must once again best Dias in votes, this time from the town, in order to remain on the Planning Board. The other contested race is between incumbent Steven Hayward and Michael Schleiff for Highway Surveyor.  Late Tuesday afternoon the Express was told that John Taglini is a write-in candidate for the: Halifax Elementary School Committee and the Silver Lake Regional School Committee.

Unlike the situation in Halifax, Plympton Town Clerk Patricia Detterman said that many people in Plympton did have difficulty pulling nomination papers due to the shutdown. The only candidates to successfully make their deadlines to have their signatures certified to be on the ballot were Mark Russo who is running for re-election for a three-year term on the Board of Selectmen and Daniel Cadogan who is seeking a three-year term on the Plympton School Committee. There are several positions with terms expiring despite not appearing on the ballot. Included among those are Jason Fraser and Jon Wilhelmsen who have both expressed interest in continuing to serve on the Plympton School Committee and in Fraser’s case the Silver Lake Regional School Committee as well.

Detterman said, “Saturday’s election will look a bit different this year. Masks and six feet social distancing rules are encouraged. We will have one-way traffic through the polls to avoid some of the socializing done in our front hall when voters are coming and going.” Other safety protocols will also be in place including handing out pens with each ballot rather than sharing pencils. The pens will be sanitized after each use. Both sanitizer as well as masks will be provided for anyone who doesn’t bring their own. Each occupied voting booth will have an empty one in between them in order to increase social distancing. A single booth will be designated for those unable to wear a mask due to health reasons and it will be sanitized in between each use.

“The election workers who are scheduled for Saturday have expressed they feel safe and want to participate in this event,” Detterman said. She also said that last year’s election yielded a 6 percent voter turnout with 128 ballots cast. Detterman said she is expecting the same for Saturday’s election.

Silver Lake RSD budget reconsidered once again

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The Silver Lake Regional School Committee met for the third week in a row on June 11 to once again reconsider their decision regarding the fy21 budget. Committee member Christopher Eklund, who was on the prevailing side of the previous week’s vote, asked for a reconsideration of that June 4 vote.

The budget process began way back in September and went from a budget version 1 to a budget version 4. In January the committee considered a budget with a 3.31 percent increase over the fy20 budget of $25,992,354. On March 12, the committee voted on a fourth iteration of the budget in the amount of $26,698,578 for an increase of 2.71 percent over the fy20 budget. According to committee Chair Jason Fraser, the March 12 budget was lauded by Halifax, Kingston, and Plympton. Everything changed, however, following that meeting and the state essentially shut down due to the pandemic.

The state has until July 1 to offer a revised budget that will reflect the short- and long-term fiscal effects of the pandemic. The extent of the cuts to local aid are unknown complicating the towns’ and schools’ budget processes.

In May, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) requested that districts provide them with a budget despite not knowing what kind of cuts will occur to Chapter 70. As a result, the regional school committee met on May 28 to vote a revised fy21 budget. Prior to that meeting, Superintendent Jill Proulx had presented nearly a million dollars in potential cuts to the version of the budget previously voted on by the committee. At the May 28 meeting the committee voted to approve the March 12 number as a sort of act of rebellion against DESE. Their plan at the time was to ask the towns to vote no to the budget at their respective town meetings. The no vote would then force a one-twelfth budget which would default back to fy20 levels. The committee hoped that this would buy them additional time to create a budget that would reflect actual numbers from the state.

The regional school committee met again on June 4 and voted to rescind their vote from the previous week. With the exception of committee members Gordon Andrews and Leslie-Ann McGee the committee voted through the fy20 budget number of $25,992,354 which represented a $706,000 reduction from the March 12 budget. At the time, Fraser cited the desire to work with the three towns in providing them with the requested combined reduction to their assessments of $525,000 as the impetus for reconsidering the May 28 vote. Fraser said that he wanted to provide the communities with a number that they could approve at town meeting. Many on the committee felt that it wouldn’t be fair to ask the communities to hold a special town meeting just to vote through the final budget number when the time arose. In addition to the reduction to the assessments, the budget also included a reduction of 2.5 percent in state aid. This estimate was a point of contention on the dissenting side of the vote as it is likely far lower than the actual reduction will be once the state numbers are known.

Fraser told the committee on June 11 that following the June 4 meeting he began to receive new information including from Silver Lake counsel. In light of the new information as well as Eklund’s request for reconsideration, the committee decided to meet again on June 11 for another vote.

The committee first took a vote to rescind their vote on the budget from June 4. The motion passed unanimously as did the following vote to once again approve the March 12 number of $26,698,578 for fy21. Andrews addressed his fellow committee members saying, “Thank you to everybody on the committee for reconsidering the vote; I think it’s the right decision.” McGee, who was always against the June 4 vote said she was appreciative of the number of people attending the meetings recently. She also emphasized that she didn’t think it was right to ask residents to go to town meeting and vote for a budget, the contents of which were still unknown.

