MassDOT will consider comments on the replacement of the Winnetuxet Rd., Plympton, bridge over the Winnetuxet River until Friday, March 29. Comments should be mailed to Heidi Davis, MassDEP Wetlands Program, 100 Cambridge Street, Suite 900, Boston, MA 02114 or email heidi.davis@mass.gov by the March 29 deadline.
After much commentary last fall, the new design of the replacement bridge, will be much the same as the existing bridge, but will be wider, to accommodate two lanes. A full superstructure bridge replacement is proposed, with most of the project underneath the bridge, making a stronger support structure.
DOT’s John Goggin, said the project is scheduled to be advertised this summer and a contract awarded in the fall. He anticipates that the majority of work will occur in 2025.
Wooden rails on the sides of the bridge will be similar to those currently in place, so it will essentially look much as it does today but will be much stronger.
School budgets in trouble
Silver Lake District towns were scrambling after Thursday, March 14th’s meeting with the combined Silver Lake school committees, when they learned that the budget, a “level-services” budget, was going to increase a whopping $6.7 million over last year, due largely to special education increases, including special ed transportation. The new district business manager, Sarah Hickey, presented a two-hour slide show depicting her take on the budget and her new formula for calculating the combined budget and its individual town shares.
As the initial shock subsided, representatives of all the member towns spoke up saying that even if they taxed up to their levy limit, they would not be able to meet the proposed increases, most of which are state mandated, without going back to their towns for overrides.
Jason Fraser, Plympton’s school committee representative on both the elementary and regional committees, as well as the Massachusetts Association of School Committees President-elect, was able to untangle the spaghetti lines and bring some sanity to the situation. Based on his advice, the Regional School Committee and the individual member towns voted to decrease assessments to member towns by $1,605,000 by cutting $855,000 from the budget itself and taking an additional $750,000 by drawing down the Excess and Deficiency (E&D) Fund to offset the assessments of member towns.
Fraser said that he wouldn’t ordinarily suggest using E&D revenues that are set aside to cover unexpected mid-year tuitions and services for special needs students, however this year he said, “as in FY25 we are assuming a large portion of the three towns’ Special Education cost which will make Silver Lake eligible for over $1.1 million in Circuit Breaker revenue starting in FY26. We are fortunate for the stewardship of the past and present Silver Lake School Committee members to have a fully funded and certified E&D fund.”
Significant cuts are now being considered at the local school committee level. “Kingston is looking at between $1 to $1.5 million in cuts. Halifax is considering $300,000 to $700,000 in cuts, and Plympton has proposals for $160,000 in cuts… Silver Lake did acknowledge they may need to cut further at a later meeting date but didn’t want to cut too deep before seeing what the local committees delivered”, Fraser continued. “It is common knowledge that it is far easier to amend a number down at Town Meeting than up. If the burden of cuts is shared as evenly as possible, it is likely Silver Lake will need to come back to the table for some hard conversations and possibly an even harder vote.”
Jon Wilhelmsen, who represented Plympton on the school committee for more than a decade suggests that the budget increase comes down to these items:
• A very significant increase in Special Education (SPED) costs – particularly out-of-district placements, though it would appear there are also increases to the in-district costs that contribute to very significant cost increases district-wide. “…there is literally only so much that the towns can pay to do this and as a result there will need to be cuts to the budgets in each of the three towns as well as at Silver Lake to bring this into fiscal balance.” Citing the upswing in out-of-district services as a major contributor to the cost increase, he hopes that many of these services can be brought back in-district over the next few years to mitigate the long-term impact.
• Sorting the Out-of-District setup – The district has been set up like this for more than 20 years – and DESE (the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education) knew or should have known about it. DESE also does regular audits of the school programs and until last year, never had any issues with the set up – but none of the prior set-up has a material impact on the $6.7m level-service budget the towns are now facing.
• A largely new central office staff – who in fairness, is learning their role but appear to have a significant issue in communicating effectively. We have spent many weeks talking through the Silver Lake budget and it was only Thursday night that it became clear that SPED costs are largely driving the increases.
