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By Carol Britton Meyer
The proposal to renovate/build a new Foster School is moving through the Massachusetts School Building Authority process, with the hopes that the MSBA will fund a significant portion of either option. School Building Committee Chair Ray Estes told the School Committee recently that "the feasibility work is underway to determine what can be done [with the property]." The presence of wetlands and traffic are two considerations. Eight potential design configurations were looked at by building committee with consideration of the advantages, disadvantages, and challenges posed by each. These will be narrowed down to four potential site layouts by the end of December, and then a preferred design will be selected to move into the schematic design phase in January. Contingent on MSBA approval of the proposal, a warrant article will be drafted for the Spring 2022 Town Meeting -- or a fall 2022 Special Town Meeting -- asking voter approval of construction funding, a figure that will be announced at a later date. If all goes as planned, construction could begin in the Spring of 2023, followed by the opening of the new building in 2024. Estes emphasized that opportunities such as this one "don't come along often."  Click here to watch Hingham's Weekly Update By Carol Britton Meyer
The Select Board recently approved a re-precincting plan that includes a new Hingham precinct. "We will be notifying residents of their new precincts and voting locations in the coming months via the town website, as part of the 2022 census mailing in January, and through various social media platforms," Town Clerk Carol Falvey said. The reason for this change is that based on the 2020 United States census, Hingham gained approximately 2,900 residents over the past 10 years, Town Clerk Carol Falvey said recently. For that reason, a new precinct is being added. The Local Election District Review Commission (LEDRC-Office of the Secretary of State) initially prepared a proposed map taking into account the new population count. A committee comprised of Falvey, GIS Coordinator Loni Fournier, retired Town Clerk Eileen McCracken, and Community Planning Director Emily Wentworth reviewed the proposal and were involved in several rounds of discussions to reconfigure what is currently Precinct 3, which Falvey said had a slight impact on the initial borders of Precincts 4, 5, 6 and 7. "There were guidelines imposed on the remapping: each precinct should have a population of between 3,296 to 3,642 residents, with a target of 3,469 per precinct and not to exceed a variance of about 5 percent," Falvey explained. During future elections, Precincts 1 through 4 will vote at Hingham High School, Precincts 5 through 7 will vote at the Middle School, and the Linden Ponds campus will retain its sub-precinct station as part of the new Precinct 7. Previously the town had the following precincts: 1 through 4, Hingham High School; Precincts 5 and 6, Hingham Middle School; and Precinct 5A, Willard Square, Linden Ponds.  Click here to watch Hingham's Weekly Update By Carol Britton Meyer
A Woburn organization has been selected to facilitate the development of a strategic plan for the Hingham Public Schools, and input from stakeholders will be a key part of the process. Teaching and Learning Alliance, Inc. will work with Hingham school officials to put together a timeline of activities related to the project. "This will be a rigorous process, with stakeholder input sessions in January and also a districtwide survey," Interim Supt. of Schools Gary Maestas told the School Committee recently. Input will be sought from alumni, staff and faculty members, parents, grandparents, residents, and other interested parties about what such a plan should include -- such as identifying strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities -- as the process moves forward. The targeted completion date for the framework of the study is early June, with publication of the plan expected around the end of that month. Maestas will provide regular updates to the School Committee regarding which benchmarks have been achieved and dates for meetings with stakeholders, whose input, Maestas said, is "extremely important."  Click here to watch Hingham's Weekly Update By Carol Britton Meyer
Harbor Media staff have been busier than ever this past year completing innovative technology upgrades. Now all Comcast and Verizon subscribers have access to crisp high-definition viewing similar to what they experience when watching programming on network TV. Efforts are also underway to increase the amount of community-produced content, with more than 20 volunteers of different ages trained for that purpose. There is no longer a fee to be a volunteer member of Harbor Media, so anyone is welcome to present an idea for a new program. Harbor Media -- a non-profit in its 10th year of providing cable television service to the town through public, education, and government programming -- now also provides both live and video-on-demand scheduling. Closed captioning will be available soon. An added feature is the showing of a recent town government meeting at 9 p.m. on the two main -- now high-definition -- channels. The TV schedule is available at harbormedia.org. "An earlier survey of subscribers indicated that town government meetings and high school sports coverage are the most popular," Harbor Media Executive Director Michelle Balconi said recently.  Click here to watch Hingham's Weekly Update By Carol Britton Meyer
