Saturday, April 15, Halifax resident Charles N. “Charlie” Bauer, Jr., was surprised by family and friends with a birthday celebration at Henrich Hall, featuring a cake made by his daughter, Nancy Lemon, and a catered luncheon for the more than 50 guests who came to wish him well.
Throughout the afternoon, a slide show ran with photos of a life well-lived. He is a veteran of World War II, Army Air Corps ball turret gunner, and worked as a plant supervisor at Goddard Memorial Hospital over 30 years until his retirement.
His son-in-law Herb Lemon, read the Citation that was read into the Congressional Record to be kept in perpetuity.
Plympton Soccer Girls play at Gillette Stadium at U10/U12 night
The Plympton U10 and U12 Girls went to Gillette on Saturday, April 8, for a fun night of soccer. This is a seasonal event, put on by the New England Revolution organization to get teams who play at the U10 and U12 soccer levels to come out with their players and families. More than 40 teams can sign up and bring their team out to play a game on the field at Gillette. Following their match, teams return to cheer on the New England Revolution later that night. It was a special night for everyone!
Teachers voted 3% increase
The Plympton School Committee met on Monday, March 27. Dennett Elementary School Principal Peter Veneto provided an update. He said that current enrollment stands at 241 students. Veneto said that the School Psychologist Mrs. Jenkins had a baby boy in March. He also said that on March 16 the Dennett students performed at the All-Band District Concert. “This is something that did not even exist seven, eight months ago… they did a great job.” Veneto also said that they recently held their school talent show. He thanked Mrs. Hemple, Mrs. Hickey, Mrs. Sheehan, Mrs. Prario, and Mrs. Murphy for their work on the talent show. Veneto noted that there were a lot of school events upcoming with spring on the horizon. Those include Field Day, Future Laker Day, Ride Your Bike to School Day, and potentially a blood drive in June.
Veneto said, “The Fire Department came down to do lessons with all our students from kindergarten to Grade 6. They did a great job, and the kids really got a lot out of it: I witnessed some kids playing jeopardy games; I saw fifth and sixth grade kids actually putting on helmets and jackets and putting out a live fire.” He thanked Captain John Sjostedt.
Regarding contract negotiations, the Committee voted to approve the contract with the teachers for a three percent increase over the next three years. They also voted to approve the aides’ contract at a three percent increase over the next two years.
Committee member Jason Fraser spoke on behalf of two updated policies. “These are the policies that we spoke about a meeting or two ago… one on surveys being given to our students here at the Dennett and some of the polices and protocols we would like to see in place to ensure that parents have all due notice, both the fact that they are coming, the content of the questions, access to the questions, and contact people for opting-out and also the guidance office reaching out,” Fraser said. “The security policy has to do with who has access to our security cameras and under what situations,” he explained regarding the second policy. The Committee voted unanimously to accept the policies.
Fraser also touched on SEL (social and emotional learning). “The SEL working group is actually a mixture of School Committee, parents, administrators, and teachers working together to try and bring programming that is consistent within the school building to have consistent expectations within the building, consistent language from classroom-to-classroom K-6,” Fraser explained. “I appreciate being part of the group… I appreciate the teachers who volunteered to help with the early work, but this is really something that we’re going to have to wrap our arms around and really join as a community to make sure we are supporting our kids here,” Fraser said.
The Legislative report was given by Fraser who said that remote participation will be extended until March of 2025. “Extra dollars to make sure that the free school meals for all we hope to go through June 30,” Fraser explained. He continued, “Other than that, the House Ways and Means Committee has had some testimony delivered to them for some of the other items that we would like to see included in this year’s budget, but nothing has been reported out.” May 4 will be MASC (Massachusetts Association of School Committees) Day on the Hill. He said that people will be invited to hold meetings with their State representatives and State Senators.