“Overall,” Wilhelmsen continued, “it is disappointing to see these numbers, but if that is what they are, then we must work around them for the students, the staff, and the three towns’ residents who have to finance this. It will mean cuts in all the schools as well as increases in budgets. Hopefully this is a high point and that we will see decreases in subsequent years so that we can appropriately restore cuts. I just wish we had gotten to this understanding weeks ago.”
Former school committee member Gordon C. Andrews told The Express, “The biggest issue is 14 students at $980,000, were not factored into this year’s budget …” then an additional 30 students were added for the upcoming budget. “We should not be finding out now the causes of the budget increases, in the middle of March, that the budget is this far out.” An enormous increase has been shown since the first assessment calculation presented in February. “No one understood why the increases were so large and everyone believed it was a mistake in the reallocation of programs from the changes of the regional agreement.”
“Its been talked about – the sustainability of the town of Halifax to afford the rate of growth of Silver Lake has been an issue with the budget was growing ($1 million) year to year, with an assessment of approximately 33%.” Andrews said, “the administration and the town of Halifax should have known the impacts of the enrollment changes and the budgetary cliff that the town was facing even before the increases in special needs education. “I am worried about the students and staff at the elementary school as they will have to take the brunt of the cuts that are required due to the town not understanding the impacts of the enrollment shift at Silver Lake, which was able to be forecast and was previously planned.”
Kingston’s school committee representative said last Thursday they would consider moving their town meeting date to give their town more time to deal with the budget.
To add to the perfect storm of budgetary catastrophe is the lack of the state’s SPED reimbursement formula to accurately take into account the actual rate of inflation, according to the Boston Globe, Tuesday, March 12. According to the Globe, towns statewide are grappling with shortfalls due to the state’s new formula.
Plympton School Committee asks for tiered cuts to budget
The Plympton School Committee met on Monday, Feb. 26. Chair of the Plympton School Committee Jason Fraser acknowledged previous Committee Chair Jon Wilhelmsen and Food Services Director Megan Ahrenolz in the audience.
Director of Finance and Operations Sarah Hickey provided a financial report which Fraser said might inform some of the conversations that would take place later about the budget. “There are deficits in special education transportation, tuition, and contracted services,” Hickey said. “The budget for FY25 takes this into consideration. The Special Education Department is currently working on filing a Circuit Breaker Extraordinary Relief claim with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education which if approved will offset this cost, but at this time I recommend that the Committee puts in a budget freeze for the remainder of the 2023-2024 school year,” Hickey continued. Superintendent Jill Proulx said that she was also in agreement. “Since last month, that overall function line went from a positive $209,000 to a negative $15,000; what occurred in one month to change these numbers so drastically?” Fraser asked. Proulx said that it was their understanding that payments were updated to reflect “multiple areas.” Hickey said when all was said and done by the end of the year they anticipated having a $215,000 deficit. There were three additional students that fell into the out-of-district special education category. Fraser noted that this was two years in a row that they were facing this situation with a deficit of $300,000 last year and approximately $200,000 this year.
Proulx gave a budget presentation which she said was based on Version 2. Proulx told the Committee that changes for FY25 include that Pre-K and out of district special education tuitions for Pre-K and Grades 7-12 are now Silver Lake expenses per the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). Shared-cost positions will now be paid according to regional agreement percentages. The extended school year will now be paid out of each school’s budget, where last year it was paid out of a revolving account.
Proulx also covered the impact of special education costs. Plympton’s portion of the programmatic budget of Pre-K, including renting the building space, is $293,833. “If these tuitions were to remain in the Plympton budget; they can’t, but let’s say that they did, it would cost Plympton $617,315,” Proulx said. She continued, “anticipated transportation for FY25 would be $167,878… something to keep in mind, Circuit Breaker in FY26 for out-of-district tuition and secondary and Pre-K will go to Silver Lake in the future, but for FY25 Plympton is able to spend the entirety of Circuit Breaker on Plympton. Circuit Breaker is the Massachusetts program that provides reimbursement to public schools to aid in special education costs.
