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A preliminary number. Interim Business Manager Matt Wells said the 5.89% figure is super preliminary and still being scrubbed, and that the governor’s budget in January will shape the final number. He said the industry standard for a level-services school budget is about 4.5%, and that the district’s increases averaged 3.5% over the past four years, below that mark.

Interim Superintendent John Marcus said the 4.9% growth in salary lines is an average across roughly 505 staff, including contractual increases, not a raise for every employee. District administrators said they had to correct a health insurance line that was off by about $1.5 million, and cited out-of-district tuition, required new elementary reading curriculum and underfunded athletics as cost pressures. They said the current budget cut nine administrative positions after about 55 earlier cuts to mostly non-administrative staff, and that no teaching positions were cut this year.

Town concerns. Whitman Select Board member Shawn Kain asked what growth figure the towns should use in their own projections, noting that 5.89% of the total budget translates into larger assessment increases with the minimum “per pupil” state aid likely. Wells estimated that roughly 6% would mean about 10% for each town. District administrators said they were not prepared to give a final request.

Town participants pressed the district on the towns’ own limits. Hanson Select Board member Frank Milisi said the 55 earlier cuts were a direct result of a previous administration’s mismanagement and that a 10% assessment would leave towns no choice but to cut. Hanson Select Board Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett said based on recent experiences, residents want specific purposes before supporting any override.

Participants also asked for clearer materials and enrollment figures at future sessions. School Committee Chair Ryan Tressel proposed meeting with two town officials and the area’s state legislators about state aid.

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The question, read into the record from the agenda, asks whether the town may exempt from Proposition 2½ the amounts needed to pay Whitman’s apportioned share of the district’s bonds for designing, constructing, equipping and furnishing a new district high school and related athletic facilities. The motion was declared unanimous.

Asked whether the wording matched last year’s, Chilcott said it is the same as March, is prescribed by the state Department of Revenue, and was reviewed by town counsel. Dawn Byers said residents had complained they did not understand the question, and said it reads as though voters are deciding whether to build a school. Chilcott agreed that voters are deciding how to pay for the project, outside the levy, and said an added explanation is not allowed because the state writes the question.

Well, I think residents need to understand that they already voted for the new school. Now they need to vote to pay for our portion of it.
— Dan Salvucci, Select Board Vice Chair and South Shore Tech School Committee member 33:55

Dan Salvucci warned of severe damage to the town if the cost had to come out of the budget. Town Administrator Chilcott said the cost would be $1,093,000 in the next year alone and would peak at almost $2 million around 2031 or 2032. Chair Justin Evans said the board dropped the ball on getting the word out last year and will discuss the outreach process at an upcoming meeting. Chilcott plans a 20-minute presentation on the Jan. 30 vote at the board’s next regular meeting.

Whitman-Hanson Regional agreement. By a vote announced as 3-0-2, with Byers and Christine Gorman abstaining, the board sent the Whitman-Hanson regional agreement documents to town counsel for feedback. Shawn Kain, who serves on the Regional Agreement Committee, said it is recommending only the district counsel’s wording updates, such as language on transportation cost sharing, while keeping its two-thirds school committee vote requirements, which district counsel had suggested striking because state law requires only a majority. The committee intended to keep the higher threshold negotiated over the last few years.

Byers questioned the two-page suggested-revisions document, saying it had no letterhead or cover memo, and did not want a vote to forward it to read as support for the committee’s choices.

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Pope Energy, the trade name its presenter, Doug Pope, gave for Boston solar developer Pope Clean Energy LLC, said the project planned for privately owned land next to district property cannot use its original route. A 50-foot right-of-way to Franklin Street turned out to be wet soil, and coming in from the south would disturb 5,300 square feet of wetland soil, above a 5,000-square-foot limit, Pope said. Crossing district land along the existing driveway and pole line would disturb about 4,900 square feet and avoid an Army Corps process the presenter called very long.

Under the proposal as presented, the district would keep ownership and grant a non-exclusive easement for access and utility lines for 35 years. The $192,500 would be prepaid, which Pope called the equivalent of $5,500 per year. Construction would bring six to 10 vehicles a day for six to eight months, with hours coordinated with the superintendent’s office, and operations would mainly mean mowing twice a year, he said. Aspen Power Partners, described as a New York City investor, now owns the project and would build and operate it, according to the presentation.

Asked where the $192,500 figure came from, he said the developer weighed the value of what it would otherwise have to do, citing a $190,000 cost to go to the Army Corps.