Superintendent Jill Proulx told the Committee that Silver Lake Youth Cheer wished to have registration flyers sent home with students advertising the program. Proulx made it clear that despite their name, they are not affiliated with the school. Similarly, Silver Lake Hoops, which is a private program not affiliated with the schools either, also wished to have their flyers distributed in the schools. Proulx noted that the program has been running in the district for at least as long as she has been there. The Committee voted to approve.
Committee Chair Jon Wilhelmsen told the Committee that the school would have a warrant article at the upcoming town meeting for $30,000 to complete work on the three classroom floors that were requested. There will also be an article at the special town meeting to move $60,000 from out-of-district vocational and then another still undetermined amount to be transferred from regular day as there was some surplus there. They will also need another transfer from some other town source. “Just to clarify all of the transfers are for this year to supplement our special education line due to some changes in tuition and education that were not anticipated in last year’s budget,” Wilhelmsen explained.
Regarding the additional surfacing that needs to be laid on the playground. Director of Business Services Christine Healy said that they can use the Mass Higher Education Consortium to lay the surfacing. This would allow for it to be done as quickly as possible, ideally as soon as school wraps for the year.
Regarding solar panels, Wilhelmsen told the Committee that they likely noticed some paneling already on the building. “They’re moving fast with that; they’re moving forward in April,” he said. He noted that the town would be paying to have five or six different boxes that will be added to the building. They won’t all be able to be placed at ground level so siding will be removed from a section to put in a proper backer board. This would allow for siding to be replaced in the future without disrupting the board.
Wilhelmsen told the Committee that they had some equipment in the Dennett kitchen to be declared surplus. Nutrition Director Megan Ahrenholz asked that the Committee vote to approve declaring both the steamer and steam kettle as surplus as she has a grant to purchase updated equipment. “It’s important to note that… some of the equipment we are getting rid of has been here for 50 years so it’s definitely time for an upgrade and I’m sure it will have a significant impact on our electricity bill,” Wilhelmsen said.
Proulx said that the next meeting would be the school choice hearing which is held annually. The meeting will be on Monday, April 24.
Halifax votes down school choice
The Halifax School Committee met on Monday, April 3. They began the meeting with their annual school choice hearing. Committee Chair Summer Schmaling said, “school choice allows residents and students from other towns to choose Halifax Elementary as a school that they can send their child to even if they don’t live in our district.” No one from the public asked to speak during the hearing and there was no conversation amongst the Committee on the topic. Superintendent Jill Proulx said that the Committee would need to cite a reason for declining school choice. Schmaling said that she felt it would be a financial hardship to the town to accept school choice as well as the negative impact it could potentially have on class sizes. The Committee voted unanimously against school choice.
For correspondence, Schmaling said that Committee member Jim Keegan had submitted his letter of resignation with a year left on his term. “His position is open on the ballot in the spring,” Schmaling explained.
Updates were given for the standing committees including PTO. It was said that they are running an HES apparel fundraiser. Discussion was also had at the last PTO meeting surrounding the increased costs associated with busing for field trips. There was some talk of fundraising per grade rather than per pupil since some grades have significantly more students than others.
Principal Kayne Beaudry said that Grade 5 had MCAS for ELA the first week of April and Grades 4 and 6 the second week of April. Grade 3 will have their ELA MCAS the week after April vacation. Beaudry also said that they had a 70 percent response rate to the School Council survey. Schmaling asked what the survey included. “Every couple of years, we put together a survey that we send out to families and it’s about the climate in the building, the effectiveness of our staff, the relationships that we’re building here in the school; and it’s all designed around our strategy for district improvement at the building level,” Beaudry explained. Beaudry said that the book fair during conferences raised almost $15,000. He said that the PTO “generously bought a book for every student in kindergarten through fourth grade.”
Beaudry told the Committee that each year they send out a student placement feedback form for parents. He said that placement teams are starting up now before the end of the school year. “We don’t take teacher requests, but we look for some feedback in terms of how their child learns best or if there’s any particular friendships or any details that a placement team will know,” he explained.