Increases to the Plympton budget also include two new paraprofessionals at $56,000 and a shared curriculum coordinator at $15,993. Extended school year costs are estimated at around $65,507 for 31 eligible students. Decreases to the Plympton budget include $1,079,026. The money that previously would have been a Plympton expense is now a Silver Lake expense per the DESE requirements. Fraser said that he was confused how $1 million was taken away from the budget but $800,000 was added back in which amounted to a 25 percent increase over the previous year. “So the FY24 budget… the forecast was low at $625,000, just in tuitions alone,” Proulx said, referring to special education tuition. She continued, “the forecast, again, was below what we are currently spending. In FY24, currently we are at about $1 million and we only forecast for $625,000, so that’s $400,000 there.” Fraser clarified saying that the mistake in last year’s budget resulted in the issues being seen now and Proulx confirmed. Committee member Dan Cadogan asked how the forecasts were so far off and Proulx answered that they have since realized where their mistakes were in anticipating costs. She also acknowledged that changing needs of the students themselves, as well as increases in costs, have also played a part.
Hickey also went over changes from the Version 1 to the Version 2 budget. She noted that she had previously had a teacher double counted in the teacher salary line. A Circuit Breaker estimation was also added into this version with a savings of approximately $700,000.
“I need to make the Silver Lake budget and the Plympton budget work together,” Fraser said. “I can’t look at either one of them in isolation because I have to send both of them to the same voters and the same taxpayers… I basically want to see us get as deep into the negatives as possible without hurting the school that I’ve worked for 11 years get where it’s at,” Fraser continued. He noted that they were still looking at an increase to Plympton’s budget of $700,000. “Which alone, is a 5.4 percent increase to my town’s budget without a single other penny being spent on another department – Police, Fire, Highway, anything else, and we had a substantial increase last year,” he said.
Proulx said that the regular day budget reflects an 11 percent increase, special education reflects a 38 percent decrease, substitutes are level funded, utilities have been increased by 5 percent, and shared costs are included but not updated to reflect any potential changes. The total budget is a decrease of 4 percent. Fraser asked if they had realized any savings from the solar panels in the utilities. Hickey said that she wasn’t able to answer that question just yet due to some outstanding and confusing Eversource bills.
Fraser said that he would like to see the Administration come up with four tiers of cuts, each consisting of $40,000. The Committee agreed that they were hopeful that those cuts would not come to be, but all felt that it was necessary that they review them at their next meeting.
Proulx told the Committee that not included in the budget was any additional staffing or potential kindergarten enrollment increases. “English language learner needs, since the last time we met, we got feedback from our English language teacher who helped provide services to our students here. Plympton currently reimburses Kingston about $2,000 per year; the issue is that Kingston needs this person to be full-time. Both Halifax and Plympton have seen an increase in needs that Kingston can no longer provide services for because they’ve had such an increase in needs as well. … we’re recommending a 0.5, part-time English language-learner person here,” Proulx said. She said that they felt that if Halifax and Plympton went in on a teacher together, they would be better off as it would then become a full-time position. Fraser asked if a comparison could be brought to the Committee to show the difference between contracted services versus a full-time employee with benefits. “I need to show due diligence and a cost comparison to the Finance Committee to show why we’re asking for this,” Fraser said.
Hickey shared with the Committee the draft assessments for each of the towns for Silver Lake. She also shared the percent increase to each of the towns’ overall operating budgets. Fraser reiterated that the schools’ budgets in Plympton represented a 5.4 percent increase to the town’s overall operating budget and a dollar amount of $700,000. “Again, trying to figure out how we can get that number smaller and figure out how the town can afford this, is really the next step,” Fraser said. Plympton’s share of the Silver Lake assessment was shared to be roughly 11 percent.
“We will continue to look at ways to possibly refine our estimates and continue to look for areas where we may be able to save some money,” Proulx said of the budgets. Fraser said, “We have benefitted greatly over the past three fiscal cycles from additional Chapter 70 funding from the State and this year the trend continues. We were at about $750,000 back in FY22 and looking forward to FY25, we have an annual increase from the State of $164,000 net of receipts for Chapter 70 for the local budget here in Plympton… another piece of the puzzle to help the town wrap their arms around and their heads around.” He noted that it wasn’t included in the schools’ budgets as the money goes directly to the towns.