Members pressed on wear to the school driveway, truck traffic near the tennis courts and the project’s battery storage. Rosemary Aahanna-Hill said the district had just paid for work on portions of the road and needs it functional for buses. She also asked that a repair pledge be written into the agreement.

On fire risk, Pope read aloud a question and answer conversation with Claude AI about a 4.99-megawatt AC solar and battery storage project, introducing them this way:

He paraphrased the answer as roughly a 0.04 percent annual chance of a serious fire for a modern outdoor battery system and offered to send it to the superintendent. Aahanna-Hill said the reply did not answer what chemicals would be released or how the district would get children out of the school. Pope guessed the site is well over 1,000 feet from the school and about 500 feet from the tennis courts, and said the fire department would likely spray the surrounding ground and let a battery fire burn.

The committee was told the developer will send a detailed proposal, that it will be reviewed with the business office and district counsel, and that a proposal to let the district enter into an arrangement will come back to the committee.

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Dawn Byers moved to set the trash rate at $435 for fiscal 2027 26:04. After first calling the result three to one, Chair Justin Evans clarified the tally as 3-0-1, with Vice Chair Dan Salvucci abstaining.

The current-year rate is $435, and the prior year’s was $385. Speaking for the DPW Commissioners, Chair Kevin Cleary said the commissioners met the previous Wednesday and concluded that the $420 rate they proposed last year would still cover direct costs. The commissioners recommended $420 last year as well; but the Select Board instead chose $435 to account for indirect costs.

The town is negotiating a two-and-a-half-year extension with Waste Management, trying to fix as many costs as possible, with a meeting the following week that Cleary hoped would finalize it. He put the expense at roughly $1.9 million to $2 million, rising to perhaps $2.1 million over the life of the contract. Tonnage stays consistent at about 3,900 tons of trash and 1,400 tons of recycling, he said, urging residents to check the recycling flyer because contaminated loads bring penalties.

Town Administrator Sabrina Chilcott said holding the rate at $435 works with the current numbers but warned against going lower.

Shawn Kain, who backed $435, described last year’s rate as already a compromise because it didn’t account for all indirect costs calculated by the town.

Kain also warned that fees set too high could push residents to private haulers. Byers said that before considering $420, she would want a reconciliation of the past year’s revenue at $435 against actual expenses, but leaned toward keeping the rate level.

Evans said the intent of a majority of the board last year was to treat trash more like an enterprise account, noting that the former treasurer-collector had recommended establishing one, though the town has not done so. He called a level trash bill a win given the other costs the board is weighing for next year. Members asked for an update to last year’s indirect-cost calculation.

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The approved panel has three staff members, two parents or community members, two administrators, two students, one member each from the WHEA and the SEPAC, and two school committee members. The motion added the per-town split, which Chair Ryan Tressel said had been the intent but was not written into the proposal.

The district’s search consultant from MASC recommended an odd number to avoid tie votes and considered a panel larger than 13 too overwhelming, Tressel said. Saying a school committee’s chair typically serves on the panel, the chair proposed taking one school committee seat as both chair and Whitman representative, and called the five school committee members on the last search’s panel excessive.

The sharper debate was over who chooses the 13. Under the plan presented, the Superintendent Search Liaison Subcommittee — the chair and vice chair — would review applications and bring a slate that the full committee could approve or reject. Hillary Kniffen said that left the rest of the committee without a real say.

My concern is it’s going to look like things are happening in a vacuum and even though yes we voted on it I would like to see who all the candidates are
—Hillary Kniffen, School Committee 44:32

She suggested a blind, numbered review of applicants. Tressel said 41 people had applied, argued there is value in seeing names, and said volunteers, who cannot be discussed in executive session, should not be picked apart in public.

After a motion to add two members to the subcommittee, Tressel said the four would meet the following Wednesday at 5 p.m. in a public, recorded session and bring a slate to the next meeting. He agreed to share every application with the full committee before then but said the slate cannot be amended by the full committee, only voted up or down.

Members also split on student seats. Glen DiGravio noted that most comparison districts include one student or none and called parents and taxpayers the true stakeholders; Chris Marks cited students who spoke passionately at earlier meetings preceding last years mid-year layoffs.

Marks suggested adding a town representative, as Andover had. Tressel argued against it, saying the school committee is a co-equal elected body that the towns sometimes treat as junior varsity.