The June 11 vote means that if two out of the three towns approve the budget at town meeting, the region has a budget, albeit one that is likely still subject to amendments based on actual numbers from the state. If the assessments to the towns remain the same or get lower, no special town meeting would be required, and the budget would be set by default after 45 days. If two out of the three communities vote down the budget at town meeting, the school will be in a one-twelfth budget situation. “This reconsideration and the rescinding of our budget was not an affront to any individual or town; we are doing what we think is in the best interest of the district and the students that we serve,” Fraser explained.

The committee stressed that they are nowhere out of the woods yet in terms of the budgets for either the region or the towns. They emphasized that difficult decisions are likely still ahead. They did, however, ask that the towns vote yes to the budget number approved by them at the June 11 meeting.

As of the time of publication, Plympton’s town meeting occurred on Wednesday, June 17. Both Kingston and Halifax have elected to postpone their town meetings to Saturday, July 11. Kingston’s decision to postpone was made after the school committee’s June 11 meeting.

Protest against racial injustice on Town Green

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A peaceful protest/vigil was held on the Plympton town green on Sunday, June 14 to protest racial injustice. Organizer Amy Laura Cahn described it as “a vigil for George Floyd, Ahmaud Aubrey, Breonna Taylor, Tony Mcdade, and all Black Americans slain by racial violence and injustice, including police brutality and the pandemic.”

A large crowd gathered to listen to speakers, set intentions, and hold signs proclaiming “Black Lives Matter” amongst other things. Those gathered also participated in an 8 minute and 46 second moment of silence signifying the length of time Derek Chauvin had his knee on George Floyd’s neck. Participants had the opportunity to write their intentions for combatting racism on sticky notes which were compiled and read aloud by Cahn before the close of the vigil. Those intentions included sentiments such as meeting regularly as a town to battle racism and committing to raising their kids to be anti-racist.

Plympton resident Kimberly Russo addressed the assembled urging them to read, listen, think, and act. An excerpt of her comments is found below:

“When we pray for racial equality, when we know that in our personal lives, we don’t hold malice or ill will toward any people of color in our day-to-day lives, it’s not enough. When we march and join in with people of color to voice our support for racial equality, it’s not enough. It’s not enough for us to call our policemen and women heroes because of their vocation or the uniforms that they wear instead of the deeds that they do. But, when we do these things and we take these ideas to the voting booth and we care enough to make sure that the people that we put in policymaking positions, no matter their political party, carry out our intent and concern about racism, we’re starting on the right track. Our current national economic policies, our voting policies, and the lack of inclusion of people of color in policy making and planning are the root of systemic racism in this country. Don’t be a party to that. Don’t give your good intentions for a fair and just country away to people who, after receiving your vote, play a part in keeping this nation divided.”

When it was her turn at the microphone, Cahn acknowledged that it was pride month and said that queer Black leaders have been at the forefront of every movement in the United States. In order to recognize that she read an excerpt from poet Saeed Jones’ new poem, Who’s Grief? Our Grief. She quoted Jones, who is both Black and gay, saying, “This upheaval, the protests, the unrest, the uprisings, all of it, it is generations in the making. Black children who were learning multiplication tables when Rodney King was beaten in Los Angeles… are old enough to have children of their own now.”

Cahn also took time to recognize the impact of systemic racism that extends beyond police brutality. “In Massachusetts communities of color bear the brunt of exposures to chemical pollution and transportation emissions,” Cahn said. She also pointed out that 8 out of the 10 communities in Massachusetts with the highest rates of COVID-19 are communities of color. “This is not an accident. This is a history (generations) of taking resources from Black communities, from communities of color, and putting it into wealthier and whiter communities.” She also went on to quote Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley who said during a recent interview, “I would very much like to pass onto my 11-year-old daughter, something other than generational trauma.”

Class of 2013 Silver Lake alumna Makayla Dillingham took an opportunity to speak after all scheduled speakers were through. Dillingham urged those gathered to attend a peaceful protest march on Saturday, June 20. The event will begin and end at the Kingston Town Hall and will run from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. “I see that there are roughly 100 people here today and I want to see you guys plus another hundred, plus another hundred,” Dillingham said.  Dillingham said that she extended the invite to neighboring communities outside of the Silver Lake district including Duxbury and Plymouth. “I want to see us all there. I want our towns and I want the South Shore to know that this is a community that’s going to stand together during a trying time,” she explained.

LaNatra announces voting options bill

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KINGSTON – State Representative Kathy LaNatra (D-Kingston), together with her colleagues in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, passed legislation this week that would allow a number of voting options, including early voting by mail, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

An Act Relative To Voting Options In Response To COVID-19 seeks to facilitate a number of options for voters confronting health risks due to the Coronavirus. Under the provisions of the bill, voters can elect to vote by mail, submit an absentee ballot, vote early in-person or vote on Election Day with public health safeguards in place.

