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School budget up 2.7%

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The Silver Lake Regional School Committee meeting on Thursday, February 13 began with a public budget hearing on the budget for fiscal year 2021. Committee Chair Jason Fraser opened the floor to anyone from the public that wished to speak on the budget.

A member of the public speaking on behalf of the Union said, “Research has consistently shown that the single most important school-based factor in student achievement is teacher quality… that’s why it’s so important that Silver Lake’s budget focuses on attracting and retaining great teachers.”  He continued saying, “the budget as the version 2 was presented seems to be cutting the exact factor that’s most important to student achievement. I would urge the school committee to direct the superintendent to reexamine the budget and make cuts to areas that have less of a direct impact to student success.”

He also read a statement from the 8th grade English Language Arts (ELA) teachers at the middle school. Those teachers were concerned that one of the proposed cuts included revamping the twenty-first literacy class and integrating it into the 7th grade curriculum. In the statement, the teachers expressed their concerns that this would remove teachers from their areas of expertise thus lessening the quality of the education the students receive.

Halifax town administrator Charlie Seelig also addressed the committee, beginning by acknowledging the difficulties inherent in creating the budget. “Doing the budget is probably one of the worst parts of the job.” He continued, “ …having to cut back incrementally, piece by piece and taking apart the Silver Lake school system in order to find some happy medium between what the towns can afford and what our students need is a very difficult proposition especially given that almost every single dollar of increase in the budget from year to year right now is a dollar that’s coming from the three communities.” Seelig also stressed the lack of money coming in from the state as well as the competition posed by charter schools. Students attending charter schools from the Silver Lake district increased from 20 in 2013 to 58 in 2020.

“I can’t come to you and say this is a terrible budget, you didn’t cut enough – you cut a lot,” Seelig said. Seelig said that it appeared to him that the assessment among the three communities was around 3.2 percent whereas he was hoping to see something closer to 2 or 2.5 percent. It is worth noting that administrators came up with an assessment number that they say is closer to 2.99 percent. Seelig also pointed out that while on the surface it appeared that the assessment to Halifax was quite low at 1.2 percent, that number doesn’t accurately reflect the true cost to Halifax. According to Seelig there were expenses transferred to shared cost that are no longer reflected in the Silver Lake budget. Additionally, Seelig shared his concerns that Halifax is again being asked to fund their share of the middle school resource officer through an article at town meeting as it is yet another cost to the town that is not included in the budget as presented.

Seelig, who has worked for Halifax for 24 years, said that it would be difficult for him to go to town meeting in May and tell residents to vote against the school budget because of the low assessment to Halifax this year. However, Seelig said he wants residents to understand that several years from now that assessment is going to climb as their share of the school population will inevitably increase. “Compound interest just keeps accumulating and at some point, we’re not going to be able to afford this,” Seelig explained.

Chair of the Halifax Finance Committee Melinda Tarsi also spoke during the hearing saying that while she shared many of the same concerns as Seelig she wanted to focus her comments on the part time school resource officer at the middle school. “We had the conversation last year concerning the structure of the financing and we had hoped that given a year more of talking and development that we would be able to find a way to successfully negotiate an agreement that would allow us to place the cost for the part time SRO into the assessment and to work out a more equitable arrangement among the police departments,” Tarsi said.  “As we understand it, there hasn’t been a significant change in the approach that is being taken and that this is going to be placed as an article, again, this year at the Halifax town meeting,” she continued. Tarsi was quick to point out that Halifax and the Finance Committee are in favor of both the position and the increased safety the position presents, but that they continue to be opposed to the proposed mechanism to fund that position. Tarsi said that Silver Lake shouldn’t be allowed to introduce articles with requests for positions since no other department is allowed to do that.

Chair of the Kingston Finance Committee Carl Pike also spoke to the committee, beginning his comments, much like Seelig did, with an acknowledgment of how difficult it is to create the budget. Pike commended Silver Lake for coming in with a bottom-line increase of 2.91 percent but noted that they were asking other departments to come in lower, at around 2.5 percent. Like Seelig, Pike pointed out that these yearly increases will prove difficult to sustain in the long run. Pike said that the average tax bill in Kingston is $6500 and pointed out that if all departments come in at a 3 percent increase it would mean an additional $200 onto the average bill. “If that happens year after year, it is just not sustainable,” Pike said.

