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Superintendent search begins

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A brief school choice hearing was held on Monday, April 22 prior to the regular Plympton school committee meeting. Chair Jon Wilhelmsen opened the discussion to the public as well as the committee. The discussion mainly consisted of Superintendent Joy Blackwood pointing out the large size of the incoming kindergarten class as traditionally school choice was used in years when enrollment was low. Vice Chair Jason Fraser seconded Joy’s hesitation saying he would only support school choice for the siblings of students already attending Dennett Elementary. The motion not to accept school choice for the 2019/2020 school year was passed unanimously.

With Blackwood retiring in January of 2020, the search is on for a new superintendent. Blackwood will be staying on until January in order to complete an additional budget cycle and help with the transition. Fraser said that he had reached out to three different organizations that conduct superintendent searches. The organizations were MASC (Massachusetts Association of School Committees), Nesdec (The New England School Development Council), and a collaborative in Massachusetts that is trying to get into these types of searches. The collaborative was ruled out as Fraser never heard back from them while Nesdec had conducted far fewer of these searches in Massachusetts compared to MASC who has done several successful searches in the last 18 months.  The committees, with Fraser abstaining, chose to go with MASC to run the superintendent search. They also authorized $15,000 to be spent by Silver Lake with the remaining charges of between $750 to $950 to be paid by the school committee. The expense for the search will be less than ½ of 1% of the overall budget of $50 million.

Of the decision to hire an outside organization to handle the search, Fraser said, “It’s a bittersweet moment. The average tenure for a superintendent currently is about 4 years in Massachusetts. We don’t want that to be part of our legacy. We don’t want to have Joy, who’s been part of the family for over a decade, be the last person we have as far as a family who stays here and really nurtures their career and nurtures our school district. That’s why we chose to go with an organization that can provide us with the firm structure to do a superintendent search instead of trying to freehand it ourselves.”

The plan is to have a preliminary screening group that consists of one person from each of the elementary school committees as well as one person from each of the towns from the Silver Lake Regional School Committee. Eric Crone will represent Kingston Elementary, Jon Wilhelmsen Plympton Elementary, and Summer Schmaling will likely represent Halifax Elementary. The three Silver Lake Regional members representing their respective towns will be Michael Antoine for Plympton, Laura Tilton for Kingston, and Paula Hatch for Halifax. In addition, the screening group will also include one administrator from the elementary schools, one administrator from the Silver Lake campus, and one administrator from the central office. Filling out those roles will likely be Principal of Silver Lake Regional Middle School James Dupille, Principal of Dennett Elementary School Peter Veneto, and from the central office, Director of Business Services Christine Healy.

Once more dates, etc. are in place, Fraser also plans to reach out to the three towns to try to get some municipal involvement from either the finance committees or selectmen. The search will likely be a long and extensive one with finalists likely not selected until the fall.

Regarding the issue of lead in the water at Dennett, Veneto said he had sent eight months’ worth of testing results to Greenseal and had been in contact with a representative there. Veneto said of his conversation, “she seems willing to want to make the problem better.”

Fraser gave an update on the plans for a new Dennett school playground citing a lot of public support and excitement for the project. More offers for donations have come in in the form of labor, landscaping, surveying, and a bank of swings (requested by students when surveyed) with estimates placing these donations at a value of $30,000 to $50,000. The additional revenue would help in making the playground even more accessible for students with intellectual, emotional, and physical disabilities. The donations, however, are contingent upon the article from the Community Preservation Committee for $94,000 toward the playground passing at the May 15 town meeting. Currently, there is roughly $132,000 available from school choice funds which has been held for just such a one-time use for students such as the building of the new playground. Fraser stressed the importance of people attending the May 15 town meeting and asked that people understand it is a two to three hour commitment that requires staying until the end and being thoughtful on a number of school and education related votes that night. Also included on the warrant for town meeting and special town meeting are school budget, regional budget, the article for the school resource officer, and assuring that the special education stabilization fund stays fully funded at 2 percent as allowed by law.