The bill to expand voting options in response to COVID-19 includes the following provisions:

(1)    Early voting by mail application

• Requires the Secretary of State to mail all registered voters an application to vote early by mail in advance of the primary and general elections (by July 15 for the primary and September 14 for the general);

• Asks voters to apply by seven days prior to the primary and general elections;

• Allows for electronic signature and submission of applications

(2)    Early voting by mail

• The city or town clerk will mail an early voting by mail ballot and an envelope with return postage pre-paid to voters who apply;

• Allows voters to return their early voting by mail ballot in the mail, secure drop box, or in person;

(3)    Absentee voting

• Provides for absentee voting by any person taking precaution related to COVID-19;

• Allows electronic signature and submission of absentee voting applications;

(4)    In person voting public health safeguards

• Requires the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Commissioner of the Department of Public Health, to promulgate emergency regulations requiring public health safeguards for in-person voting, including social distancing of voters and election officers; face coverings and personal protective equipment; frequent use of sanitizers; and sanitary use of marking pens;

(5)    Early voting in person

• Provides for 7 days of in person early voting in the primary—from Saturday, August 22 to Friday, August 28—including one weekend – and 14 days of in person early voting in the general—from Saturday, October 17 to Friday, October 30—including two weekends;

(6)    Election day

·         Permits voters to still cast a ballot at the polls on election day;

(7)    Local elections

• Provides for early voting by mail for any city or town elections held at the same time as the primary or general or on or before December 31, 2020.

The bill next moves to the Senate.

Representative LaNatra, who serves on the Joint Election Laws Committee, said, “I am very pleased with this bill. It is a comprehensive piece of legislation that addresses the challenges of voting during a pandemic, and provides a number of options to remedy these challenges.  The legislature began this process by reviewing and discussing eight separate bills on the topic and worked together to put forward one very strong piece of legislation. I thank my colleagues in the House for this great work, and I am hopeful that the Senate will quickly pass this and that the Governor will sign it into law.”

Representative LaNatra’s district includes all residents of Halifax, Kingston and Plympton, as well as residents of Precincts 1, 11 and 13 in Plymouth; Precinct 1 in Middleboro; and Precinct 1 in Duxbury.  To reach her, email Kathleen.LaNatra@mahouse.gov or her legislative aide, Chris Jean, Christopher.Jean@MAhouse.gov. The phone number for the office is 617-722-2430. For updates and announcements, please visit Representative LaNatra’s Facebook page, https://bit.ly/2Ura8VR or her website, https://www.kathylanatra.com.

Regional FY21 budget still in flux

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Selectmen from Halifax, Kingston, and Plympton attended the June 4 meeting of the Silver Lake Regional School Committee to discuss the FY21 regional school budget. On May 28, the regional school committee voted to pass the original budget number from March with the caveat that they would be asking the three towns to vote no to their budget at their respective town meetings. If the towns voted down the March budget it would cause the region’s budget to revert to fy20 levels by default (a reduction of about $706,000 from the March 12 budget). The intent was to allow the school district additional time to make an informed decision regarding the budget and possible cuts based on actual numbers from the state. As of the present time, no one knows the extent of cuts to state aid as the commonwealth has provided no indication as to when or what the budget will look like.

As a result of the economic hardship brought on by the pandemic, the towns of Halifax, Kingston, and Plympton were asking for a combined $525,000 reduction in the assessment to the three towns. Kingston specifically requested a $300,000 reduction to their assessment.

The school committee felt their hand was forced in voting a budget on May 28 as the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) had requested that they provide them with a budget that they could then use in determining a 1/12 budget scale for Silver Lake.

“This kind of came out of the blue… we didn’t really have time to react to it,” Fraser explained. He continued, “Some of the school committee members were taken aback by DESE asking us to give them budget numbers when they won’t give us an inkling of what our Chapter 70 funding is going to look like.”

The region receives about $7.3 million in Chapter 70 funds. As Fraser pointed out, even a 1 percent decrease in those funds translates into $73,000 in cuts. “When we agreed to reduce the assessments to the towns by $525,000 we weren’t really doing anything to protect ourselves from a decrease in Chapter 70 funding,” Fraser said. “Out of frustration and out of an act of rebellion against the state, we chose to pass over voting new numbers last week and just sent to DESE the original budget from March 12.

We didn’t feel that it was in our best interest to try and satisfy their ridiculous request for a number from us when they wouldn’t give us thirty percent of our budget to work with,” Fraser explained.

Since the May 28 meeting Fraser said that he has had discussions with town officials regarding the committee’s decision to ask the towns’ to vote down the school’s budget. The two major flaws in the committee’s plan from that meeting were 1.) the towns would potentially be forced to have a special town meeting just for the school and 2.) the ability to access E & D funds in the amount of $125,000 toward next year’s budget would be jeopardized. If a budget isn’t decided upon by June 30, the school would be forced to make additional cuts in that amount. Another issue is that if the school was unable to have a resolution by December, which would involve two out of the three towns voting through a budget, the region would lose local control over their budget. “What I propose for us to do here tonight is to try and satisfy as many of these difficult situations as possible,” Fraser told those assembled.