Assistant Superintendent Ryan Lynch said he had an update on the elementary school team leadership meeting on March 16. He said that Beaudry and Assistant Principal Brian DeSantes shared their data on student growth with the other elementary school principals in the district. “They played a leadership role in our session by sharing their data… and the way in which they track student growth and achievement over the course of the year… they did a great job with the visual display… we thought that was great to share with all of our elementary principals because data analysis is a key part of student growth,” Lynch said. Lynch said that the assessment tools used include both DIBELS and Star Math and Star Reading. Beaudry said that the most useful data is typically from the spring scores to the fall ones as there is usually a dip over the summer.
Bunny hops to Plympton Police Station
Saturday, April 8, the Plympton Police Station became a stop on the Easter Bunny’s route to deliver eggs all around. Hundreds of eggs were hidden around the station and outside in the yard. Eggs, prizes, raffles, donuts, games and goodies were enjoyed by all.
Kingston Town Election is Saturday, April 22
Kingston’s Annual Town Election will be Saturday, April 22, at the Kingston Elementary School, 150 Main St,, off Route 3A. Polls are open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
There are still positions open with no candidates. They are: Housing Authority, 1 seat available for a 5-year term and Library Trustee – two seats available for 3-year terms Check the Town Clerk’s website to see if you qualify for an absentee ballot. See www.kingstonma.gov for additional information under Election News. If you have any questions please feel free to contact the Kingston Town Clerk’s office at 781-585-0502.
PayT begins in Plympton
It was no April Fool’s Day trick at the Plympton Transfer Station. PayT, where Plympton residents using the transfer station are required to purchase special bags for their rubbish to help cover the ever-increasing cost of trash disposal.
Chief attendant Art Morin said that he only had to turn away three residents, two who didn’t have their sticker and one who didn’t have the new bright orange Plympton PayT bags.
As of Tuesday noon, Colleen Morin, Highway Dept. Admin., said she has sold 583 transfer station stickers. Last year at this time she had sold 637 stickers
Residents can purchase their PayT bags at the Highway Department on Palmer Road, Aubuchon Hardware on Rte. 58 in Carver, Plympton Convenience and Liquors, and Market Basket in Plymouth. As other stores join, they will be added to the list.
All in all, Colleen Morin said that people have been very pleasant and most seem to feel this is a good way to go. “I have had a handful of people (two farm people) who have been disgruntled over the charge.
Kingston school committee votes budget
The Kingston Elementary School Committee met on Monday, March 20. Town Treasurer Carl Pike asked to speak at the beginning of the meeting regarding the budget. He called himself a strong supporter of schools and school budgets over the last decade before saying that it was difficult for him to speak up regarding the preliminary budget and what it would do to the Town’s overall finances. He noted the $2.1 million increase this year saying that even with $600,000 removed due to increases in state aid, they were still at an increase of approximately $1.5 million. “What that does to the residents of the town of Kingston – we have about 4,500 residential parcels so that would equate to about $350 of a tax increase for every residential house in the town of Kingston for the next fiscal year.”
Pike also spoke about what the school’s increase would mean for the rest of the town. Pike said that the other town departments were challenged to stay around a 2 percent increase. “We have always strived to leave about a million dollars on the table; what that means is if I could tax the residents $40 million across the town, we try to only tax them $39 million so there’s a million on the table.” He said that with the school’s increase that wouldn’t be possible. He noted that this leaves the town in a dangerous position. He noted that the million dollars carrying over each year prevents a Prop 2.5 override. He encouraged the School Committee to reconsider their budget saying that he would have trouble supporting it as-is and said he suspects that the Finance Committee and Selectmen likely would also have difficulty supporting it.