Halifax BOS approves host agreement

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A final decision on the Host-Community Agreement (HCA) with Bud’s Goods and Provisions was on the agenda during the Monday, Feb. 11, meeting of the Halifax Board of Selectmen. Alex Mazin, President and CEO of Bud’s, has been attending Selectmen’s meetings for several months now and has also held public hearings regarding his proposal for an outdoor marijuana growing facility.

River St. resident Leonard Teceno attended Tuesday’s meeting, apologizing for not bringing his specific concerns to the Board sooner. Teceno, who said that he had read the HCA, was questioning the section meant to protect abutters from nuisance issues related to the proposed facility. As written, the section defined abutters as those within 600 ft. of the property line and created a formal process for those abutters to file a complaint about Bud’s. Teceno pointed out to the selectmen that no one fell within that jurisdiction effectively making the section moot. Teceno said that residents on River St., Wood St., Pratt St., and parts of Thompson St. could all potentially be affected by the facility due to proximity. The specific nuisance in question was that of smell.

Teceno said that the language in the section of the HCA he was questioning appeared to have been lifted directly from the HCA between the town of Truro and High Dune Craft Cooperative for a proposed marijuana farm there. The farm in Truro is to be only 4,500 square feet whereas the one proposed by Bud’s will eventually reach 100,000 square feet. Teceno pointed out the difference saying that if 600 ft. is sufficient for a 4,500 square foot farm, it surely isn’t sufficient for one significantly larger.

Halifax Town Administrator Charlie Seelig asked Teceno what he thought would be an acceptable distance from the property to qualify someone as an abutter. Teceno said he was unsure what would be fair but felt that those with residences on the streets he mentioned should certainly be included.

For his part, Mazin argued that despite the large size of his farm, the parcel on which he would have his farm is 47 acres and only a small portion of that would be used as farmland. Mazin also said that his business intended to utilize the land in a way that the actual growing would take place as far from neighboring properties as possible.

In the end, Selectman Gordon Andrews suggested listing the actual streets in the section pertaining to abutters rather than selecting a distance that felt somewhat arbitrary. Both Teceno and Mazin were satisfied with the proposed change. The selectmen voted to approve the HCA with Bud’s assuming that the language would be amended to include River St., Wood St., Pratt St., and Thompson St. up to Walnut St.

The selectmen briefly discussed regarding recycling abatements. Both Selectmen Chair Troy Garron and Selectman Tom Millias have consistently voted against granting abatements that were filed after the September deadline. Andrews, on the other hand, has stated that he doesn’t believe that residents should be made to pay for a service they aren’t receiving. Seelig agreed to setup a meeting between the selectmen and Recycling and Solid Waste to discuss the matter further.

Police Chief Joao Chaves attended Tuesday’s meeting where Seelig asked the selectmen to vote on establishing a video surveillance registry in town. Chaves first presented the idea during a selectmen’s meeting in November. The program would be completely voluntary and would allow residents or businesses with security cameras to register them if they so wished. The registry could be utilized by the police department so that if an event took place in the vicinity of someone’s camera, they could request the footage for use in an investigation. Seelig stressed that even if someone elected to register their camera, the choice to surrender the footage would still be voluntary. The selectmen voted to approve the creation of the registry.

George Latini had an appointment with the selectmen to request a change of premises for In Season Restaurant. The restaurant won’t be physically moving but Latini was hoping to extend the liquor license to include the entirety of the building as well as the three outside patio areas. The selectmen voted to approve the request.

John Sexton also had an appointment with the selectmen to discuss his proposal to build and maintain a library box. Sometimes referred to as little free libraries, these boxes are essentially small boxes where someone can take or leave a book.