The superintendent’s update opened with two incidents at Friday night’s football game: a fight among a group of students, and a separate fight between students in which, Superintendent John Marcus said, one of them went after a police officer. A plan developed Monday was reviewed with two town police chiefs, revised, sent to the committee and will be released to the public, the superintendent said.

Under the plan, both entrances stay open but the side fields close, so spectators go straight into the stadium. Students may not bring backpacks into the stadium, more adults will be posted around it, and officers who normally stand together on the home side will be split between both sides.

There is no more sort of hanging out or access in the woods area or in those side fields that tend to be a place where kids like to hang out and things go awry.
— Interim Superintendent John Marcus 2:47

The superintendent said three home games remain and the next is Oct. 23.

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The parcel, listed on the agenda under Conservation Commission member Ed Winnett as Parcel ID 36C 89 8, sits off Washington Street, borders Abington to the north and abuts Conservation Commission land and Hobart’s Meadow. About four to five acres are grassy upland. The presentation said the owners want the land kept in its natural condition and are asking the 2026 assessed value, with a tentative 2027 value of $229,000. Using a Plymouth County median of about $48,000 per usable acre, it put the land’s worth at $192,000 to $240,000. A Community Preservation funding application was filed in June.

The land also holds four wells that are not in operation. The presentation called them a potential future drinking water source but said they would need quality testing, infrastructure, treatment and approval from the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Conservation Commission; three sit inside wetlands. They are about 1,000 feet from the Abington-Rockland joint water works well on Myers Avenue. Asked whether Whitman would be drawing on the same groundwater, Winnett said that was possible and needed study. The parcel could also carry an alternate Frederick Douglass Trail route from Essex Street.

Jason Desrosier of the Old Colony Planning Council (OCPC) told the board that, with an adopted Open Space and Recreation Plan, Whitman could apply for state land grants to buy conservation land.

Every dollar is so important to our taxpayers right now, and yes, this is a fantastic opportunity, and I support everything up here, and I want to be sure the funding source to achieve this is the best possible option.
— Dawn Byers, Select Board 1:01:59

Dawn Byers asked for research on the state land grant process. The board was later told the fiscal 2027 round closed July 9. Assistant Town Administrator Matt Dyer offered to approach land trusts such as Wildlands Trust. The Community Preservation application stays in line for a possible January special town meeting article, which could be pulled or passed over if outside money comes through.

During Sabrina Chilcott’s town administrator report, the board was told it will be asked Oct. 20 to vote again on the ballot question for a Jan. 30 debt exclusion to fund South Shore Tech’s new building, using the same wording it voted in May. The regional district, not Whitman, will choose between level debt payments and equal principal payments, and Dan Salvucci, who also represents Whitman on South Shore Tech’s School Committee, said he would carry the board’s view to that district vote asked for direction. Members who spoke favored level payments. Chair Justin Evans cited Whitman’s expected enrollment decline as Marshfield phases into the district; Byers compared the choice to a 30-year mortgage while acknowledging level principal saves money over the life of the loan. No vote was taken.

Desrosier also presented the draft Whitman Housing Production Plan, a five-year plan for 2027 to 2032. It counts 208 units on the town’s Subsidized Housing Inventory against 5,974 year-round housing units, a 389-unit gap to the 10% Chapter 40B benchmark, and four units are due to leave the inventory in 2027. Of 45 strategies, 23 involve no new construction. Salvucci, citing the DPW, said town sewer is almost maxed out. The draft is expected around December, with Planning Board and Select Board adoption targeted for May, ahead of the June 30, 2027, end of the grant funding the plan. Byers asked to revisit it at a future meeting.

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The motion covers vacancies as well as new positions. Town Administrator Sabrina Chilcott presented it as a step the town should take before asking voters to raise their taxes.

There are other things that we’re doing, because this building cannot be built through the general fund. It just can’t.
— Sabrina Chilcott, Town Administrator 1:04:28

The motion changed throughout the discussion. An initial version covered only new positions through Jan. 31. Chilcott said replacing a retiree would not have counted as a new position. Chair Justin Evans said the town should consider not backfilling anyone who leaves, while Dan Salvucci said some jobs, such as the building department’s secretary, would have to be filled. Chilcott then proposed a full freeze, with postings between meetings going to the chair in consultation with the town administrator. Dawn Byers then asked that vacancies come to the full board instead. The final motion, made by Shawn Kain, calls for board action to fill any vacancy.

Evans said the town set up a similar review before an earlier operational override, and when that override failed, left a vacancy unfilled rather than lay someone off. Byers emphasized that a freeze and cuts to discretionary spending would not cover the first-year payment on the school building.