Selectman Sheila Vaughn, who noted she is also the parent of an incoming kindergartener, thanked Pike but said it is very difficult to run a school and level-fund it. “We have schools… we need to be taking care of them… we’ve done more with the legislature to try to secure more funding,” Vaughn said. She said that cuts always come out of the regular day operating budget because it is difficult to cut from special education and out of district vocational. “We have parents and we have people who will support this,” she said.
Superintendent Jill Proulx shared version three of the budget with the Committee. She noted that Circuit Breaker was still estimated at 70 percent. “No cuts were made to this since the last time we met… regular day in this includes the addition of three classroom teachers, one kindergarten para, a 0.5 para, $60,000 in equipment, 0.4 music, and 0.4 art bringing it to a 9.53 percent increase. “Special education in this budget, we have added the paraprofessionals for the program, we have added the behaviorist… they show up in the form of tuition increases… so now special education is at 23.2 increase,” Proulx told the Committee. She said that there was some discussion about using free cash and carrying over some of Circuit Breaker into FY24. “We are very much open to that idea,” Proulx said. Committee member Tim Lewis said he was “absolutely passionate” about the three new classroom teachers and the special education educator.
There was some discussion about whether the behaviorist was necessary. Some Committee members argued that the time taken away from students while teachers dealt with these issues was immeasurable. Other Committee members felt that the data was not there to warrant the position. Kingston Intermediate School (KIS) Principal Mike Bambery said that the need was imminent due to the strain on other staff. Coleman spoke in favor of the behaviorist but questioned the need for a third classroom teacher. She did note, however, that she didn’t want to be put in the position they are in now where kindergarten parents are outraged about the large class sizes which are approaching 30.
Proulx said that in speaking with the Technology Director and the Curriculum Coordinator “we felt that we could absorb $19,000 for curriculum and $30,000 for technology because we felt we could move some of that into ESSSER.” The Committee also discussed reducing positions, such as music from 0.4 to 0.2., to save money. Proulx pointed out that it would be difficult to find someone to take over a 0.2 position. Coleman said that she was comfortable bringing the budget as-is to the Town Meeting floor. Lewis said that one hundred percent of the people at the public budget hearing supported the budget. Coleman said that she spoke to a mother of a kindergartener and a third grader who moved across the country sight unseen in part because of the Kingston’s schools. “I don’t want to lose that,” she said.
There was considerable conversation around the budgetary impacts of students who transfer into the district mid school year. Lewis asked, “Am I correct in saying that there is a law on the books that if a student moves into the district after a certain date than the previous district owns that bill; so when we talk about an extraordinary year because of move-ins, aren’t those move-ins being paid for by the previous district?” Administrator of Special Education Marie Grable said “Correct, there is an April 1 move-in law, so if there is someone who moves into our district after April 1 that we did not have a chance to budget for, then that district owns and assumes the tuition for the rest of the school year but there are other taxes.” If students moved-in earlier than April 1, the district still has to pay for them regardless of those students not being included in the approved budget.
The excess cost that was spoken of was $700,000. Grable said that the bulk of that came from students who turned 3, move-ins, and some out-of-district placements that were not foreseen. Grable explained that if students that move-in are private then the April 1 law applies. She continued, “if they are collaborative, then we look to see if we have some in-district program that can meet their needs, so we are not bound to the move-in law if we have a comparable program.” Grable said, “we received students that weren’t on an IEP that were challenging to place; I’m really toeing the line here.” Committee Chair Jeanne Coleman said, “I think the majority of the public might be able to connect some pieces with the timeline that we’re looking at… and now we’re fiscally responsible… and the State dropped the ball on providing appropriate funding.” While it was not explicitly stated, the implication was that the conversation centered around the 64 migrant children who were housed in a hotel in Kingston in October. Director of Business Services clarified that that situation only made up a small portion of the additional expenses.
After considerable conversation and debate, the Committee voted to approve a regular day operating budget of $10,410,747, a special education budget of $6,354,065, and an out of district vocational education budget of $228,000. Coleman noted that the increase was actually 8.6 percent.