Sexton said he would be building the box with the Cub Scout Pack 39. Sexton said that the scouts encountered one of these boxes in the woods during a hike in Pembroke and were interested in building one of their own as a community project. Garron asked Sexton who would ensure the maintenance of the box and Sexton said that he has lived in Halifax for ten years and had no intention of leaving. Garron also asked what would happen if there was overflow and Sexton replied, “if it fills up, that’s a delightful problem to have.” Sexton further said that he would be able to store the overflow and ensure that books were being stocked accordingly. Chief Chaves called the proposal “a great idea” and asked Sexton to be sure to make the box waterproof. The selectmen voted to approve the little library.

The selectmen and Chaves also discussed whether or not to allow non-residents to use the Lingan St. beach area. Last year both taxpayer non-residents and non-taxpayer non-residents came before the selectmen requesting rights to use the beach.

Some of the residents were considered Hanson residents but did pay a small amount of taxes to Halifax due to a small portion of their land being in Halifax. Chaves said that the police were frequently having to monitor the beach this past summer due to a lot of non-residents using the beach.

The selectmen proposed the possibility of non-residents being able to pay for a permit to use the beach. Chaves said he would reach out to both Kingston and Duxbury regarding the process as the selectmen said they would be interested in seeing if the idea would be viable or not.

Plympton asks ROCC why bill went up to $200,000

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In the absence of Chair Christine Joy, Vice Chair Mark Russo took on the role of acting chair during the Monday, Feb. 10, Plympton Board of Selectmen meeting. The meeting began with Russo, Selectman John Traynor, Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy, the entire Plympton Finance Committee, Plympton former Police Chief Patrick Dillon, Duxbury Fire Chief Kevin Nord, Duxbury Fire Captain Rob Reardon, and Director of Emergency Communications at the Regional Old Colony Communications Center (ROCC) Mike Mahoney seated around a table.

Russo explained that the purpose of the meeting was to address Plympton’s increasing dispatch fees with the ROCC. Plympton’s fees recently increased from $50,000 to $200,000 annually. Russo said that they were hoping to get a better sense of where those increases came from as well as how call volume was being assessed.

Reardon began by explaining a little bit about the history of Plympton joining the regionalized dispatch center. About six years ago, Chief Dillon approached them with problems he was experiencing with their current dispatch through the state. In short, Plympton felt that they were not being made a priority. “The difference between us and state police is you’re an integral part of our dispatch operation,” Reardon explained. As an example, Reardon referenced the previous Friday saying it was a particularly busy day for the four towns serviced by the ROCC, so the number of dispatchers was increased from 4 to 10 to accommodate the high volume.

Reardon also went on to say that there have been a number of benefits to the town due to the regionalization including the phone system at the police station, mobile data terminals, and better communications overall. Reardon said that the ROCC spent $800,000 this past year in order to improve communications for the sake of firefighter and police officer safety. Chief Nord, who also acts as department head at the ROCC, said, “You’ve gotten a tremendous amount of product for belonging.” Mahoney added that including just big-ticket items, Plympton has seen $193,000 worth of development funding this past year. Nord stressed that Plympton should think in terms of the big picture and all the infrastructure improvements they’ve seen, when reviewing the annual fee.

Mahoney addressed Plympton’s increase in call volume and explained how call volume is assessed. “There is no perfect metric to use to know exactly how much of an impact any one community has to a dispatch center because there are so many shared resources,” Mahoney explained. The call volume for Plympton in the last year was 15,000. Duxbury stood at 32,000, Halifax at 12,000, and Rochester at 12,000. Mahoney explained that for every item that gets logged into the records management system, a tick is added to the call volume tally.

Traynor questioned the numbers saying, “We’re less than half the population of Halifax and yet we have more call volume.” Nord explained that it was difficult to estimate what impact Plympton would have on the dispatch center initially as there really weren’t any good records to work from. Nord went on to say that initial estimates were low and stressed that Plympton is actually a very busy community with lots of traffic stops and EMS.

Mahoney said that much of Plympton’s call volume was due to building checks and motor vehicle stops. Traynor said that he assumed those things were going on in the other towns as well but was told that they were, but not to the same extent. Mahoney said that Plympton has strict traffic monitoring.