People have been mobilized to send out Facebook messages, make phone calls, and hold signs prior to town meeting in an effort to ensure a good turnout. Fraser said, “We need our parents to show up and people in town to realize that their property value is directly related to the function of this school and the reputation of this school.” Wilhelmsen added, “Make sure you mark the 15th not just for all of this stuff but there are a lot of other really important items that will be on the warrant this year including a lot of work done with respect to zoning in town and that also goes together with all of this.”

Veneto gave the principal’s report beginning by addressing Blackwood and describing her retirement news as “certainly sad for us but happy for you.” MCAS testing is beginning and will be coming to a close for all grades on May 21 and 22. Other upcoming events at the school include a living historian presentation on April 25 at 6:30 focusing on the life of teacher and astronaut Christa McAuliffe as well as a May 5 field trip for Grade 2 to the Heritage Museum. The kindergarten parents’ information night will be held at 5 pm on May 23 with the annual art show to follow at 6 pm.

Finally, Blackwood shared her draft of the school calendar for next year. Important dates include the start of school on Wednesday, 8/28 and the tentative last day of school on Friday, 6/12.

Region votes down School Choice

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The Silver Lake school committee gathered on Thursday, April 11, prior to their regular meeting for a hearing on school choice. Without an annual hearing and vote, Silver Lake would automatically become a school choice district.

Vice chair Eric Crone spoke in favor of school choice. Originally Crone had been interested in school choice as a means of helping one specific student who was in danger of not finishing their senior year at Silver Lake due to a change in address. Crone, however, also spoke about what he sees as potential financial benefits for the district. Schools are provided $5,000 for each student admitted under school choice with an incremental cost added to that tuition for special needs students. Crone’s suggestion was to keep that tuition out of the operating budget and use it toward specific projects. Crone reasoned that the lower enrollment in the high school grades would mean that additional students could be added through school choice without having to hire new teachers or buy new supplies. School choice students are expected to provide their own transportation.

Other members of the committee were more hesitant. Of concern was that school choice does not preclude students who were disciplinary problems in other districts from transferring to Silver Lake.  Schools are allowed to choose the number of spaces available for school choice but are not allowed to select specific pupils. If there are more students than spots, a lottery is held. Chair Jason Fraser felt it may disincentivize people from moving into the communities if they know their children can attend Silver Lake regardless of the town in which they reside.

Fraser also expressed concern that since school choice students are not included in Chapter 70 funds, money would be taken away from Plympton, Halifax, and Kingston students in order to subsidize students from outside the district. Crone countered that since Silver Lake is not at maximum capacity, placing a student at a previously empty desk with a textbook already owned by the school comes at no additional cost. Another concern was the stipend allotted for special needs students. If that stipend doesn’t end up covering the full cost for the additional services, etc. that student may need, Silver Lake would be responsible for footing the bill.

After a great deal of discussion, a motion to not accept school choice was passed unanimously by the committee. Secretary Paula Hatch noted, “This was the most robust conversation we’ve had about this in years.”

After adjourning the hearing, the regional school committee meeting began with Superintendent Joy Blackwood introducing the Food Service Director Megan Ahrenholz.  Ahrenholz, who has been with Silver Lake since the beginning of the school year, gave a presentation to the committee about changes to the department both in terms of menu and money saved. In general, the menu changes have focused on more homemade recipes and have aimed to reduce additives by using less processed foods. School leadership and members of the committee were treated to a sample breakfast consisting of banana, yogurt, and granola. The dish, which received rave reviews, counts as a complete breakfast. Since implementing a breakfast program at the middle school Ahrenholz said, “teachers have reported seeing improvements in students’ engagement in class and outlook on school in general.” The breakfast program has been averaging 25-30 students and has brought in more than $500 in revenue in three weeks with no increase in labor costs. The hope is to have a breakfast program at the high school by January of 2020.

Silver Lake Regional Principal Michaela Gill shared with the committee the accomplishments of some of her students. Student Sophia Ricci was honored as a local hero by the South Shore Community Action Council, Inc. (SSCAC) at its 25th Annual Local Heroes Awards Night and Auction. Ricci has been organizing food drives for the past two years in order to fight hunger throughout the South Shore. Junior Chris Tilton was awarded the prestigious Frank Kelley Athlete Adversity Award. Tilton overcame health challenges to finish 6th overall in the 600 meters at the MIAA Division 3 Championships. Gill also asked the committee to approve an out of state field trip to the Connecticut Science Center to view Real Bodies: The Exhibit. The committee approved the request unanimously.