The Committee listened to some changes to two policies that were previously discussed at the Halifax and Plympton School Committees. The first dealt with access to security footage from the schools. The changes allowed for more emergency services to access the footage in the event of an emergency. Previously, only Police were allowed but the changes allowed for both Dispatch and Fire and Rescue to also view them. The second policy was regarding the opt-out option for parents for student surveys. Parents have the option to opt-out of the social and emotional surveys being administered by the schools. The Committee voted to approve both policies.
During the Teacher’s Corner for the month of March it was said that the reading focus was Dr. Suess. It was noted that author, Beth Ferry, came to work with students and would be returning to work on creating their own books. The second grade participated in a March Madness book tournament where books went head-to-head until one was voted as the favorite. The first grade participated in a STEM project creating Leprechaun traps. After School programs led by KES teachers and being put on by Kingston Youth and Rec have been very successful.
KES Principal Kerri Whipple provided an update saying the focus of the past month has been curiosity. Whipple called Ferry’s visit a success and noted that they had positive feedback on the visit from many families especially those with students with special needs. Whipple said that the first-grade celebrated beach day where they studied marine animals. Whipple said that the program “germs alive” was incredible. “There’s a lot of events coming up; it’s our busy time of year,” she told the Committee.
Bambery also provided an update on recent goings on at KIS. He said that the infrastructure trials for MCAS have gone well. He said that the student/staff basketball game went wonderfully, selling the entire place out. “The kids just had a fantastic time; I had kids coming up to me harassing me because I didn’t call any fouls,” he said laughing. Bambery also said that the fifth grade would be going on a field trip and the sixth grade would be having a cyber-bullying presentation.
It was an ‘eggcellent’ egg hunt in Halifax!
Saturday, April 1, the Halifax Elementary School gymnasium hosted hundreds of children all hoping to fill their baskets and have fun at the 22nd Easter Egg Hunt sponsored by the Halifax Youth and Recreation Dept.
Once again, Dick Steele, Director, led the activities, with the help of a large white furry flop-eared rabbit. Throughout the morning and afternoon, children enjoyed music, tattoos, balloon creations, face painting, bouncy houses, pizza, and hot dogs.
Children were separated by age groups to give everyone a chance to bring home a basketful of eggs.
Hundreds of area children enjoyed the day.
Halifax hears senior housing plan
The Halifax Board of Selectmen met Tuesday, March 28. Representatives of Thorndike Development, including President Lloyd Geisinger, appeared before the Selectmen to discuss the development of the property at 265 Monponsett St. Geisinger said they also purchased 266 across the street. He said that they were considering a senior housing alternative that would be a much smaller project in scale than the one originally presented. Geisinger said it would require town meeting action. He said that each building would be three stories and have 36 apartments.
Geisinger said that one problem was that projects of this scale require an on-site sewerage treatment facility and they run $2.5 million to build. “They push these types of developments into that 200-unit range because to do any less… winds up making the projects uneconomic,” he explained. He said if they were to go the senior housing route, they could make it work financially to reduce the 200-unit affordable housing option that would not be age-restricted to a 72-unit senior, over 55+, housing facility. The units would be “for sale” condominiums that would go for $400,000 and up. Geisinger said that Thorndike Development would consider donating some of the land and assisting financially in the development of a new Council on Aging building in close proximity to the residential building. He said that they would even potentially consider gifting the town the land as well as paying for the construction.
Selectmen Chair John Bruno said, “I’m enthusiastic about it; I’ll say that right up front.” He continued, “I know that land is going to get developed eventually; it’s just sitting there too long without being developed so to make it fit in the character is really my biggest concern. I don’t know, with two buildings in that one big area is much better than those 200 units you had in there before.” He noted that Lydon Lane was over 100 units. “I would love to move forward with it,” Bruno concluded. Selectman Jonathan Selig said, “I don’t think we should shut it down; I think it’s definitely worth kicking the tires on.” Selectman Naja Nassralla agreed saying he liked the idea of the Council on Aging being placed nearby.