Fraser went on to say he asked Director of Business Services Christine Healy to look into reducing the assessments to the towns by $525,000 while holding back $181,000 for the region’s protection in potential reductions to Chapter 70 funding. Fraser stressed that the amount held back would only provide a 2.5 percent cushion which is much lower than other communities and school systems in the state.

Essentially Fraser was recommending cutting the budget from the fy21 total to the fy20 level or a reduction of $706,000. He explained that this would allow the towns to vote yes in support of a budget that would hold up for twelve months.

Crone said that he has tried to gain a sense of what other communities are anticipating for reductions in state aid based on conversations with other school committees. He said that some are anticipating reductions as high as 20 percent while the budget being proposed by Fraser only includes a buffer for a 2 percent reduction.

Committee member and Halifax selectman Gordon Andrews said that the 2.5 percent cut was not realistic and recommended that if the school committee votes for a budget, they do so with a realistic number.

He said that using a 2 percent reduction in state aid would cause the committee to have to go back to square one and re-vote a new, more reduced budget. Andrews pointed out that the town of Halifax is looking at a total of an 8 percent reduction in state aid and the town of Kingston a 15 percent reduction.

“If you look at the math of what the tax revenues are coming in at, the numbers seem a lot closer to the 15 percent than the 8 percent overall,” Andrews said. “We are going to be talking about a million dollars if it’s at 15 percent,” he continued.

While Fraser said that he understood Andrews’ trepidation with using an estimate of a 2.5 percent decrease in Chapter 70 funds, he also felt strongly that the region work with the three towns and provide a budget for them to vote on that gives the towns what they asked for.

School committee member Leslie-Ann McGee inquired if there was a way to protect the E & D funds without voting a new budget. The E & D funds have typically been used to fund capital infrastructure issues. Healy said that they would be able to continue funding capital infrastructure projects but not at the same level that they have been able to do over the last five years. Andrews asked if it would be possible to expend that money right now on items on the capital plan. Healy said, “Theoretically we could, the tough thing is some of those items have a leeway because there is planning to be done.”

The Committee took a vote requiring a two-thirds majority to accept the regular day operating budget of the regional schools of $25,992,354. With the exception of Andrews and McGee the committee voted through the number which represents a $706,000 reduction from the March 12 budget.

Both Andrews and McGee were emphatic in their disagreement with the decision being made by the committee.

“I’m observing that we just voted a number that none of us have any confidence in,” McGee stated. Andrews referenced the cuts that would have to be made to come up with the $706,000 saying, “Again, I just think this is a total mistake. We are asking them [the towns] to vote a budget that they don’t know what is inside.” Both Andrews and McGee said they would encourage their towns to vote against the number.

Fraser said that the committee would reassemble on June 16 “hopefully to make some better educated guesses as to where we’re going to find the $706,000 line by line, item by item.”

The committee did agree to have Fraser draft a letter to the three towns to ask permission to go back to the table if there is an increase in funds from the federal government.

Despite the vote taken during the June 4 meeting, Fraser corresponded with the Express on June 8 saying, “I have been asked for a reconsideration of the budget vote from 6/4 so the news from Silver Lake is continuing to evolve.”

CARES Act Funding

Plymouth County Treasurer Thomas O’Brien attended Thursday’s meeting to explain about the allocation of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds. Of the $2.7 billion received by Massachusetts, $90 million was awarded to the communities of Plymouth County. According to O’Brien, there were four governmental entities with a population of more than 500,000 that were eligible to receive a portion of those funds.

Of those four, only the city of Boston and Plymouth County completed the application process for their portion of the funds rather than granting the state control. The state takes a percentage of the funds for administrative costs for those entities for which they are managing the distribution of the funds.

O’Brien told those assembled that the federal government has extensive guidelines for how the funds can be spent and further said that the guidelines have already been changed three times. O’Brien said a designated website PlymouthCountyCares.com has been established to house all the guidelines and other pertinent information.

“What this is going to take… is a significant amount of coordination between town officials, school officials, public safety officials, finance committee officials, to make sure that the town realizes what resources are available and then applies in the best manner possible to the best source possible for finding reimbursement,” O’Brien explained.

He also emphasized that “these funds are not available for revenue replacement.” The CARES funds are strictly to be used for unexpected, unbudgeted expenses that were incurred as a result of the pandemic.

The first phase is intended to be a reimbursement for expenditures through June 30. The second phase will be for expenditures from July 1 and onward. “Phase 1 is secure and underway, and we will be releasing that money as quickly as it is expected.”