Silver Lake Regional Middle School Principal James Dupille spoke with fervor about the success of the school’s trip to New York City in late March. Highlights of the trip included sightseeing at the Statue of Liberty and the Top of the Rock, a tour of Ellis Island, a backstage tour of Broadway, and a stop at the 9/11 Memorial.

Dupille commended the students for their behavior and thanked the committee and superintendent for their support of the trip. Dupille says that he hopes to continue the trip in the future but would like to change it to the fall in order to make the most of the bonds that are established on the trip. Dupille also told the committee about the penny wars that the middle school has engaged in in order to raise money that will be used to support vulnerable students in Kenya. Penny wars are a form of fundraising where students bring spare change to school for a set period of time, ending in an award for the class that raises the most.

Discussion about the part time school resource officer at the middle school was continued from previous meetings. While Halifax, Kingston, and Plympton were all in agreement regarding the need for the officer, the source of funding one was a point of contention especially for the Halifax Finance Committee who felt strongly that the cost should be included in the school’s operating budget rather than through a warrant article at town meeting. Blackwood reached out to Old Rochester Regional school district to see how they fund their officers as they are also a three-town school. Blackwood said the towns have an inter-municipal agreement where the cost of the officers is housed in their police budgets. Blackwood was in favor of this approach and would like to see Silver Lake handle the expense similarly in the future. For this year, however, it will come down to the way the people of Halifax and Kingston vote at town meeting. Blackwood urged, “I don’t know what the outcome will be but I will fight the good fight and would appreciate anyone that will stand up with me.” Fraser also stressed the importance of the officer speaking of the need for “someone at the school to prevent the preventable and mitigate the unpreventable.”

Another discussion continued from previous meetings was the committee’s unanimous decision to support a one-year moratorium on marijuana retail shops in Kingston as well as to not support the reduction in distance between schools and places where children congregate. Blackwood put together a letter to the planning board chair in Kingston and Fraser read the letter at the Kingston Selectmen’s Meeting.

Crone addressed the committee regarding the need to replace the scoreboard at the athletic fields. The current scoreboard is from 1992 and it has become nearly impossible to find and replace parts when broken. The hope would be to replace the scoreboard with an electronic one, the cost of which is about $140,000. A company such as Daktronics would lease the scoreboard to the school and would go out and secure five-year contracts with local business for digital advertising to cover the cost of the board. The hope would be that the advertising contracts would pull in more money than the lease payments for the board, potentially paying for projects such as making the concessions stand ADA compliant or transitioning the field from grass to turf. The board could even be used for events outside of athletics, allowing for a live feed of students getting ready for graduation that parents sitting in their seats could watch.

Attending the meeting was Silver Lake English teacher and drama and soccer coach Ashley Ferrara. Ferrara praised her theatre students for their work as well as the prestigious awards they’ve received this year and invited the committee to attend a performance of Almost, Maine, the theatre department’s show to be performed after vacation. Ferrara said there would be an actor and crew question and answer session following the show.

Two beloved members of the Silver Lake community will be retiring in the near future. High school librarian Linda Redding, who has been the librarian there since the school opened, will be retiring at the end of this year. Superintendent Joy Blackwood will also be retiring at the end of January 2020. Fraser said of Blackwood, “She will touch the lives of students she has never even met because of the legacy she leaves behind in our schools.”

Lead in Dennett water remains a mystery

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Plympton School Committee and Dennett school leadership discuss recent events at the elementary school.

PLYMPTON – Results showing lead in the water at the Dennett Elementary school were discussed at the Monday, March 25 Dennett School Committee meeting. While some of the results were showing clean, others were showing traces of lead. The areas of the building where the lead results were found are sporadic and random and include portions of the school built after 2000 when lead would not have been found in pipes or other building supplies. Three different people from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) have been unable to identify a logical reason for the findings. The committee expressed frustration with the lack of a resolution as each set of test results seem to come back more inconclusive than the previous ones. While Green Seal has stated that they don’t believe their system is to blame for the results, the school committee agreed that the next logical step might be to get a representative from Green Seal to come out to the school.