The Board of Selectmen voted to approve a contract with American Thunder Fireworks in the amount of $12,500 that will be covered by donations. It was announced during the meeting that MacDonald Industries had recently donated $10,000 to the Halifax Fireworks Committee.
The Board of Selectmen voted to sign off on and approve a Municipal Employee Disclosure for Margaret Selter. Selter will be working two separate jobs now as an administrative assistant for the Board of Health as well as Conservation.
Town Administrator Cody Haddad told the Selectmen that the twenty-first annual Harbor to the Bay bike ride will take place on September 23. They plan to make a pit stop in Halifax at the Halifax boat ramp. The Police Department had previously signed off and the Selectmen voted to approve it.
Haddad told the Selectmen that after going through the procurement and receiving bids for the Pine Street bridge work, they “actually came in lower than expected.” He continued, “This has been a project that has been in the works for quite some time.” The Selectmen voted to approve the contract in the amount of $984,500 with Kenefick Corporation. It had previously been approved by Haddad and Highway Surveyor Steve Hayward.
Bruno talked about holding the Selectmen’s meetings at various locations throughout town. “It gives us the opportunity to have people on tv see some of the town buildings and departments; we’ll emphasize that department when we go there… places that will work… the Library, the Fire House, the Recycling Center, the Town Barn, maybe the School… it gives the town the opportunity to see some of these things,” Bruno said. He said that it would give recognition to some people that might not ordinarily get it for the jobs they do well.
Haddad said that at a previous Selectmen’s meeting, the Parks Department had requested utilization of some earmarked funds. The Board had asked for some more defined uses. They also asked that Parks reach out to Youth and Recreation Commission Director Dick Steele to see if he had interest in the funds. Haddad said that Steele has presented several projects that he would like to have completed with half of the funding which is $25,000. Haddad said he is looking to do a turf area, install batting cages, some fencing behind the elementary school, and some field work. Haddad said he has not heard back from Parks regarding their intended uses though he noted their preference was to use the bulk of the money since they don’t receive the same funding as Youth and Rec.
Bob Kniffen and Robert Hodge appeared before the Selectmen on behalf of the Friends of the Library to get permission to place two small, little free libraries on town property at HOPS under the gazebo and another on the Route 36 beach area. He said the books would be donations from the Friends of the Library book sale. The Selectmen voted to approve the request.
Haddad addressed the ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds that were received by both the Town and the County. He said that while much of that money was earmarked for water, sewer, HVAC, etc. he noted that some of it was for lost funds. He said that the money would need to be spent by 2024. He asked the Selectmen for approval on these projects saying that it would leave about $100,000 in ARPA funding available. The first project was HR services as the Town doesn’t have a dedicated Human Resources department. He said that another project, that he was still waiting for a final number for, was the school HVAC. Another project was $50,000 for replacing town furniture that was badly worn. There was also $50,000 for upgrading the Great Hall to make it better for meetings. There was another request for adding a separate sleeping arrangement to the Fire House. There were a number of other requests including an IT consultant for $30,000. The Selectmen agreed that all of the projects felt necessary.
Members of the Planning Board were in attendance to discuss support staff. Haddad said that both the Planning Board and Zoning Board were in need of a 15-hour per week support staff member. Haddad presented the idea of combining the positions to create a full-time Planning and Zoning Administrative Assistant. Haddad said that the Planning Board did not recommend moving forward with his plan, so he asked them to come to meet with selectmen to discuss. Bruno acknowledged that the job has changed significantly since the days of it consisting of mostly secretarial work like minute taking. He said that this is particularly true for regulatory Boards like Planning and Zoning. After much discussion, the Selectmen voted to combine the position.
The Selectmen voted to approve the closing of the annual and special town meeting warrant.
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