The Dennett Elementary School Committee met on Monday, April 24. Chair of the School Committee Jon Wilhelmsen provided an update on school safety. “Since last June, the event that happened in Uvalde, Texas, we’ve actually been holding with the Police Department, the Fire Department, the Town Administrator and myself representing the School Committee, and of course Mr. Veneto and others, have been meeting to talk about school safety and making sure that we are doing everything we can with respect to both the physical building and trying to make sure that we have the appropriate plans in place; those meetings happen every month, every two months,” Wilhelmsen explained. He further said that a large drill was held at Silver Lake in April and noted that both the Plympton Police and Fire Departments were present. A training was held at the Dennett over winter break as well. Wilhelmsen said that upgrades were made to the building’s security including the front entryway which now has additional security. “We are constantly looking at that,” he explained. According to Wilhelmsen the Police Department has put a request on the warrant for Town Meeting to fund a full-time school resource officer at the Dennett. A member in the audience asked, “as you can tell, we are surrounded by glass… are there additional considerations that are going into as far as swapping that kind of stuff out to bulletproof glass or putting some kind of protective film on that that is bullet resistant?” Wilhelmsen, who said that he didn’t want to go into too much detail, said that they were.
Dennett Roof
Wilhelmsen said a study was done on the Dennett roof. Of the results, he said, “it wasn’t awesome.” Wilhelmsen told the Committee that a follow-up meeting will have to be held with Facilities Director Matt Durkee. “There Dennett Roof
Wilhelmsen said a study was done on the Dennett roof. Of the results, he said, “it wasn’t awesome.” Wilhelmsen told the Committee that a follow-up meeting will have to be held with Facilities Director Matt Durkee. “There were some spots where there is significant moisture in the installation but I want to understand, can we repair that and then utilize the additional roofing treatment or is it just something we are stuck with having to do a complete redo,” Wilhelmsen explained.
Dog Droppings on Dennett Fields
Wilhelmsen noted that sports were starting back up again outdoors and said that it was his understanding that nothing was better with respect to owners not picking up after their pets on the Dennett Fields. He said that signage had been put up and trash bags provided. Committee member Jason Fraser asked what next steps would be and Wilhelmsen said that talking to the Board of Selectmen about enforcement, whether it be an animal control officer or other method. Wilhelmsen also said that an idea might potentially be to explore a dedicated dog park in Plympton. Wilhelmsen noted that it is standard practice for dogs not to be allowed on town sports fields.
Playground
Director of Business Services Christine Healy said that she has had initial conversations regarding the next steps for the removal of the mulch and the installation of the rubberized surfacing. She said they need to figure out where to put the mulch. She also said that they are working on securing updated pricing.
Solar Project
Regarding the solar project, Wilhelmsen said, “the panels are up, the electrical connection is done, the inspection is done, now they’re waiting on the connection piece of that. I have some documents that I have received that I have to sign.”
School Choice Hearing
The Committee held a school choice hearing to decide if they would allow school choice at the Dennett next year. They unanimously voted not to allow it citing concerns over already large class sizes.
Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Working Group
Committee member Jason Fraser complimented Coordinator of Student Support Christine Marcolini on her efforts within the group. Marcolini said that they have looked at different models and what that would potentially look like at the Dennett. “We’re kind of at that point where we have a good framework of what we think this would look like at the Dennett… our vision is that we would be able to do some work over the summer and that would involve teachers, paras, specialists, so that we can really take a whole-school look at this and get together a model that is comprehensive… I did connect with a consultant,” Marcolini explained. Fraser said that ESSER funds were held back to be used for exactly this type of purpose.
Legislative Update
Fraser began, “So the House Ways and Means budget came out – ironically, Plympton, for schools, is down about $2,500 compared to the Governor’s budget which doesn’t typically happen but it’s all around the adjustments made for reimbursements for charter schools… After a student has been out of care for three years, 100 percent of our Chapter 70 funds goes towards that student; we’ve tried to balance out making it fair to the town and also making it fair to the school… so there’s constant readjustments to how much we’re being charged and how much the State reimburses us for.” He said that Representative Kathy LaNatra and her counterparts were debating the budget in the full House, noting there were still a number of steps for it go through before moving onto the Governor.
Principal’s Update
Principal Peter Veneto said that current enrollment stands at 241 students. He also said that on Good Friday, he received a call from Technology Director Steve Pellowe saying that water was coming from the water closet. “Upon further inspection, it was a lot of water… the issue was with the pressure relief valve,” Veneto told the Committee. ServePro was called in to dry everything out and eventually the dry wall was replaced. “Electricians and plumbers confirmed that things were running smoothly,” he said. Veneto said that the water issue was the same day as the power outage; he further said that no one could definitively say if the two things were connected. Veneto said that on a positive note there would be a number of fun events and field trips to come before the end of the school year.
Wilhelmsen’s Farewell
Fraser noted that it would be the final regular meeting for Wilhelmsen. “Appreciate over the eight years of you sitting in the Chair, the leadership that you’ve shown, and your presence is going to be deeply missed,” Fraser said. Wilhelmsen joked, “I was supposed to be gone three years ago.” He continued, “It has been a pleasure to do this, it’s been a pleasure to learn as much as I have with this and even though I won’t be sitting on this side, you’ll always have a supporter in the audience… I wish the Committee and the School and teachers and everything all the best of luck as you keep moving forward.”