Proulx said, “We have confirmed through the Department of Education that we can continue to operate food services through the revolving account provided that the Silver Lake School Committee votes to continue that practice under the USDA which is different than the other reasons why we’re untangling financial responsibilities for the upcoming school year… if it is voted by the Silver Lake School Committee it would mean that the cafeteria workers will remain Silver Lake employees as well.”
Fraser addressed that the rules prohibiting dogs from the Dennett Elementary School fields hasn’t seemed to reduce the amount of dog waste. He said that a larger conversation would likely be necessary with the Selectmen. “It seems like we almost are punishing the good dog owners in town by not allowing them to use the fields responsibly,” Fraser said.
Hickey provided an update about getting a certified safety inspection of the playground done. She said that a quote from the vendor for a few thousand dollars was expected soon. The inspection process for the rubberized surface can only be done once the exact specifications for installation are provided or it would result in an automatic fail. She also noted that the surface needs to be above 32 degrees to do the test. Additionally, the playground must be closed for two days to complete the inspection.
An Easter promise fulfilled …
by Linda Ibbitson Hurd
Shortly after I moved to Halifax in the 70’s, an older couple moved in across the street from me. They were to become very important to my kids and me. My marriage had broken up and I was alone with two young children. My son Brian was starting second grade and my daughter Heidi was four and also deaf. I was holding down a job so I could keep my house and I needed someone to get my son off to school in the morning and to take Heidi until I got home in the afternoon.
The man and his wife who moved in were friendly and my kids and I liked them right away. Their names were Kitty and Les. They were from the Boston area, Les, a retired respiratory therapist from the Deaconess Hospital and Kitty a seamstress. As we got to know each other and they found out my situation, Kitty offered to help with my kids and agreed to the price I could afford to pay.
My ex was not good about keeping in touch with our kids and Heidi especially became attached to Les. Kitty and Les were a couple of color and one winter morning when my kids and I were in Cumberland Farms on a Sunday picking up a few groceries, Les walked into the store. Heidi spotted him from the back of the store and started running, her blonde ponytails flying out behind her while she yelled as loud as she could, “Dada!” Les kneeled down on one knee and opened his arms as she ran into them for a big hug. He was smiling and chuckling as people were curiously looking on. The memory still touches my heart.
Kitty and Les were good to my kids and they went willingly every weekday morning to their house. As time passed we grew closer to them and I got to know them very well. They became like family to us. Some years later when I married again, they came to my wedding. I met and got to know some of their family, one being a niece of Kitty’s who was a mounted Police officer in Boston and patrolled on horse back.
As Les aged he developed diabetes. He’d walk over to visit me when Kitty was busy with a customer who needed sewing done and begged me to make him a lemon meringue pie. My heart went out to him but I told him I couldn’t because of his health and because it would upset Kitty. What did finally pacify him was being able to have a small dish of ice cream on a regular basis.
As his health declined I went over to visit with him often. He became like a second father to me, I could talk to him about anything. He eventually needed a hospital bed which was delivered to the house. Kitty took such good care of him and he was able to stay at home with help from a visiting nurse.
One morning when I got up I had a sinking feeling something was wrong. I saw one of my neighbors come out of Kitty’s house and he looked sad. As I stepped outside he looked at me, nodding towards Kitty’s house and I went right over. When I went in Kitty was standing beside Les’s bed, tears running down her face. I gave her a big hug and she said Les had just passed.
Every Easter Les gave Kitty an Easter Lily and every year he’d plant it in their front yard in hopes it would bloom the next year. Some bloomed but were scraggly, they never did well. The Easter after Les passed I was in my kitchen when I heard someone calling my name. I looked outside and Kitty was coming up my walk. “Come, you have to see this, please come!”. She seemed dazed and close to tears. Alarmed, I went with her. As we approached her house a strong scent filled the air and to my amazement her small front yard was filled with beautiful Easter Lilies, all in bloom. She gestured toward the flowers saying, “this is not of this world; do you think this is the sign Les promised me when he got to Heaven?” I told her without a doubt I knew it was.
Cournan announces candidacy for State Representative
Jane Cournan, a proud resident of Pembroke, has announced her campaign for State Representative for the 6th Plymouth District. Jane brings a fresh perspective, unwavering commitment, and dedication to serving the people of the district. She is a registered Republican.