Chief Dillon said that of the 15,000 call volume, 9,000 of those were just building checks. “That’s 9,000 numbers that are sort of being, we feel, treated just the same as a domestic disturbance response or a car crash in one of those other towns.” Dillon proposed a possible weighted system where a building check might be worth half of a point whereas another type of a response might be worth two points.

Nord said that if Plympton were running a dispatch center on their own of the same quality, they would likely be looking at paying fees in the $400,000 to $500,000 range. Nord did apologize for the sudden spike in fee, however, saying that they should have begun slowly adjusting the number sooner.

Russo acknowledged that the town was aware and appreciative of the great service they were receiving. “We surely want to pay our fair share, it just doesn’t feel like this is our fair share,” Russo said.

Russo also asked about the likelihood of other towns joining the ROCC and was told that Hanson has already signed on and that several other towns are potentially joining as well. As of right now, the ROCC has the potential to more than double with a new building capable of handling a population of 100,000. The ROCC has also gone from five dispatch seats to fifteen. The potential for growth means that other towns would be sharing the burden of cost.

The meeting was very amicable with all sides agreeing that they just wanted to come to a resolution that would be satisfactory to all involved. The ROCC agreed to look at the potential of a weighted system and the Board of Selectmen and Dennehy agreed to come up with a number somewhere between $50,000 and $200,000 that would work for the town.

Noxious odor at Silver Lake a mystery

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Ambulances from all over the South Shore helped transport 34 students and staff of Silver Lake Regional High School Friday, Feb. 7, who were sickened by a noxious odor in a regular classroom.  A Hazardous Materials response was mounted and first responders went into the classroom to determine the severity of the situation.

As of press time on Thursday, Feb. 13, no cause had been determined.

In a statement prepared by Silver Lake Superintendent Dr. Jill Proulx through the Silver Lake portal, students and their families were told that no cause was found for the odor.    Hazmat was not able to determine the source, but they did confirm there were no life-threatening hazards.  Extensive air and surface testing was done by the HazMat team using a variety of metering and testing devices. 

“In addition to the first responders and staff, I want to thank our students. They were patient and brave during a difficult situation. I want them to know that we will always do everything in our power to ensure their safety.  On behalf of Silver Lake, thank you for your patience, kindness and courage,” said Proulx in her statement.

The Fire Chief and Health Department determined students and staff could re-enter the building once the cleaning of the 1100s and 2100s was complete. Service Master was contracted to complete a thorough surface and air cleaning using ozone scrubbers of classrooms, lockers and duct work, according to Proulx’s statement. Staff  and students were reportedly released from the hospital due to incident at the high school and were home safe as of 8 p.m. Friday,  Feb 7.

Nightmare on Elm Street

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Friday morning’s weatherman said he wouldn’t be surprised to see old fashion liquid barometers overflow, the barometric pressure was going to be that low.

The Feb. 7 storm was presaged all morning by dark, smoky skies and wind whipping all around. There were trees and limbs down throughout the three Silver Lake towns, but it seems that Plympton got the worst of it.

Capt. John  Sjostedt said that his department answered  18 storm-related calls.

Trees were twisted 10-20 feet high, and snapped like twigs, falling everywhere.  Elm Street seems to have suffered a microburst.

Eversource had its work cut out for them and tree crews were kept busy.

Experienced wrestling team enjoys success

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It’s been a successful year for the Silver Lake High wrestling team so far this season.

The Lakers have enjoyed their share of success, and as of the start of this week, they were 15-10 on the season. On January 31, they picked up wins over Barnstable, Middleboro and Weston in a quad meet. Two days prior, they defeated Scituate 45-29. That put them on a four match win streak and means they have won six of their past seven matches.