On a more positive note, the Dennett Elementary School playground project, which has been ongoing since 2015, was also discussed. Vice chair Jason Fraser spoke to the three main goals in the development of the project; that it be accessible to all students, that it be safe for all students, and that it be developmentally appropriate for all students. The total cost for the playground is roughly $228,000 of which some $132,000 has accumulated in the form of school choice funds available for a one-time need such as this one. 

Voters will be asked at the May 15 town meeting to approve the remaining funding through an article by the Community Preservation Committee. If approved, the article will provide $94,000 toward construction of the playground. 

Fraser stressed the importance of residents attending the May 15 town meeting in order to secure the necessary funding. Additionally, other individuals have approached the committee with offers to donate equipment, etc. to the playground if the money is passed at town meeting. 

Principal Peter Veneto spoke about the myriad of upcoming events at the Dennett school. In a testament to the school’s academics, up to 80% of the sixth grade is expected to attend this week’s Grade 6 honors breakfast.  Friday, March 29, will be the students vs. teachers/parents basketball game. DARE graduation will be Tuesday, April 2.  The dress rehearsal for the talent show will be held April 3 with the big show on the following day, Friday, April 4. 

Assistant Superintendent Jill Proulx addressed the changes to functionality that parents and students can expect to see in Spring report cards. The previous set of report cards were issued electronically but the versions were not printer-friendly. This issue should now be fixed.  Additionally, Proulx mentioned that while it may appear at first glance that the report cards contain very little information, there will be interactive links that will take parents and students to more information. 

The town of Plympton is pursuing a Green Communities grant application which would help find clean energy solutions while reducing costs. Of importance to the school committee was the timing for the Green Communities projects as the Dennett School will host much of the district’s summer programming as well as potential demolition and rebuilding work on the playground. The committee also agreed on the importance of receiving confirmation that the projects would be funded at no cost to the Dennett school. 

Fraser mentioned his work with Massachusetts legislators including Representative Josh Cutler (D-Duxbury) in advocating for an increase in the Chapter 70 minimum per pupil increment from $20 to $100. Representative Kathleen LaNatra and Senator Michael Brady have also signed on in favor of the proposed increase. Chapter 70 is Massachusetts’ program to ensure adequate funding for all of the Commonwealth’s public K-12 school districts. Once a foundation budget has been established for each school district, each community’s property values and residents’ incomes are then analyzed to determine what percentage of the foundation budget should come from local property taxes. The remaining portion of the foundation budget is funded through Chapter 70 state aid. An increase in the minimum per pupil spending would provide a boost to the Silver Lake district.

The committee unanimously voted at Monday’s meeting to approve the 2019-2020 operating budget. Superintendent Joy Blackwood noted that the Dennett budget had been reduced by $10,000 from the original version 1 of the budget by decreasing the cost of the math textbook adoption and reducing utilities. Two areas of increase in the budget were special education and continuing education for teachers. The committee has yet to hear back from the finance committee regarding the proposed budget. 

Silver Lake committee on pot sales

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Silver Lake Regional School District Superintendent Joy Blackwood and School Committee Chairman Jason Fraser confer at the school committee meeting Thursday, March 14, 2019. (Photo by Kristy Zamagni-Twomey)

The Silver Lake Regional School Committee meeting Thursday, March 14, opened with Silver Lake student Bradley Sprunger giving a robotics presentation. Sprunger, who plans to study biomedical engineering in college, created a small prototype of an all-terrain wheelchair that would enable wheelchair users to better maneuver stairs and other obstacles. The committee lauded both Sprunger and his engineering teacher, Russell Shute, for a job well done.