Earlier in the meeting, the board voted on the police department’s request to begin hiring two officers to replace retirements expected around December. Byers asked how that request fit with a freeze. Chilcott said the positions are replacements, not new jobs, and Chief Hanlon said the step allows background checks and a civil service list for a January academy without hiring anyone yet.

On the Plymouth County retirement assessment, Chilcott said the increase came in at 7.03 percent, against the 7.23 percent the town had set aside. Evans said the county extended its funding schedule to 2032, keeping the average annual increase under 10 percent, at 9.75 percent, and lowered its projected rate of return. He called it short-term relief, with the town’s 2028 assessment projected near a 10 percent increase.

Kain called the county’s approach “foolish” and the top reason the town is struggling with its budget, saying the yearly increase exceeds the town’s projected new growth of about $350,000. He said the board should discuss pension obligation bonds and advocacy at the state level. Byers asked for a report in dollars rather than percentages.

On free cash, Evans said $1,123,115 falls short of the town’s financial policy target and showed revenues were over-projected last year. Kain disagreed, saying the projections were right and the budget lines are simply tight. Byers asked for a report on how fiscal 2026 closed, and the board would revisit it for Oct. 6.

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Vice Chair TJ Roffey, who chairs the Operations and Capital Subcommittee, said the senior lot was the one paving project the subcommittee chose to send to the towns this year. Chair Ryan Tressel said the district will bill the towns for it as a capital assessment, which he said the 1992 regional agreement calls for with high school expenses, rather than asking each town to vote a separate article. The towns will get the list by an October 1 deadline, Tressel said, partly so Hanson, which tends to use free cash in October, can plan for the bill coming in May.

The stabilization fund is authorized under state law, Roffey said, and the committee’s vote is the first step; a majority of the district’s town meetings, which here means both, must also approve it. The goal is to put it on the May town meeting warrants. Member Chris Marks explained the reasoning: if a $250,000 project comes in at $240,000, the $10,000 difference now sits in town meeting articles that must be cleaned up later. With the fund, the district would keep that money for smaller capital needs. Superintendent John Marcus said any excess from a capital assessment would go into the fund, and the committee would show where the money goes.

Member Glen DiGravio said passage at town meeting would be a tough sell.

Rosemary Aahanna-Hill questioned whether leftover money from building-specific projects could go into a fund meant to be built from aggregate contributions, given how the district’s debt is structured, and she didn’t believe the fund would expand the district’s total savings capacity. Marks said the district is “less than one calendar year” from last year’s turmoil.

The committee also voted unanimously to send an updated regional agreement to the district’s lawyer for review, after the Whitman and Hanson Select Boards voted to do the same. Tressel said the draft keeps the capital assessment for high school expenses but expands the definition of capital to match DESE’s chart of accounts, so a district-wide Chromebook purchase would count. It also requires the district to share its capital requests by October 1. Stephanie Blackman the draft’s $10,000 threshold for emergency repairs, noting that DESE recommends $5,000; a district official said $10,000 is now the procurement threshold for quotes.

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Whitman has fallen short of the minimum library appropriation the state sets for two straight years. The town covers 45% of the library’s budget. A part-time position that would have restored service to the 50 hours a week required for a town Whitman’s size was cut from the budget, leaving the building open 45 hours. To stay in the regional Old Colony Library Network that lets a Whitman card borrow from other collections, the trustees drew down trust fund money that is running out. The state allows five years to climb back to the required contribution, and failing at the end of it costs the library its state aid outright.

“It’s just that we’re in dire straits because of the mandates that we’re given,” Chair of the Library Trustees Margaret McEwan said.

The session was the Select Board’s first attempt to put every elected and appointed committee chair in one room, introduce the town’s new town administrator, Sabrina Chilcott, and collect each committee’s fiscal 2027 goals and what each one needs from the board.

The Finance Committee chair, Michael Warner, put the arithmetic in front of the room: spending is growing two to three times faster than the town’s income, against what the chair put at a $2 million deficit. The committee has worked from a zero-growth budget for seven or eight years, long enough that department heads laugh when the committee asks whether the same line still covers gas and electricity.

“Cutting your $500 expense line is not going to help our $2 million budget deficit, but it does an amazing amount of damage to that committee,” Warner said regarding some of the committees represented around the table.