Jane understands the challenges facing the commonwealth and is committed to finding common-sense solutions that prioritize the needs of its citizens.
Professionally, Jane is the Co-Founder of Pageview Media and the popular magazine “South Shore Home, Life, and Style” – the premier luxury lifestyle magazine dedicated to celebrating the coastal communities south of Boston. With a background in finance, a mom, and a small business owner, Jane possesses the leadership skills necessary to effectively represent the needs of her constituents.
Cournan is an advocate for fiscal responsibility, honest government, and individual freedoms.
“Solutions are not one size fits all, and I will make sure everyone has a voice. I am committed to engaging with the community, listening to the concerns of residents, and working collaboratively to develop effective policies that benefit all.”
Jane believes in fostering a business-friendly environment that promotes economic growth, creates jobs, and ensures prosperity for all Massachusetts residents while at the same protects our environment and natural resources.
Jane recognizes the importance of quality education and will work to improve and expand educational opportunities for our towns.
“I am excited to embark on this journey to serve the people of Massachusetts and look forward to earning the trust and support of voters across the district.”
The 6th Plymouth District consists of Duxbury, Halifax (Precinct 2), Hanson (Precincts 2 and 3), Marshfield (Precincts 2A and 4), and Pembroke (Precincts 1, 2, 3A, and 4). It was previously represented by Democrat State Representative Josh Cutler.
The General Election will be held on Nov. 5, 2024.
To learn more about Jane Cournan, and her campaign for State Representative, please visit janecournan.com
Girl Scout Cookies to share
Last Thursday, March 7, the Brownies and Juniors from Plympton Girl Scout Troop 70837 stopped by the Plympton Town House to bring cookies to the Council on Aging and the Plympton Food Pantry. They also delivered cookies to the Cape and Islands Veterans Outreach Center in Barnstable. This cookie season, from December through the end of February, the troop sold 2,700 boxes from their standouts at the Plympton Library and the Halifax Stop & Shop. The scouts braved the cold and kept their smiles as they sold box after box of cookies. Many customers told the girls to “keep the change” or made a donation, and from those funds, the girls were able to buy 187 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies to donate to the COA, the Food Pantry, and veterans.
Coffee with State Rep. LaNatra
KINGSTON – State Representative Kathy LaNatra announced that she will host a monthly event for constituents called “Coffee and Conversation with Rep. LaNatra.” Constituents from across the 12th Plymouth District will have the opportunity to come and speak to Representative LaNatra and her staff about issues they care about, concerns they have regarding legislation or State policy, get assistance on any issues they are experiencing, or to hear from the Representative on events from Beacon Hill.
“I take my job as a Representative of the 12th Plymouth district seriously, and that begins by listening to my constituents and providing opportunities for constituents to engage with myself, my staff, and let their voices be heard,” said State Representative Kathy LaNatra (D – Kingston). “I am excited to begin hosting this monthly event to give my constituents another opportunity to meet with me, talk with me and allow me to better understand the needs and viewpoints of the residents of the communities I serve.”
“Coffee and Conversation with Rep. LaNatra” will take place once a month at a different coffee shop or restaurant throughout the 12th Plymouth district. This month’s event will take place on:
Friday, March 22, 10:30 – 11:30 AM
at The Early Bird Restaurant, 287 Main St.. Kingston.
Representative LaNatra can be reached at (617) 722-2575, or at her email Kathleen.LaNatra@mahouse.gov. If you cannot make the “Coffee and Conversation” event, you can reach out to her office at the number listed above, or through her Chief of Staff at Christopher.Jean@mahouse.gov to set up another time to meet.
Kathy LaNatra proudly serves as a State Representative for the 12th Plymouth District, which consists of the Towns of Kingston, Plympton, Precinct 1 and 2A of Halifax, Precinct 1 and 5A of Middleborough, Precinct 3 of Pembroke, and Precinct 1, 2, 3, 5, and 13 of Plymouth.