Kyle Cipullo (heavyweight) and Chase Perkins (160) have been among the team’s top wrestlers this season. Cipullo got a pin in the team’s win over Scituate to finish the match. Additionally, wrestlers like Will Barkowsky (152), Will Hesketh (220), Scott Snell (106), Cam Turner (170), Michael Voci (182) and Pat Ganley (126) have thrived, posting winning records thus far. Injuries to Hesketh and Barkowsky early in the season put the team in a tough spot but since they have been back, the team has been stronger.

Plus, the team has a female wrestler, Sydney Diauto. She took second place at the Phillips Academy Invitational in the 106.3-pound weight class bracket on January 26. In total, the event features more than 80 competitors. During the regular season, the freshman has won multiple matches on varsity.

Experience is on the side of the Lakers this season. They have 10 upperclassmen on their roster this time around.
   The team is coached by Wayne Reissfelder. A Silver Lake alum himself and Halifax native, he also serves as the Lakers head freshman football coach.

The Lakers have their final regular season meet of the season on Wednesday, Feb. 12 on the road against the Pembroke Titans (6:30 p.m. start time). After that, however, the Lakers will have individual wrestlers compete at sectionals and possibly in the state tournament if they perform well there.

Veterans surprise Halifax Walmart manager

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Halifax Walmart manager Martin Disla was surprised on Friday, Jan. 24, by members of the Halifax Veterans of Foreign Wars Post  6258, in appreciation of his ongoing support of the Post and all veterans in the surrounding area.

“They have been such a supportive force to our community, not only to the military, but also to many other chariites needing assistance, Post Commander David Walsh said,  “They have been gigantic in support of Children’s Hospital as well as providing assisting to the local fire and police community.”

Walsh continued, “Post 6258 Veterans of Foreign Wars of Halifax is proud and honored to award Walmart Manager Martin Disla and the Halifax Walmart Crew a special Community Service Award and a plaque to permanently remain in the store to remind all patrons of Walmart’s many accomplishments and continuing commitment to our community.  Thank you Halifax Walmart!”

Halifax PD wins OFGR grant for traffic control enforcement

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The Halifax Police Department has been awarded a grantEach December, the Office of Grants and Research (OGR) partners with police agencies across the state as part of the national Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over enforcement mobilization.  OGR recently awarded grants to 125 local police departments, including a grant that reimburses the town of Halifax up to $7500 for extra patrols during the mobilization period of Dec. 11 through Jan. 20, to pay for overtime patrols to increase impaired driving enforcement targeting drivers impaired by alcohol and/or drugs during the holiday season.

Complementing these efforts was an educational campaign titled Wisdom featuring local cannabis users talking about their personal experiences with, and thoughts on, driving after consuming cannabis, alcohol, or other drugs.  Impaired crashes are not accidents; they are preventable.  Wisdom’s ads serve as a reminder for drivers to recognize the responsibility they have to drive safely and to avoid getting behind the wheel if they are impaired.  Remember – If you feel different, you drive different.

The next mobilization period is March 6-22, the spring speed enforcement campaign, followed by the April 1 – 30 campaign for distracted driving, then May 14 to 31 Occupant Protection/Click it or ticket.  From June 11 to July 5 is the Summer Speed Enforcement mobilization and final period is Aug. 20 – Sept. 8 Drive Sober or get Pulled Over.

The grant will reimburse the town of Halifax up to $7500 dollars for extra patrols during these periods.  The officers on these patrols must document at least 3 stops per hour unless an arrest is made then time is allowed to process the arrest.

Playground proposal is ADA approved

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The Monday, January 27 Plympton School Committee meeting was the last one for Joy Blackwood. New Superintendent Jill Prolix and new Assistant Superintendent Ryan Lynch began in their new positions on February 1.  Lynch, who received his undergraduate degree at Notre Dame and Master’s from Brown, was a classroom teacher for many years, a department head, and most recently the principal at Gates Middle School in Scituate. Proulx and Lynch previously worked together in Scituate. Plympton School Committee Chair Jon Wilhelmsen said to Blackwood and Proulx, “Well done to both of you for being able to organize this and leave us in very good hands.”