The Board of Health has dropped its low-cost rabies clinic, which vaccinated animals for $20 to $25 twice a year with a veterinarian donating the time, and its twice-yearly drug and sharps take-back day, run with the police department. Both went because the money to advertise them and to pay staff to run them is gone. The Recreation Commission, whose only budget line is its Director’s salary, canceled swim lesson sessions when sign-ups came in too low to cover lifeguards, canceled its Fourth of July event, and expects the pool to run “bare bones” on what remains in a revolving account fed by camp fees. The Conservation Commission works from a salary line under $1,000 and an expense line under $500, while one required legal ad costs $173 to $200 in the Brockton Enterprise that replaced the closed local weekly Whitman-Hanson Express, which charged $50 for the mandated notice.

“I hope in a few years we can start talking about growing recreation instead of shrinking,” Recreation Chair Ryan Tully said.

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Whitman-Hanson Regional High School Principal Dr. Chris Jones addressed the School Committee to publicly apologize for communication missteps and announce the immediate withdrawal of the proposed high school engagement grading rubric for the current school year. The proposal, intended to combat post-COVID chronic absenteeism by replacing defunct midterm exam grade slots with a 10% rubric assessment each semester, quickly drew widespread community concern over equity, unintended penalties for vulnerable students, and handbook violations.

Jones explained that the rubric stemmed from the district’s “Vision of the Graduate” initiative and internal data correlating poor class attendance directly with declining student academic performance. However, Jones acknowledged three key flaws that prompted administration to pull back: failure to clearly communicate the tool’s intent to families, logistical readiness among staff to grade engagement objectively, and an inadvertent breach of the approved student handbook. The high school’s current policy dictates that each quarter accounts for 25% of a student’s final grade; carving out 10% per semester for the rubric would have shifted grading weights to a 20-20-10 split without the necessary formal School Committee approval.

School Committee members voiced sharp concerns regarding the punitive nature of the rubric’s structure. Member Warren MacCallum cautioned that students struggling with deadlines would suffer compounding penalties: losing points on an assignment for being late, while simultaneously losing points under the rubric’s “time management” and “preparedness” criteria. Member Christopher Marks echoed that concern, noting that late work could effectively become a “triple hit” across various rubric categories, unfairly pulling down students with above-average academic performance.

Member Stephanie Blackman raised equity issues, citing the unrealistic expectation that middle-school-issued Chromebooks remain fully charged throughout an entire high school day, while noting the subjective nature of evaluating interpersonal skills or penalizing socially anxious students. Committee Chair Ryan Tressel also pointed out a policy discrepancy: high school handbooks only cite strict documentation for absences, leaving parents and students under the false impression that common childhood illnesses require a doctor’s note, whereas broader School Committee policy allows written parental excuses for temporary illnesses.

Interim Superintendent Dr. John Marcus emphasized that halting the rubric gives the administration time to step back, re-examine the underlying math, and ensure any future proposals truly incentivize attendance with “carrots” rather than punitive measures.

“The upshot of Dr. Jones backing up and the committee giving feedback as well as the community is that it provides us the time to review the rubric and the whole concept of how we fix the math and incentivize attendance and engagement.” — Dr. John Marcus, Interim Superintendent

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Following years of inter-municipal discussions, the Select Board continued to progress the first major update to the Whitman-Hanson Regional School Agreement since 1992. Whitman-Hanson Regional School Committee Chair Ryan Tressel appeared before the board to urge adoption of four core framework points negotiated by the Regional Agreement Committee (RAC) alongside Whitman Select Board member Shawn Kain and Hanson representatives.

The four compromise items include:

1. Two-Thirds Voting Thresholds: Requiring a two-thirds majority vote by the school committee on high-impact financial actions, including hiring the superintendent, closing schools, or leasing school property.

2. Transportation Budgeting: Fully incorporating mandated and non-mandated busing directly into the district’s operating assessment, preventing recurring annual budget standoffs where they were sent as separate articles to Town Meeting.

3. Shifted Apportionment Due Dates: Moving the spring town payment deadline from April 1 to April 15 to better accommodate municipal tax collection cash flow.

4. District-Wide Capital Assessments: Assessing high school and district-wide capital expenses directly to both Whitman and Hanson, rather than relying on disparate town meeting warrant articles that frequently fall out of sync.