Silver Lake student Bradley Sprunger demonstrates for school leadership and school committee members the various features of his all-terrain wheelchair that included components fabricated using a 3-D printer. (Photo by Kristy Zamagni-Twomey)

Silver Lake High School principal Michaela Gill, spoke on the possibility of incorporating a therapy dog into the school’s environment. Marshfield High School allowed members of Silver Lake’s staff to shadow their therapy dog, Nala, to better see the ways in which a therapy dog can enhance the student experience.

A therapy dog can be utilized in a variety of ways including scheduling visits with the dog prior to big exams in order to calm students’ nerves. Marshfield’s construction class even built Nala a dog house while the art class used her as a live model. In an effort to bring the program to Silver Lake, the school’s adjustment counselor Amanda Carr, has had her hypoallergenic dog Bodie registered as a therapy dog.

Gill spoke with pride about the accomplishments of Silver Lake students including twelve of the fall and winter sports teams being awarded the team sportsmanship award as voted by their opponents in the league.

On the arts front, several Silver Lake students were selected for the 2019 all-state music festival which included a performance at Boston’s Symphony Hall on March 2. Additionally, the theatre department was brought back into The Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild (METG). Despite the prestigious and competitive nature of the METG, four Silver Lake students won awards.

The month of March comes with a lot of excitement at Silver Lake Regional Middle School. Principal James Dupille described last week’s spirit week which culminated at March Madness, one of the biggest events of the school year. Activities at the event included a staff vs. student basketball game, a dance in the cafeteria, a photo booth and karaoke in the lobby as well as a gaming system setup in the auditorium.

In other news at the middle school, breakfast is now being offered to students in the cafeteria during homeroom. Students will have the option to select from various grab and go breakfast items.

The Committee was excited about this opportunity as early start times have been shown to have a detrimental impact on adolescents and the hope is that by providing a breakfast option, students will be able to get a jump start in the morning before beginning their studies.

The potential effects that a recreational marijuana retail shop in Kingston could have on Silver Lake students was  discussed at the Sliver Lake Regional School Committee meeting Thursday, March 14, 2019. (Courtesy image)

The potential effects that a recreational marijuana retail shop in Kingston could have on Silver Lake students was also discussed among the committee.

Currently, the town of Kingston has approved recreational marijuana establishments in commercial zones that are 1,000 feet or more from schools or other areas where children congregate.

There are several warrant articles that will be voted on during Kingston’s town meeting including a proposed year-long moratorium on retail marijuana shops as well as one to reduce the buffer zone between schools, etc. and retail shops from 1,000 feet to 500 feet.

Vice chair of the school committee Eric Crone asked the committee to consider a motion to support the one-year moratorium on retail shops in Kingston as well as not to support the reduction in distance.

Crone was basing his request on research out of California that indicated that schools that have retail marijuana shops in their towns, have a higher usage amongst their students. Principal Gill also acknowledged having read similar research and said the same correlation was found between vape shops and usage.  The resolution proposed by Crone was passed unanimously by the committee.

Committee chair, Jason Fraser, agreed to draft a letter on behalf of the committee to be presented at the town hall meeting.

Another issue discussed at length was the warrant article to fund a school resource officer at Silver Lake Regional Middle School.

The discussion was a continuation of the one had at the Monday March 11 meeting between the school committee and the Halifax Finance Committee.

As of this past year, the school resource officer at the high school is a full-time position funded by the Kingston Police Department as the school is within the jurisdiction of the town of Kingston.

Currently, the resource officer at the high school does his best to make his way to the middle school whenever possible.

However, both Fraser and Superintendent Joy Blackwood stressed the importance of having an officer at both schools, citing a recommendation resulting from a safety audit of the middle school campus by experts in the field.

The regional nature of the school district complicates the question of how to fund a second resource officer. The proposed solution would be a Kingston officer funded as was previously done at the high school prior to this past year. Plympton and Halifax would share the expense as Kingston has been funding 100% of the high school officer despite a benefit to students from both Plympton and Halifax.

While the Plympton Finance Committee was on board with the idea to fund the officer, the Halifax Finance Committee had concerns.

A representative from the Halifax Finance Committee present at Thursday’s meeting stressed that while they support the idea of the resource officer, they do not support the proposed mechanism to fund that officer.

The main point of contention is the funding coming from a separate warrant article rather than included in the proposed school budget.