School Committee asks for cuts
The Halifax Elementary School Committee met on Monday, March 4. Superintendent Jill Proulx presented the Version III FY’ 25 budget to the Committee. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) mandated that Silver Lake address what they saw as long -standing structural issues in the way the regional agreement was implemented and as a result the budgets for the three elementary schools and Silver Lake look different than years’ past. Some of the changes over the previous year were that Pre-K will now be a Silver Lake expense, Silver Lake positions in the elementary schools will now become school/town employees, and out-of-district special education tuitions for Pre-K and secondary will also be Silver Lake expenses. Shared-cost positions will now be paid according to percentages in the updated regional agreement. Proulx noted that multiple legal opinions were consulted and agreed on the new agreement.
Changes from the Version II to Version III budgets include removing Pre-K out-of- district tuitions at a savings of $215,990, special education transportation adjustment at a savings of $120,934, special education tuition adjustment of minus $609, and a 240 grant allocation at a savings of $37,205.
Version III of the budget represents a regular day increase of 15 percent or $937,694. Special education tuition and transportation for Grades K through 6 represent a decrease of $2,781,192. Laws said she was concerned about the 15 percent regular day increase even if the overall budget represented a decrease. Proulx also told the Committee that there was one known retirement for FY’ 25. For out of district vocational, Proulx said there would be five placements. She said that they won’t know the exact numbers until April 1.
Regarding what was not included in the updated budget, Proulx said that potential enrollment increases, especially for kindergarten were not updated. A reduction in technology expenditures of $40,571 was not yet reflected. The reduction will be courtesy of a REAP grant.
Proulx also shared with the Committee a draft of the assessments for each of the three towns. Halifax’s share of the assessment in FY’ 24 was $5,582,257 and the FY’ 25 share is $8,918,067. The decrease, however, for Halifax Elementary School in the town’s operating budget is nearly 20 percent. The overall cost to Halifax for education, including Silver Lake regional, is a 10 percent increase. The cost of education to Halifax in FY’24 was $14,858,409 and the cost for FY’ 25 will be $16,350,721.
Proposed costs added to the current version of the budget include a special education teacher at a cost of $65,000, a part-time ESL teacher at a cost of $32,000, and a building substitute at no additional cost. Capital needs for FY’ 25 include water testing and plumbing, student and staff bathroom updates, and bleacher replacements for the gym. The plan for the gym bleachers is to put them on a warrant article at Town Meeting at a cost of $45,000. Regarding a Hero Academy Program proposed by Principal Kayne Beaudry during the last School Committee meeting, Laws said, “I just feel like, at this point, we can’t do anything beyond a level-budget except for the building substitute that doesn’t cost anything. I don’t see how we can entertain anything beyond a level budget especially since we are looking at cuts right now. It’s sad, but it’s where we are.” Proulx pointed out that Kingston does need the ESL teacher and that Halifax may need to look at cutting $32,000 to make space for it. “That would be a civil rights violation if you didn’t fund it,” Proulx said. Assistant Superintendent Ryan Lynch said that contracting the services rather than filling the position could end up costing considerably more than $32,000.
The School Committee voted to ask the Board of Selectmen to push back the timeframe for Town Meeting due to unknowns as well as lingering questions surrounding the school’s budget. Laws pointed out that overall enrollment at both the elementary level as well as Silver Lake Regional are down. She asked what cuts to classrooms might look like. Proulx said, “I think that you would be better served by giving us a dollar amount that you want us to cut, by then asking us to deliberate here in open session.” The dollar amount that was suggested by Town Administrator Cody Haddad for both Halifax Elementary and Silver Lake Regional is $1 million. The Committee came to the consensus that they should attempt to cut their portion of Halifax’s enrollment in Silver Lake which is roughly 32 percent. Proulx said that they would set about cutting $320,000 with the cuts labeled by tiers.
Proulx said that a Plympton School Committee member asked that a new agreement with PAC (Pilgrim Area Collaborative) be presented to the Halifax School Committee. “I’m asking the School Committee to review it and ultimately each school committee would review it and then the Chair would sign it,” she explained. Chair Lauren Laws asked if there was a timeframe and was told it had to be signed by April 30. The Committee agreed to table it until their April 1 meeting.