According to O’Brien only 6 of the 27 eligible communities have thus far applied for the funding available during Phase 1. Fraser said that the hope is that the four school districts (K-6 for each of the three towns and the regional for 7-12) can put together one unified package rather than receiving packages for the disparate schools.

Technology Director Steve Pellowe is currently working with Proulx on a list of technology expenses that have incurred as a direct result of COVID-19.

The ‘new normal’ look of town meeting in Plympton

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Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy gave an update on town business affected by the COVID-19 pandemic during the June 8 Plympton Board of Selectmen meeting. Dennehy said there had been no complaints about the new system following two weeks of the town resuming public access to many municipal buildings including the town house. Dennehy also noted that numerous town halls across the South Shore and the Commonwealth are still closed and credited the town with taking a proactive approach that allowed for things to get up and running relatively quickly.

A group of town employees met at the Dennett Elementary School to go over the protocols and physical arrangements that would be made in order to hold town meeting on June 17. Town Moderator Barry DeCristofano put together a bulletin for residents outlining what to expect at town meeting. Town Clerk Patricia Detterman is working on a similar bulletin for the town election on June 20. DeCristofano has also taken the initiative in hiring an AV company to provide audio and visuals of the town meeting.

Selectman Mark Russo admitted to obsessing a bit lately about the degree of safety during town meeting but said that he saw a photo of the room setup for the meeting and found it reassuring. A question was asked during Monday’s meeting if the doors to outside would be propped open for ventilation. Dennehy said that due to the risk of Eastern Equine Encephalitis, they likely would leave them closed. She noted that the air conditioning would likely be used during the meeting. “We can play that by ear and see what kind of a day it is when we get to that point,” Dennehy explained. Plympton School Committee Chair Jon Wilhelmsen noted not just the large size of the rooms but the high ceilings, saying that the additional height would help with airflow.

Dennehy expressed her gratitude for the Plympton Fire Department saying they have gone above and beyond in their efforts to assist with the setup for both town meeting and the town election.

Library Director Debbie Batson began rolling out curbside pickup for library materials on Tuesday, June 9. Details regarding the procedures can be found on the Plympton Public Library Facebook page.

The full library staff is also back working their usual shifts. Batson has also been working on plans for the next phase which will allow the public back into the building.

Selectman John Traynor said that there had been an increase in complaints regarding heavy truck traffic in town. Traynor said that the traffic on Spring St. stemmed from an ongoing project in Carver on Route 44. Building Inspector and Zoning Enforcement Officer Tom Millias spoke to those in charge of the project and was told that it was nearing completion which should alleviate the problem. Further complaints were placed regarding truck traffic around Crescent St. and Ring Rd. The traffic there is allegedly connected to an operation run by Jeff Randall. Millias assured Traynor he would speak to Randall who he described as being very receptive to such conversations in the past.

Traynor told the other selectmen that while some of the complaints were shared with him directly, several of them were found on the Plympton Helping Plympton Facebook page. Briggette Martins said she had also fielded a number of calls to the selectmen’s office regarding the traffic concerns. Selectmen Chair Christine Joy said that if people have issues it is best that they bring those issues directly to the selectmen or town administrator rather than airing them on Facebook.“Well we have a difference of opinion concerning social media,” Traynor, who has been pushing for more postings, etc. on town social media pages, said.

Dennehy said that she had a request for the use of the town green on Sunday, June 14 from 1-2 p.m.  for a peaceful vigil to honor George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and other victims of racial violence. Organizer Amy Cahn was in attendance during Monday’s remote meeting and said that she is estimating twenty-five people will be in attendance. She also said that she had already been in touch with police regarding parking and other logistics.

Those wishing to attend may either park along the green or at the library or townhouse. Joy said that she would only ask that attendees clean-up after the event. Russo, who thanked Cahn for her efforts, said that he would encourage social distancing during the event. “It should be a very peaceful, nice demonstration,” Traynor added. As is customary, the selectmen ended their meeting with their rants and raves for the week. “My rave is for the executive branch of government on the state level and especially on the local level,” Russo began. He continued, “With all the stress and sadness and tremendous difficulty we’re facing as a nation, a state, even a town, it is the governors and boards of selectmen, and mayors that are threading the needle and balancing tremendously competing and fiery issues… and finding a good balance.

“It’s really beautiful to listen to people in the executive branch wrestling with issues and coming to good decisions.” Joy said her first rave was for Dennehy, Wilhelmsen, DeCristofano, Dennett Principal Peter Veneto, Chair of the Board of Health Art Morin and all others helping to make the town meeting as safe as possible. Her second rave was for the Plympton Fire Department who assisted in opening the townhouse as well as preparing for town meeting and the town election.