School leadership acknowledged this concern and agreed that even if the position were funded for a year through a warrant article, they would work with the communities to find a potentially different way to fund it in the future.

Blackwood hopes to schedule a meeting between the school committee, police, finance committees, and selectmen in the three towns to further discuss.

  

School roofs for $6.5 million?

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Members of the Halifax School Committee and the Silver Lake Regional School Committee met with the Halifax Finance Committee Monday, March 11, 2019. (Photo Courtesy Area58 Community Access Media)

HALIFAX  – Monday, March, 11, 2019 was the first joint meeting with both the Halifax Elementary School Committee and the Silver Lake Regional School Committee to discuss the requested budgets with the Finance Committee.

The need for repairs at the elementary, middle, and high school were discussed. The chair of the Silver Lake Regional School Committee, Jason Fraser, spoke about the need to have the roofs repaired or replaced at both the middle and high school due to water infiltration issues. Due to the recent snow, the fire marshal ordered that the snow be shoveled off the roof resulting in further damage in the form of punctures to the membrane. A decision will have to be made whether to sink more dollars into repairs or replace the two roofs at a cost of 6.5 million dollars or more. Other structural renovations under consideration for the near future include HVAC work and flooring that needs to be replaced in the elementary school.

One of the largest requests from the Elementary School Committee in the operating budget is the cost of half a bus, that would increase the number of buses for the school from nine to ten. Tough decisions had to be made about five years ago that resulted in the loss of one of the school’s buses. Enrollment in the elementary school is up, however, standing at 610 from last year’s 582. Overcrowding and behavioral issues are both problems that the committee hopes can be curbed by the addition of a bus. Lengthy bus rides, sometimes as long as an hour, are likely contributing to the behavioral issues on buses.

A study conducted by a bus company two years ago to analyze routes and such in an effort to alleviate the long rides failed to yield any useful results. The finance committee and school committee discussed other approaches that may help to lessen behavioral issues including looking into what policies are in place to stop poor behavior on the bus as well as what, if any, schedule adjustments could be made to reduce the amount of time students spend sitting in the driveway of the school before being let off the bus.

While the elementary school committee noted that their requested budget was reasonable, they agreed that it is difficult to say to what extent the additional bus will alleviate the busing issues.

Both the Elementary School Committee and the Silver Lake Regional School Committee stressed to the finance committee that the school system took the brunt of the cuts last year and asked that historical context be taken into consideration when deciding what to approve in this year’s town budget. It’s in that vein that the Elementary School Committee discussed the other big-ticket item that they’re requesting in their budget – a one-time lump sum payment of nearly 70,000 dollars for textbooks. The Finance Committee acknowledged that the need for new textbooks had been placed on the back burner for several years and agreed that it was a pressing matter.

Summer Schmaling, chair of the Elementary School Committee, made a point to acknowledge the work of the PTO in funding various school projects. Likewise, school committee member Gordon Andrews credited fundraising and donations with funding the re-building of the elementary school playground in its entirety.

At the high school, a need for a new plasma table for the metal fabrication shop had been put off for several cycles. Fraser spoke to the concern that without the new table, the school could be graduating students from a program without the proper skills and knowledge to succeed in their chosen field. With Pembroke having voted to tuition in students to Silver Lake for vocational training, the need for such amenities is even more prominent.

An area of dispute at the meeting centered around the request for a school resource officer at Silver Lake Regional Middle School. As of last year, Kingston funds the high school’s resource officer as a full-time position. The newly requested position in the middle school was not listed in the requested budget but was instead added in as a warrant article. While all meeting participants were in agreement over the importance of student safety, The Board of Selectman Chair, Kim Roy, and members of the Finance Committee took issue with the request not being included in the budget and asked that the issue be taken up from scratch with Kingston, Plympton, and Halifax all weighing in on the best way to go about the creation and funding of the position.    

Finance Committee member Melinda Tarsi ended the meeting by stressing, as she did throughout, that she is asking all town department heads and committees to prioritize their budget increases in order to allow the finance committee to make the most educated decisions possible regarding the town’s overall budget.