The issue of whether to distribute natural gas safety materials flyers to students came before the Committee. While not directly an advertisement, the name Eversource does appear throughout the flyer. Included in the distribution would be packets that actually smell like natural gas so students can learn to identify the scent. A Committee member asked if, instead, the information could be disseminated during the Fire Department visit rather than as a flyer promoting a company. Laws voted against distributing the flyer, but the rest of the Committee voted in favor and it passed.
The Committee also discussed advertising on school grounds as a result of a 100 days sign that was put up which shared a QR code. I thought the sign was really nice; it was just the QR code that was questionable, Laws said. Laws asked Beaudry if he attempted to take it down and he said they tried to find out where it came from and called it a “mistake.” Laws said that it was the QR code specifically that violated policy.
An update was given for the DEIB (diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging) Subcommittee. Lori Costa-Cline said they were looking to bring on a DEIB coordinator and asked Assistant Superintendent Ryan Lynch if he could help them with that. Costa-Cline asked Lynch, “What is the process, so we have school policies and district policies so if a school/district policy is violated, how does that interact with the student handbook in terms of like policy violations… the understanding, I think, we both have is we have school policies which gives our school community rights, protections, while they’re in the space of the school… if a violation happens, is there corrective action?” Proulx said that it depends on what is found during the investigation. If bullying is found, then the procedure for that is followed, if harassment is found, then that procedure is followed, etc. Putting it succinctly she said that necessary protocols are followed depending on what could be substantiated.
Beaudry provided a Principal’s Report. He said that School Council met on February 28 with the main focus being handbook revisions. He said a draft proposal would be shared with the Committee during the April 1 meeting. “The water issue, we just sent a notice out today, we’ve been doing monthly updates… so this was the third round of testing that we’ve done and we did find that there were still elevated areas in the building.” He said that they have been flushing the system every day beginning at 5:30 a.m. due to the high lead levels. “That has shown that it does reduce the levels,” Beaudry said. He also said that they have been working on replacing fixtures where the levels continue to be high.
Curriculum Coordinator Melissa Farrell appeared before the Committee to address some concerns over handwriting. She handed out the Committee a printout that included some of the Massachusetts’ frameworks connected to handwriting. She said that the art of handwriting starts in kindergarten with hand strength and noted that they use occupational cards to work on that aspect. She said they spend a minimum of 20 minutes a day working on that type of development. She said they continue to work on letter formation, etc. in first grade, but by second grade there is no official handwriting instruction. “Part of that comes from the idea that just consistent letter formation, letters start from the top, letters start from the top,” Farrell said. Committee member Jessica Page acknowledged that she was the person who brought forth the concern saying that her two young school-aged children (Grades K and 2) are struggling with it and are not appearing to get the instruction outlined by Farrell. “I’m scared that we are cheating our children by moving them past these basic skills too fast,” she said. Beaudry acknowledged that they even see fourth, fifth, and sixth graders that aren’t able to use proper capitalization, etc. He said that himself and the Assistant Principal are aware and talking about what needs to be done in the lower grades to address these issues.
Bryant University Students Named to Fall 2023 Deans’ List
SMITHFIELD, RI- Bryant University is pleased to recognize the students from Kingston and Plympton for their academic success in being named to the Fall 2023 Deans’ List.
To earn a place on the Deans’ List, students must have a GPA of 3.4 or better for at least 12 semester hours of work. Congratulations on this outstanding achievement!
• Benjamin Andrade of Plympton
• Jacob Bugbee of Kingston
• Jake Cipullo of Kingston
About Bryant University
For over 160 years, Bryant University has been at the forefront of delivering an exceptional education that anticipates the future and prepares students to be innovative leaders of character in a changing world.
Bryant delivers an innovative and uniquely integrated business and liberal arts education that inspires students to excel.
With approximately 3,700 graduate and undergraduate students from 38 states and 49 countries, Bryant is recognized as a leader in international education and regularly receives top rankings from U.S. News and World Report, Bloomberg Businessweek, Forbes, and Barron’s.
Visit www.Bryant.edu.
Towns weigh zoning options
Taylor Fruzzetti
Express correspondent
Many Massachusetts communities will be faced with a decision following the 2021 law to implement zoning for multi-family housing for communities that have commuter rail stations or are adjacent to them.