Halifax Town Meeting postponed until July

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Town Meeting Update

Town moderator Dennis Carman and town counsel Larry Mayo attended the Tuesday, June 9 remote meeting of the Halifax Board of Selectmen in order to recess town meeting until July 11. Under Chapter 53 of the Acts of 2020, towns can recess their town meetings for up to 30 days if there is a declaration of a public health emergency. Town moderators wield the power to do just that after consultation with the Board of Selectmen and Board of Health. Halifax health agent Cathy Drinan sent correspondence to Attorney Mayo stating that it would be ill advised to hold the meeting particularly with 150 people or more in an enclosed environment.

Town Administrator Charlie Seelig recommended that the meeting be moved to 9 a.m. on Saturday, July 11 in order to have another month to work out logistics, hygiene protocols, and other social distancing requirements. Seelig said that he selected morning rather than evening in order to avoid mosquitos. Seelig also said that an additional benefit of waiting a month would be seeing how other communities are handling their meetings and borrowing best practices from them. According to Seelig the meeting would most likely be held at the Halifax Elementary School though whether it would be held indoors or outdoors remains to be seen.

Carman agreed with the delay saying, “people’s safety and well-being is of paramount concern to us.” He also said that he feels the delay will maximize residents’ ability to participate in town government and the budget process as an earlier date may lead to people not coming due to safety concerns.

COVID Policies and Reopening

The Board approved a new Halifax COVID leave policy during their last meeting that required all town employees to be paid only for the hours worked. The new policy took effect on Sunday, June 7. Next on the agenda was establishing a policy for returning to the workplace. The state currently recommends that employees continue to work remotely wherever feasible.

Selectmen Troy Garron and Tom Millias agreed that in order to preserve equity among employees, all town employees in all departments should be asked to return to their workplaces with exceptions made only for those with medical conditions preventing them from doing so safely. Selectman Gordon Andrews was unable to attend Tuesday’s meeting due to personal reasons. Seelig agreed saying that while many essential functions can be performed remotely, many of the town positions do include some element of interacting with either other town employees or the public. According to Millias, Maintenance Director Scott Materna will have all protective barriers in place at the town hall by this Friday, June 12. The Board voted June 22 as the date that all town employees should be returning to their places of work. Employees unable to return to work due to health concerns will need to provide a certified doctor’s note. There currently is no date set for opening the town hall to the public.

All employees must perform a self-certification daily which includes signing off that they are not currently experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 nor have they knowingly been in close contact with an infected person. Regarding the state guidance that residents traveling out of state self-quarantine for 14 days, Garron said, “I think we ought to treat it as a recommendation and not a policy.” The selectmen and Seelig agreed that employees would need to use their best judgement should the situation arise.

Signage will be used to indicate to employees and eventually members of the public what safety protocols must be practiced when inside municipal buildings including the town hall. Employees will be expected to wear face coverings in common areas and whenever social distancing cannot be adhered to inside individual offices. Seelig also said that he would recommend that windows be left open whenever feasible and said that he would speak to Materna about installing screens.

Once opened to the public, visitors to town hall will not be by appointment as some other communities have done. Instead, visitors will be asked to leave if experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19. Seelig said that in the event that someone cannot come into the building, employees would be available to help them via email or phone.

Seelig and the Board also addressed how best to handle residents that refuse to comply with safety protocols such as wearing a mask. “We should let people know what our expectations are,” Millias said. He continued, “Our obligation is to keep everyone safe, including the public.” Garron said that he would never want to see any employee or anyone for that matter abused because they ask another individual to wear a mask or practice social distancing. The Board agreed that if patrons become abusive while refusing to follow safety protocols, the police will have to be called.

The Holmes Public Library will begin opening to the public in early July. There is no set date for the Council on Aging to resume programming and activities. Seelig noted that much of the clientele for those services are part of the vulnerable population. The Board plans to talk to Council on Aging Director Susan Lawless about how to best phase in programming.

The HOPS playground is currently open since it fell under phase 2 of the state’s plan for reopening. Seelig said that there is temporary signage indicating that the town will not accept any liability for injury or sickness resulting from the use of the playground. Seelig also said that the town does not have the capacity to monitor the number of people using it at any one time. Similarly, he said they will not be able to sanitize it regularly. Garron said, “I just hope that we do have reasonable adults on the playground and that they try to limit the contact between their kids and other kids as much as possible.”

The state is now allowing outdoor dining at restaurants and other similar establishments. Seelig said the process for amending liquor licenses to reflect that change has been simplified.  He did note that to date, no establishment had approached the Board to make such a change.

FY21 Town Budget

Seelig said that himself and town accountant Sandra Nolan did work out a one-twelfth budget for submission to the state based on a number of recommendations from the Finance Committee. Both Garron and Millias voted to approve the one-twelfth budget as outlined by Seelig.

Beach Stickers for Non-Residents

The Board voted during Tuesday’s meeting to allow access to Halifax beaches to non-resident taxpayers using a placard system and a $25 fee. The issue was first brought to the Board’s attention over the winter by a resident who lives on Waltham St. in Hanson but pays taxes on a portion of her land that is in Halifax.