Commissioner of Education Jeffrey Riley recently extended the statewide public schools mask mandate through at least Jan. 15, 2022. The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education authorized Riley last August to require that masks to be worn by all K-12 public school students ages five and older, educators, staff, and visitors until at least Oct. 1 to allow time to increase the vaccination rate in public school buildings. Recently, that date was extended to Nov. 1 or later, so this is the second extension. Face masks are required indoors -- except when eating or drinking and during mask breaks -- with some exceptions. Masks must be worn on school busses. This latest decision was made "after consulting with medical experts and state health officials," according to a press release issued by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The Department will continue to work with medical experts and state health officials to evaluate the mask requirement beyond Jan. 15. Currently, if public school building administrators are able to demonstrate a combined vaccination rate of 80 percent or more among students and staff in a public school through an attestation form submitted to DESE, then vaccinated individuals in that school would no longer be subject to the state mask requirement, which is a local decision. In alignment with statewide guidance, unvaccinated students and staff would be required to continue wearing masks. In addition, with the expected announcement of the vaccine becoming available for children ages 5-11 in the coming weeks, an extension of the mask requirement would allow time for the elementary school population to receive the vaccine, according to DESE.  Click here to watch Hingham's Weekly Update By Carol Britton Meyer
Teachers and nurses willing to work as substitutes in the Hingham Public Schools are in high demand. While there was a bigger-than-usual need for more substitute teachers at the peak of the pandemic, that challenge continues, Interim Supt. of Schools Gary Maestas said recently. Economic and other issues play into these shortages in the public schools, experienced in many communities as well as Hingham. Some individuals aren't comfortable in an environment where there is such a large number of people, he noted as an example. In addition, "Some people are still on unemployment, with other benefits in place, and are weighing that against returning to work," Maestas said. His concern since he was appointed as interim superintendent has been how to minimize absenteeism among students and staff while keeping all members of the school community healthy. "If our numbers were to spike, finding substitutes would be [a real challenge]," he said. Finding qualified school nurses such as the ones who are already employed with the HPS isn't an easy task either, according to Maestas, due to the unique nature of that job, and the pandemic has highlighted this need. Working with lots of kids in a school -- especially with the COVID-19 overlay -- is a different setting from being a nurse in the traditional working realm, he said. Individuals who would like to substitute teach in the Hingham school district or to fill in when there's a need for a school nurse are encouraged to stop by the School Department office in the Town Hall building on Central Street and submit an application.  Click here to watch Hingham's Weekly Update By Carol Britton Meyer
The proposed new year-round pool facility at South Shore Country Club is back on the town's radar screen after the SSCC Management Committee's recent submission of a $1 million Community Preservation Act preliminary application as part of the financing package for the roughly $7 million project. Town Meeting earlier approved $500,000 to fund design and construction documents for a new pool. "We expect to submit the final application to the Community Preservation Committee by the deadline, complete with cost estimates currently being compiled by our architecture firm RMD Collaborative," Management Committee Chair Christine Smith said recently. The goal is to present the project at the April 2022 Town Meeting for approval. “The town will be asked to approve funding for anything that doesn’t get paid using CPA funds or other resources, including potential grants and donations,” Smith said. If the CPC recommends the project and the subsequent Town Meeting vote is positive, construction could begin shortly thereafter, resulting in the potential opening of the new pool in Summer 2023.  Click here to watch Hingham's Weekly Update By Carol Britton Meyer
Interim Supt. of Schools Gary Maestas shared his top goals for the current school year at a recent School Committee meeting. Of high priority is completing the Hingham Public Schools strategic plan for the future, crafting a budget for the schools for the next fiscal year that will sustain last year's budget increase, assisting in the search for a permanent superintendent, and hopefully bringing the Foster School building proposal to reality. "We may need to ask for an operational override to fund the budget for next year," Maestas explained. Enhancing communication within the district is also a top priority. "I'll be working with my team on a daily basis to accomplish these goals and what's needed to run the school system," he said.  Click here to watch Hingham's Weekly Update By Carol Britton Meyer
The recently-created Sustainable Budget Task Force is charged with the challenging task of developing a five-year "sustainable forecast" that will allow the town to provide services that meet residents’ expectations as well as ongoing expenditure obligations that are in line with projected revenue. The well-rounded task force is comprised of Interim Supt. of Schools Gary Maestas, one member each from the school committee and select board, a Hingham Public Schools administrator, the assistant town administrator for finance, and a former advisory committee chair. The goal is for the task force to report its findings to Town Administrator Tom Mayo in Jan. 2022, when budget discussions for the next fiscal year will be underway.  Click here to watch Hingham's Weekly Update By Carol Britton Meyer
The search is on for a permanent Hingham Public Schools superintendent to replace Dr. Paul Austin, who resigned last July. In the meantime, Dr. Gary Maestas is serving as interim superintendent of schools for one year. The New England School Development Council (NESDEC) is providing assistance in the search for a permanent superintendent under an agreement with the School Committee. NESDEC also conducted a search that resulted in the earlier hiring of Austin. Online national advertisements will be placed in various education job search websites. "We'll be establishing a timeline and setting up a schedule," Chair Kerry Ni said recently. "A superintendent search is a heavy lift, with salary negotiations taking the lead and the entire committee involved in the process." |
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