Playground Update

Vice Chair Jason Fraser gave a presentation on the recent developments with the new playground to be built at Dennett Elementary. Fraser and Dennett Principal Peter Veneto have been working with Joe DuFour of O’Brien and Sons on the schematics for the playground. Fraser explained that last year they met with the Community Preservation Committee (CPC), CASA, and other stakeholders in town to go over the preliminary design. The takeaway from that meeting was that the town would like to see the playground be even more accessible to all students in the community. As a result, DuFour, Veneto, and Fraser had a lengthy meeting to discuss further changes to the design.

DuFour suggested taking away the wheelchair swing as it can actually be isolating. It was suggested instead to include a sway fun that would include a ramp to make it accessible to students with mobility issues. It would also be open to all of their peers. Of the sway fun, Fraser said, “It’s a good time; I’ve been on one on the fully accessible playground in Braintree.” The bank of swings will also include two accessible swings. The final item that Fraser said they would like to see included is called a “We-Go-Round”. The “We-Go-Round” would be fully accessible, have rubber matting that a wheelchair can travel over, and would be perfectly flush to the ground for easier accessibility. “If we added the “We-Go-Round”  element, I really think we would have a playground that we could hang our hats on for the next twenty-five or thirty years,” Fraser said. In order to afford this feature, however, Fraser said that they would need to access this year’s school choice funds.

Fraser said that the current playground design is estimated to cost $228,000. The cost goes up to $242,000 if the “We-Go-Round”  is included. That cost would include the excavation, leveling, putting filling in, placing sidings, and adding rubber matting. The cost of all materials and the installation are also included in that total. Fraser said that the addition of the school choice funds would give them $258,000 to work with while maintaining a $16,000 contingency. Fraser also proposed the possibility of completing the playground in stages to ensure that the contingency isn’t being depleted before proceeding with the next stage.

As of right now they are leaving out a ramp that would extend from the building to the playground. Fraser suggested possibly reaching out to the community for in-kind donations to build the ramp. Donating the old playground for scrap metal was another suggestion.

“At this point, we’re not taking any money from the operating budget; we’re not coming back to the town asking for any additional funds from CPC or from capital. We’re really trying to do this on our own, but we want to make sure what we put in was meeting the initial needs which was safety, accessibility, and modernization,” Fraser explained. Timing-wise, Fraser said that if they are able to use the school choice funds, they could likely complete construction over the summer and have the playground ready for the beginning of the next school year.

Wilhelmsen said that he had received an email from Plympton selectman Mark Russo asking for an update on the playground. Wilhelmsen said it might be a good idea to give a presentation in-person at a selectmen’s meeting.

Legislative Update

Fraser said that the Governor Baker has released the budget. The budget fully funds the first year of the Student Opportunity Act, a $1.5 billion investment in Massachusetts public schools that aims to help low income students, in particular.

Fraser recently had lunch with Senator Jason Lewis (D-Winchester) to ask questions regarding the $30 per pupil allotment for Plympton in additional state aid under Chapter 70. Senator Lewis told Fraser that he doesn’t anticipate that number increasing, as there were dramatic increases in investments throughout the commonwealth. Fifty-seven percent of towns and cities in Massachusetts will be receiving $30 per pupil while forty-three percent will receive the vast majority of funding. Those in the forty-three percent are largely low-income communities and English learner populations. Senator Lewis did try to assure Fraser by telling him that Plympton would see some money from the Student Opportunity Act in the form of increased Circuit Breaker funds over the next three years.

Fraser traveled to D.C. last week to meet with the congressional delegation including representatives from legislature and someone from Senator Warren’s office. Fraser addressed the diminished amount of Title 1 funding seen in Plympton.

Principal’s Report

Principal Veneto gave a report on recent and upcoming events at Dennett. Yearbooks are available for purchase from now until March 31. Midterm progress reports went home on Monday, January 27. February vacation will be from February 17 to February 21. The Monday following vacation will be a service day for teachers and staff and students will not have school.

Veneto also shared that a former Dennett student come back to speak to Grade 6 at the Honorable Breakfast on January 7. The student spoke about their experience at both the middle and high school.