“Because when those three organizations are not working together, kids are hurt. And I think that we have an agreement, I think, that deals with a lot of the underlying issues that have been troubling us for the last few years.” — Ryan Tressel

Board member Shawn Kain strongly endorsed advancing the compromise to municipal counsel, emphasizing that Whitman faces impending budget cliffs driven by Plymouth County Retirement obligations projected to exceed $5 million. Vice Chair Daniel Salvucci voiced support for predictable capital planning, citing past deferrals—such as the regional high school parking lot—that allowed costs to escalate.

Select Board member Dawn Byers voiced opposition, arguing the changes weaken Whitman’s footing. Byers maintained that abandoning the strict statutory assessment framework risks repeating past funding imbalances and objected to adjusting capital thresholds without clear justification. She also flagged new language concerning representation adjustments triggered by population shifts under the “one person, one vote” principle, calling for an exhaustive, line-by-line redline review before any agreement is ratified.

Despite Byers’ objections, the board voted 3-2 to approve the four framework points in principle to allow the document to proceed to legal counsel.

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District Interim Business Manager Matt Wells delivered a detailed budget update, confirming the official closing of FY26. The district completed the fiscal year without tapping into its E&D reserves, leaving a favorable bottom-line balance of $7,619 to cover any final lingering invoices. Furthermore, Wells reported that the district has already fully repaid its short-term Revenue Anticipation Note early, incurring approximately $53,000 in total interest costs.

Looking ahead, additional revenue is slated to flow into the district. WHRSD is set to receive $200,000 from a state supplemental budget ($100,000 earmarked for special education and $100,000 for facilities), along with $377,000 in adjusted transportation reimbursements stemming from an amended end-of-year report. Wells noted that the transportation reimbursement funds will be directed straight into the E&D account in FY27, raising the district’s reserve reserves from approximately $700,000 to more than $1 million.

However, Interim Superintendent Dr. John Marcus offered a sobering reminder that the district’s balanced financial posture came at a significant cost.

“We can’t forget the fact that part of why we’re okay is the fact that there are 65 people who aren’t here anymore... we need to rebuild. We can’t just say, ‘Okay, we’re all right now.’” — Dr. John Marcus, Interim Superintendent

Earlier in the meeting, the committee conducted its formal annual evaluation of Dr. Marcus, who stepped in during the mid-year crisis in early 2026. Evaluated across four standard Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) categories—Instructional Leadership, Management and Operations, Family/Community Engagement, and Professional Culture—Dr. Marcus received exclusively “Proficient” and “Exemplary” ratings from all ten committee members, earning high praise for bringing stability, transparency, and collaboration to the district.

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Outgoing Town Administrator Mary Beth Carter delivered a stark preliminary fiscal year 2028 budget overview, projecting a starting baseline deficit of $996,355. Carter cautioned board members that the projection already assumes extremely conservative revenue assumptions, a modest $310,000 in estimated new growth, and a 10% placeholder increase in municipal health insurance premiums.

The deficit projection hinges significantly on the outcome of the town’s borrowing share for the South Shore Technical High School regional building project. Carter noted that her draft budget treats Whitman’s projected $1.098 million South Shore Tech debt share as an excluded debt. Should voters reject a ballot question to exempt those debt payments from the constraints of Proposition 2½, the town’s operating deficit would double to nearly $2.1 million, requiring severe across-the-board municipal cuts.

“The debt that will be incurred for the new South Shore Vo-Tech without a debt exclusion, it will have a significant, detrimental effect on the budget for fiscal ‘28 and future years if we do not pass the debt exclusion.” [01:44:48] — Town Administrator Mary Beth Carter

Earlier in the evening, South Shore Tech Superintendent Tom Hickey presented the board with updated borrowing and payback models for the regional school project. Hickey shared positive early financial news, noting that with 75% of construction bids locked in, overall bids are running approximately $13 million below initial project estimates. Hickey laid out two primary payback strategies under consideration by the Regional District School Committee: level debt service payments (similar to a standard fixed mortgage) or equal principal payments (which require higher upfront payments but save roughly $27 million in aggregate district interest over 30 years).

Select Board members expressed a preference for a level debt structure to protect Whitman taxpayers from heavy upfront spikes, differing from their typical municipal borrowing approach, while emphasizing that recent regional agreement changes secured by the town’s finance leaders now utilize a rolling four-year enrollment average rather than a share locked at the time of the debt. Following Hickey’s presentation, the board voted unanimously to set the Special Town Meeting for Monday, January 25, 2027, and the Special Town Election for Saturday, January 30, 2027.