According to the mass.gov website, the new law requires MBTA communities to “have at least one zoning district of reasonable size in which multi-family housing is permitted as of right.”
The law is intended to address the housing crisis in Massachusetts and approximately 177 cities and towns are subject to the MBTA Communities Law according to the state’s website.
The Multi-Family Zoning Requirement also calls for these housing communities to have a minimum gross density of 15 units per acre, the housing must be no more than 0.5 miles from a commuter rail station, subway station, etc, and no age restrictions.
Communities that benefit from the MBTA, and communities adjacent to MBTA communities, are being told that they must adopt the new zoning changes by Dec. 31, 2024 or they will no longer be eligible for funds from the Housing Choice Initiative, the Local Capital Projects Fund, or the MassWorks infrastructure program.
Additionally, towns that fail to comply with the zoning changes may be subjected to civil enforcement per the state’s website.
On Feb. 14 of this year, the Town of Milton held a special election to vote on the issue and ultimately overturned the MBTA Communities Multi-Family Overlay District which had originally passed at a special town meeting on Dec. 11, 2023.
The vote took Milton out of compliance with the state law, resulting in Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell filing suit against the town of Milton on Feb. 27, according to a press release from the Office of the Attorney General.
“The MBTA Communities Law was enacted to address our region-wide need for housing, and compliance with it is mandatory,” said Campbell in the press release.
According to Halifax Town Administrator Cody Haddad, the Zoning Bylaw Review Committee is looking to find a solution that would have a minimal impact on the town, but also allow for the town to be compliant with the MBTA Zoning Requirement.
“The situation in Milton, in my eyes, only further affirms that the state will continue to make this requirement a priority and towns that do not comply will be penalized,” said Haddad. “We are cognizant of the state’s concern regarding the housing crisis facing Massachusetts, but we are also aware of what the Halifax community desires for their town.”
Haddad said that the Zoning Bylaw Review Committee will likely present their findings at the Fall Town Meeting.
“This topic can be controversial to many residents who are concerned that the zoning requirements could change the look and feel of a community, and impact several town services, including schools,” said Kingston Town Administrator Keith Hickey. “I am not sure of the reasons why Milton voted the zoning down but will be looking into what the sentiment of the voters was, if Kingston can learn from what occurred in Milton, we will do that.”
Hickey said that he plans to present the initial recommendations of Kingston’s MBTA subcommittee to the Selectmen at their meeting on March 12.
“Once the MBTA overlay district is finalized, staff will have several informational meetings, website postings and informational TV shows on PACTV to introduce and discuss what is being proposed,” said Hickey.
Hickey said that the vote on the MBTA overlay district will be at the Fall Town Meeting.
“Hanson is going to continue to move forward with creating the zoning for the MBTA requirement until a judgment of the Court directs otherwise,” said Hanson Town Administrator Lisa Green. “Something to understand is that we are simply creating the zoning, not the housing.”
Green said that Town Meeting will be provided with all the facts and will vote on the zoning changes.
“There must be an understanding that all towns are subject to legal action by the state for not complying with the legislation,” said Green. “The residents who attend Town Meeting and vote on the article will have to decide whether they prefer spending taxpayer dollars on legal fees to defend the town against a suit by the Attorney General’s Office and lose thousands of dollars in grants, or simply vote to create the zoning and benefit from the thousands of dollars of grants.”
Mary Beth Carter, Whitman’s Town Administrator, said the town is planning to put this proposed zoning by-law amendment on the May 6, 2024 Annual Town Meeting warrant. “I found it surprising, however Milton’s decision not to comply with this mandate has no influence on what will be decided in Whitman,” she told The Express. “Once the by-law is accepted, that may bring forth housing projects that up until now would not have been possible.”
Plympton Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy said that Plympton has received a technical assistant grant award which it has used to acquire the services of Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Devellopment District (SPREDD) who will assist the Town with drafting a zoning overlay-type district that will be in compliance with the Commonwealth’s guidelines. Once drafted, this would go through the normal process for review and potential adoption of the zoning bylaw edits. Dennehy said she doesn’t expect a vote will take place until the May 2025 Annual Town Meeting.
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