Budget Discussion

Blackwood spoke to the committee about the Plympton school budget. The public budget hearing will be during the next school committee meeting in February. Budgets must be voted in March to meet state law. Blackwood said that K-6 enrollment in 2010 was 245 compared to today’s enrollment of 226, up from a low of 199. In 2010 there were three students being homeschooled at the elementary level and one at the secondary level. Currently, there are no Plympton students being home schooled. Only one student is attending school outside the district due to school choice. While the number is small, Blackwood reminded the committee that it still represents funds that are being lost.

Administrator of Special Education Marie Grable recommended the addition of a special education teacher. That request was not included in the version of the budget Blackwood presented as it was requested that it be a level service budget. Blackwood said that $44,000 would be returned to the town from out of district vocational funds. Blackwood suggested asking the town to use that money toward a variety of “one of” or periodic budget items. Possible items that could be paid for by that money include the inspection of the cistern for $5,000, 12 document cameras totaling $8,400, and instructional materials for the updated third and sixth grade social studies curriculum. Blackwood said that it would be best to start by finding out if the town is comfortable with transferring those funds or some portion of those funds to help reduce the budget increase. Those funds would need to be spent by June 30. Blackwood said that were the town to approve such a transfer, it could help offset the cost of a special education teacher, estimated at roughly $60,000.

Blackwood explained that some items included in the budget are placeholders such as the conservative 65% for Circuit Breaker reimbursement and the bus costs. The district will be going out to bids for buses and hope that the actual number will be less than what is currently in the budget.

The regular day budget increases by 3.22 percent or $78,949. The special education budget increase is 3.25 percent or $35,000; most of that increase is due to transportation. Blackwood said that if the special education teacher were added into the current budget the overall increase would rise to 4.35 percent from 2.71.

Blackwood also made one final plea to see band returned as part of the regular school day. According to Blackwood, making band available during the day levels the playing field as it gives all students an opportunity to participate and not just those that are able to attend an extracurricular activity.

Wilhelmsen thanked Blackwood for her years of service to Plympton saying, “I personally would like to thank you for six years of as much fun as we could possibly have had doing this. I do wish you the best and I hope you have great adventures and lots of them around the world. We’re going to miss you here.”

cessible to all students in the community. As a result, DuFour, Veneto, and Fraser had a lengthy meeting to discuss further changes to the design.

DuFour suggested taking away the wheelchair swing as it can actually be isolating. It was suggested instead to include a sway fun which would include a ramp to make it accessible to students with mobility issues. It would also be open to all of their peers. Of the sway fun, Fraser said, “It’s a good time I’ve been on one on the fully accessible playground in Braintree.” The bank of swings will also include two accessible swings. The final item that Fraser said they would like to see included is called a we-go-round. The we-go-round would be fully accessible, have rubber matting that a wheelchair can travel over, and would be perfectly flush to the ground for easier accessibility. “If we added the we-go-round element, I really think we would have a playground that we could hang our hats on for the next twenty-five or thirty years,” Fraser said. In order to afford this feature, however, Fraser said that they would need to access this year’s school choice funds.

Fraser said that the current playground design is estimated to cost $228,000. The cost goes up to $242,000 if the we-go-round is included. That cost would include the excavation, leveling, putting filling in, placing sidings, and adding rubber matting. The cost of all materials and the installation are also included in that total. Fraser said that the addition of the school choice funds would give them $258,000 to work with while maintaining a $16,000 contingency. Fraser also proposed the possibility of completing the playground in stages to ensure that the contingency isn’t being eaten into before proceeding with the next stage.

As of right now they are leaving out a ramp that would extend from the building to the playground. Fraser suggested possibly reaching out to the community for in-kind donations to build the ramp. Donating the old playground for scrap metal was another suggestion.

“At this point, we’re not taking any money from the operating budget, we’re not coming back to the town asking for any additional funds from CPC or from capital. We’re really trying to do this on our own, but we want to make sure what we put in was meeting the initial needs which was safety, accessibility, and modernization,” Fraser explained. Timing wise, Fraser said that if they are able to use the school choice funds, they could likely complete construction over the summer and have the playground ready for the beginning of the next school year.