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The Whitman Select Board tackled pivotal administrative and structural policy decisions during its Tuesday meeting. Following an executive session near the end of the evening, the board returned to open session to unanimously ratify the employment agreement for Sabrina Chilcott as Whitman’s incoming Town Administrator. Chilcott, who previously served as Assistant Town Manager in Pembroke, will succeed retiring Town Administrator Mary Beth Carter, whose retirement takes effect in early September 2026.

Fiscal policy modernization dominated the legislative portion of the meeting. Budget Subcommittee members Dawn Byers and Shawn Kain presented comprehensive policy templates covering Capital Planning and Debt Management. Developed utilizing standards from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue’s Division of Local Services (DLS), the draft frameworks are intended to establish formal long-term guidelines for infrastructure investment, debt ceilings, and capital project closeouts.

Select Board Vice Chair Daniel L. Salvucci and Chair Justin Evans noted that the town must carefully reconcile the model language with Whitman’s existing town bylaws, regional school district agreements, and feedback from the town’s bond counsel, financial advisors, and Capital Committee.

“Ultimately, I think one of the things that will come out of this is we need policy over the next five years that is going to keep us on stable ground, but also allow us to provide the services that our citizens expect.” — Shawn Kain [00:45:22]

A strong emphasis on municipal transparency emerged earlier in the meeting regarding committee appointments. After the board formally accepted the resignation of Scott Lambiase from the By-Law Study Committee, Byers moved to table the appointment of applicant John Casey to the vacancy. Byers stressed that simultaneous resignations and appointments without publicly posting open seats create an appearance of closed-door recruiting. The board agreed to table the appointment to the next meeting and directed staff to publicize committee vacancies on the town website and electronic message boards.

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The Whitman-Hanson Regional School Committee convened for an emergency mid-month session to finalize critical administrative appointments and review opening plans for the school year. Superintendent Dr. John Marcus formally presented Loretta Braverman as the district’s nominee for Director of Special Education and Student Services following a competitive interview process that narrowed down a field of candidates to three finalists.

The hiring process included input from district staff, administration, and representation from the Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC). Dr. Marcus commended Braverman’s deep administrative experience across multiple school districts and her warm, student-centered approach.

Addressing the committee, Braverman expressed enthusiasm for joining Whitman-Hanson, citing positive interactions with staff and students during the district’s Extended School Year (ESY) summer programs.

“I feel as though there’s a lot to do, all of which are in my wheelhouse... the professionals that I have met so far are professional, warm, welcoming, and very student-centered.” — Loretta Braverman, Director of Special Education and Student Services

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During a special meeting on Tuesday evening, the Whitman Select Board conducted public interviews with two final candidates for the position of Town Administrator: Sabrina Chilcott, Assistant Town Manager of Pembroke, and Stephanie Hirsch, former City Manager of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. A third scheduled finalist withdrew prior to the meeting.

Chilcott, who has served as Assistant Town Manager in Pembroke since 2017, emphasized her extensive background in municipal operations, labor relations, public communications, and staff mentoring. During her interview, Chilcott highlighted her collaborative approach to governance and her familiarity with local government structures in Massachusetts.

“A town administrator form of government was designed so that you could have a physical presence in the building while the direct person elected by the voters got to go do a daytime job... I’m looking for a collaborative experience.” — Sabrina Chilcott

The second candidate, Stephanie Hirsch, detailed her background in municipal management, including her time as City Manager in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and prior public service roles in Somerville, Massachusetts. Hirsch discussed performance management systems, strategic financial modeling, and public engagement strategies.

Following the completion of both interviews, board members deliberated on the strengths of each candidate. Members praised Hirsch’s high-level analytical and systems experience, while noting that Chilcott brought direct, hands-on administrative and human resources experience well-aligned with Whitman’s immediate operational structure. Select Board members highlighted Chilcott’s personnel background, municipal experience in neighboring Pembroke, and potential to mentor internal staff as key factors in their decision.

"I think a town administrator has a unique skill set that is different than a town manager. And she does seem to have that skill set as far as relationship building and mentoring and working with Matt—I can see them working really well together." — Shawn Kain, Select Board (01:35:45)

The motion to appoint Chilcott subject to negotiations was passed unanimously by the board.

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During Tuesday evening’s meeting, the Select Board grappled with the severe budgetary impacts of funding Whitman’s portion of the South Shore Tech building project. Although district voters previously approved the construction of the school, Whitman residents turned down a debt exclusion question on a prior ballot.