Finance Committee member Bill McAvoy’s term ends on June 15 so the Board of Selectmen and Melinda Tarsi of the Finance Committee voted to approve having McAvoy extend his term through the FY21 budget process. McAvoy intends on resigning once the budget process is complete due to work commitments. This will leave the committee looking for three new members.

Staff cuts likely for Halifax Elementary

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Town Administrator Charlie Seelig and Chair of the Finance Committee Melinda Tarsi attended the Halifax School Committee meeting on Monday, June 8. Halifax Elementary School Principal Kayne Beaudry and Assistant Principal Brian DeSantes prepared a budget proposal for the fy21 school year which included a number of tier one and tier two cuts necessitated by the economic uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Superintendent Jill Proulx shared the budget presentation during Monday’s remote meeting. Proulx said that the Halifax Finance committee had approved funding the school at the FY20 level for the regular day. The FY20 budget amounts to a reduction of $211,863 from the FY21 budget that had been voted by the school committee prior to the pandemic. The town of Halifax requested the reduction due to concerns over a lack of state aid and local revenues as well as delays in real estate tax collection.

Proulx said at the center of the core values used to arrive at the cuts is the need to continue to support the students both academically and developmentally. Tier one cuts include changing the nurse leader position from a part time one to a stipend position. Also included in tier one, were cuts to a number of different supplies including library, technology, curriculum, custodial, and special education. Proulx said that some of those cuts could potentially be offset by supplies that were not used during the spring term. Additionally, it may be possible to request funding through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act for technology supplies.

Tier two cuts involve staff and include eliminating the part time math interventionist position at $22,000. The position is a new one in the budget as it was previously funded through Title 1 funds that are no longer available. Also on the table as part of tier two cuts is the loss of two paraprofessional positions. Such a loss might mean not having designated paraprofessionals in the kindergarten classrooms. Other cuts include a reduction in the behaviorist from a 1.0 full time position to a 0.8 position. This cut would likely mean the behaviorist working four rather than five days of the week. Another possible cut is the loss of a bus though the feasibility of such a cut may change based on the guidance that is still to be released from the state regarding social distancing for school buses.

School Committee Chair Summer Schmaling asked if the town provided any guidance as to when the school should be voting their budget. Seelig said that the Halifax town meeting is likely to be postponed until July 11. Seelig said that the recess of the town meeting is due to the uncertainty regarding the state’s finances as well as safety concerns over holding a large gathering.

Proulx explained to the committee that faculty must be notified by June 15 of a reduction in force or non-renewal. Initially the committee was considering voting to authorize Proulx to give notification of cuts should they become necessary, though it was agreed the legality of such an approach would need to be verified. Halifax selectman and school committee member Gordon Andrews addressed the committee, however, saying that the town has only estimated an 8 percent reduction in state aid while the reality may be closer to 15 percent. He pointed out that he believed that the cuts shared by Proulx would likely only be the first of several rounds. “I think we are looking at tier 3 that we haven’t even talked about yet,” Andrews explained. Director of Business Services Christine Healy concurred with Andrews saying that while she tries to remain “optimistic and hopeful” the state is no longer saying that they intend to maintain Chapter 70 funding. Tarsi also echoed Andrews’ statement saying, “I don’t think fy20 budget is the worst-case scenario.”

Considering the information shared by Andrews, Healy, and Tarsi, the committee voted unanimously to vote the fy20 school budget for fy21. The vote was to approve the 2020-2021 regular day budget of $5,659,147 and the out of district vocational budget of $156,500.

Schmaling asked if the reason some local towns are not in the same precarious position is because they are not as reliant on state aid as Halifax. Healy explained that towns such as Duxbury and Hingham are having to make less cuts since less of their budgets come from state aid. Seelig said that while Halifax relies more heavily on state aid than some communities (15 percent of the town budget), there are cities and larger communities that rely far, far greater on state aid. Andrews added that Halifax is a much higher recipient of aid than either Kingston or Plympton with 38 percent of the Halifax school budget coming from the state.

Beaudry gave an update on the sixth-grade graduation plan. He said that many different stakeholders had worked to prepare for what is being dubbed the “sixth-grade farewell wave.”  The event will take place on June 18 at 6 p.m. Students and families will remain in their cars and staff will practice social distancing. Students will be receiving what Beaudry referred to as a “Silver Lake survival kit” or “swag bag.” Beaudry also said that locker cleanout would occur throughout the last week of school with each homeroom being assigned a pickup time during a 45-minute block at one of two locations at the school.

Proulx told the committee districts are still awaiting guidance from the state regarding reentry in the fall. Proulx anticipates the guidance being more prescriptive but noted, “he’s always very careful to note that it could all change because of the realities of the virus itself.” Proulx said that closer to the start of school, the district will send surveys to students and parents to gauge where everyone stands regarding transportation, home-schooling, safety protocols, and other pertinent areas.