Wilhelmsen said that he had received an email from Plympton selectman Mark Russo asking for an update on the playground. Wilhelmsen said it might be a good idea to give a presentation in-person at a selectmen’s meeting.

Legislative Update

Fraser said that the Governor Baker had released the budget. The budget fully funds the first year of the Student Opportunity Act. The Student Opportunity Act is a $1.5 billion investment in Massachusetts public schools which aims to help low income students, in particular.

Fraser recently had lunch with Senator Jason Lewis to ask questions regarding the $30 per pupil allotment for Plympton in additional state aid under Chapter 70. Senator Lewis told Fraser that he doesn’t anticipate that number increasing as there were dramatic increases in investments throughout the commonwealth. Fifty-seven percent of towns and cities in Massachusetts will be receiving $30 per pupil while forty-three percent will receive the vast majority of funding. Those in the forty-three percent are largely low-income communities and English learner populations. Senator Lewis did try to assure Fraser by telling him that Plympton would see some money from the Student Opportunity Act in the form of increased Circuit Breaker funds over the next three years.

Fraser traveled to DC last week to meet with the congressional delegation including representatives from legislature and someone from Senator Warren’s office. Fraser addressed the diminished amount of Title 1 funding seen in Plympton.

Principal’s Report

Principal Veneto gave a report on recent and upcoming events at Dennett. Yearbooks are available for purchase from now until March 31. Midterm progress reports went home on Monday, January 27. February vacation will be from February 17 to February 21. The Monday following vacation will be a service day for teachers and staff and students will not have school.

Veneto also shared that a former Dennett student come back to speak to Grade 6 at the Honorable Breakfast on January 7. The student spoke about their experience at both the middle and high school.

Budget Discussion

Blackwood spoke to the committee about the Plympton school budget. The public budget hearing will be during the next school committee meeting in February. Budgets must be voted in March to meet state law. Blackwood said that K-6 enrollment in 2010 was 245 compared to today’s enrollment of 226, up from a low of 199. In 2010 there were three students being homeschooled at the elementary level and one at the secondary level. Currently, there are no Plympton students being home schooled. Only one student is attending school outside the district due to school choice. While the number is small, Blackwood reminded the committee that it still represents funds that are being lost.

Administrator of Special Education Marie Grable recommended the addition of a special education teacher. That request was not included in the version of the budget Blackwood presented as it was requested that it be a level service budget. Blackwood said that $44,000 will be returned to the town from out of district vocational funds. Blackwood suggested asking the town to use that money toward a variety of one off or periodic budget items. Possible items that could be paid for by that money include the inspection of the cistern for $5,000, 12 document cameras totaling $8,400, and instructional materials for the updated third and sixth grade social studies curriculum. Blackwood said that it would be best to start by finding out if the town is comfortable with transferring those funds or some portion of those funds to help reduce the budget increase. Those funds would need to be spent by June 30. Blackwood said that were the town to approve such a transfer, it could help offset the cost of a special education teacher, estimated at roughly $60,000.

Blackwood explained that some items included in the budget are placeholders such as the conservative 65% for Circuit Breaker reimbursement and the bus costs. The district will be going out to bids for buses and hope that the actual number will be less than what is currently in the budget.

The regular day budget increases by 3.22 percent or $78,949. The special education budget increase is 3.25 percent or $35,000; most of that increase is due to transportation. Blackwood said that if the special education teacher were added into the current budget the overall increase would rise to 4.35 percent from 2.71.

Blackwood also made one final plea to see band returned as part of the regular school day. According to Blackwood, making band available during the day levels the playing field as it gives all students an opportunity to participate and not just those that are able to attend an extracurricular activity.

Wilhelmsen thanked Blackwood for her years of service to Plympton saying, “I personally would like to thank you for six years of as much fun as we could possibly have had doing this. I do wish you the best and I hope you have great adventures and lots of them around the world. We’re going to miss you here.”

Jumps

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