Town Administrator Mary Beth Carter outlined the impending financial reality, noting that because the overall project is moving forward across the regional district, Whitman will be billed regardless. Depending on whether the regional school district structures the bonding through level debt service or level principal, Whitman’s annual assessment is projected to range from approximately $1.09 million to over $2.2 million starting in Fiscal Year 2028 or 2029. Level debt service would cost the average single-family homeowner (assessed at $516,263) roughly $267 per year.

Carter warned that if a debt exclusion is not passed by voters, the town will be forced to absorb the debt payment directly within its general operating budget under the Proposition 2½ levy limit. To free up over $1 million inside the general fund, the town would have to implement deep cuts across municipal and educational departments. Board members discussed potential emergency scenarios, including the impact of across-the-board 10% operational cuts to essential services, public safety, the public library, and the senior center.

“It’s going to severely impact our budget, our general fund, if we have to absorb the debt payment within the levy.” — Mary Beth Carter, Town Administrator

Following input from Town Clerk Dawn Varley, the board zeroed in on potential dates for a special election and special town meeting, pointing toward Saturday, January 30, 2027, as a tentative target to allow sufficient community outreach and budgeting preparation.

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Superintendent Dave Lemay presented a detailed analysis of Whitman’s 20-year sewer contract with Brockton, which runs until 2035. Under the agreement, Whitman is permitted to transmit 365 million gallons of sewage annually. While the town has averaged a relatively safe 320 million gallons over the past four years, Lemay warned that capacity is being rapidly eaten away. Daily overages beyond the contract threshold carry hefty penalties starting at $5,000 to $10,000 per day.

A running tally of standard in-progress construction—including senior housing on Harvard Street, duplexes on Auburn Street, and standard connections—totals roughly 19 million gallons of upcoming demand. When added to the 320-million-gallon baseline, Whitman is left with a narrow safety buffer. This leaves little room for massive overlay projects currently eyeing the town, such as a proposed 254-unit complex at 66 Pond Street and a 52-unit townhouse development at 185 Franklin Street, which combined represent nearly 17 million gallons of potential demand.

Past inquiries to expand the contract have been flatly rejected by Brockton, which faces its own strict Department of Environmental Protection limits. Select Board members floated potential alternatives, such as implementing localized “greywater” systems for complex developments, optimizing Title V septic compliance, or establishing residential rebate programs to incentivize lower-flow fixtures.

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During committee updates, Select Board member Dawn Byers brought back infrastructure data from an Old Colony Planning Council (OCPC) economic commission meeting. Byers noted that surrounding municipalities like East Bridgewater, Avon, Easton, and Stoughton are scrambling to build out sewer capacity, explicitly quoting East Bridgewater officials who named sewer infrastructure as “the biggest driver of growth”. Whitman, conversely, has maintained its centralized sewer layout since the 1980s but has struggled to leverage it effectively to retain or attract stable commercial tenants.

“[Other towns] are all working towards getting what we have so... I think we need to still go back to what we originated with the sewer... businesses should want to come here because it should be easy.” — Dawn Byers

The revelation sparked an open policy discussion with board member Daniel Salvucci, who warned that the Department of Public Works (DPW) indicates the town may be approaching its legal limits under the agreement with the City of Brockton, which processes Whitman’s wastewater. Salvucci noted that water supply limitations from Silver Lake further complicate large-scale commercial tie-ins. The board collectively resolved to add wastewater metrics to a future agenda, summoning DPW representatives to clarify exact capacity limits.

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The meeting opened with a priority vote on student transportation following a highly competitive bidding process. Interim Business Manager Matt Wells reported that the district received two qualifying bids from NRT and current provider First Student. The total financial variance between the two providers over the full five-year duration of the contract was remarkably slim, coming in at just under $1,900.

NRT secured the contract with a first-year operational cost of $1,928,652.80. Because some athletic and extracurricular transportation costs are paid through separate non-general funds, Wells highlighted that the baseline general fund impact for the upcoming fiscal year sits roughly $152,000 below original budgetary projections. Committee members welcomed the variance, noting it provides a helpful financial buffer as the district transitions to a new vendor.

The shift in vendors prompted safety and continuity questions from the committee. Member Christopher Marks noted that NRT recently won the transit contract for neighboring Abington and raised concerns regarding community social media chatter about the company’s standards. Wells reassured the body that the Invitation for Bids (IFP) was exceptionally strict. The document builds in clear oversight mechanisms, granting district administrators the authority to conduct unannounced bus inspections at any time and demand immediate remedies for any safety infractions.

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