Don’t vote NO say school committee now

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The meeting mentioned in the above article between the Silver Lake Regional School Committee and the finance committees and selectmen from Halifax, Kingston, and Plympton took place on Thursday, June 4. During that meeting the regional school committee rescinded their decision to vote through the March 12 budget and ask the towns to vote down the school budget at their respective town meetings. 

Chair Jason Fraser said that after discussion with town leadership he thought it best to provide a budget that the towns could vote yes to at town meeting. Fraser made a motion to reduce the budget by $706,000 which included a $525,000 reduction to the collective towns’ assessments. Committee members Gordon Andrews and Leslie-Ann McGee were the sole no votes on Fraser’s motion which passed with a two-thirds majority.

The full article on the June 4 meeting will appear in the June 12 edition of the Plympton-Halifax Express.

Dennett budget cuts are deeper due to virus

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Like much of the state, Plympton is facing sharp cuts to their previously agreed upon school budget due to the economic strain brought on by the pandemic.

Director of Business Services Christine Healy prepared a version 5 of the budget in collaboration with school committee Chair Jon Wilhelmsen and the Plympton selectmen. The revised budget, which was presented during the Monday, June 1 Plympton School Committee meeting, represented a 1.64 percent increase over the fy20 budget. The town of Plympton capped all salary increases at a cost of living increase of 1.6 percent and requested the same of the school budget. The budget previously voted on by the committee represented a 3.74 percent increase.

Wilhelmsen summarized the goals of the revised budget as threefold – preserve the positions of all teachers currently on staff, minimize disruption to the Dennett, and “make sure we are doing right by the students.” Much of the previous 3.74 percent increase came from a request for a new special education teacher which had the support of both the committee and the town. Fraser explained that the addition of the special education teacher is likely a cost savings as the lack of a position would likely necessitate students seeking an education that meets their needs outside of the Dennett. According to Fraser, it would cost a minimum of $60,000 to send a student to the collaborative or upwards of $100,000 if that student were to go the private route. The revised budget maintained this new position as well as that of a retiring kindergarten and music teacher.

Retirements did provide some level of savings when revising the budget. There were a few other individual line items that were cut but the bulk of the savings came from utilities and vocational. Fraser shared his concern with just how tight the budget had become. Wilhelmsen agreed but acknowledged that it was what the town had asked them to deliver. Wilhelmsen also stressed that decreases in state aid, the extent of which are still unknown, will significantly impact both what the school is able to do as well as the town. In order to preserve the current staff, Fraser recommended a hiring freeze for the two positions becoming available through attrition until more data is received from the state.

The committee decided to keep the budget at 1.64 rather than try to cut the remaining $1,300 from the budget. They unanimously voted through the regular day elementary operating budget of $2,441,399, the special education budget of $1,186,396, and the out of district vocational budget of $90,000.

School Committee Openings and Town Election

School committee member Jill Palenstijn, who had previously taken a leave of absence, submitted a letter of resignation thus opening a spot on the Plympton School Committee. Since there is only a year left on Palenstijn’s term and the ballot has closed for this year’s town election, it will be an appointed position. The school committee and the Board of Selectmen will need to hold a joint meeting to appoint a new member.

Of the town election, Wilhelmsen said that almost nobody is on the ballot not for a lack of trying but rather for a lack of ability to get and submit papers. This situation will necessitate write-in campaigns and those wishing to serve will need to communicate that to residents.  Wilhelmsen expressed desire to continue to serve as Chair of the school committee. Fraser said, “I would absolutely nominate you for that position and would thank you for another year of your time.”

CARES Act

Plymouth County, who is distributing the federal funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES), has requested that all four school districts in Halifax, Plympton, and Kingston submit their requests in one list. There will be a joint meeting next Tuesday night with the school committees to put together a list of requisition items for the four districts. The Plymouth County treasurer has been invited.

Technology Director Steve Pellowe and Administrator of Special Education Marie Grable have both been consulted regarding possible requests for adaptive technology. The hope would be that such technology would be able to better assist students with special needs should the need for remote learning resume next year.  Wilhelmsen said that since none of these items are included in the school budget, the funding through CARES is going to prove incredibly important.

Remote Learning Update

Dennett Elementary School Principal Peter Veneto gave a brief update on remote learning. He lauded Pellowe, who has assisted Veneto in the distribution of chromebooks and other necessary equipment. Veneto was also quick to praise students, their families, and his staff. “The teaching staff has been hitting homeruns left and right,” Veneto said.

Assistant Superintendent Ryan Lynch gave an update on the credit/no credit form of report cards that are to be issued. He praised Curriculum Coordinator Melissa Farrell for her support of the elementary school teachers.

Superintendent Jill Proulx thanked Veneto and his staff for participating in the senior parade. “I know it did my heart good,” Proulx said.