Wilbraham Board of Selectmen questions superintendent on steering committee

Date: 11/18/2021

WILBRAHAM – Hampden Wilbraham Regional School District (HWRSD) Superintendent Albert Ganem came before the Wilbraham Board of Selectmen on Nov. 15 to clear up concerns regarding the Strategic Plan Steering Committee.

Ganem and Gina Kahn, director of Safe Schools/Healthy Students, went over the selection process for the committee, which included asking the Boards of Selectmen in each town to appoint one or two community members and a member of the board to serve. The district also publicized a call for volunteers in both towns.

A total of 17 people from Wilbraham, in addition to the two selected by the board, volunteered to be on the committee, but volunteers from Hampden had not stepped forward in the same way. The recent legal settlement between Hampden and the district required an equal number of committee members from each town. To address this, Ganem had reached out to Hampden Board of Selectmen Chair Donald Davenport to help recruit more members.

This was the part of the process that had caused confusion and consternation. The six members Davenport helped enlist were assigned to the committee and the names of six of the Wilbraham volunteers were pulled from a hat to make it random. The volunteers who were not chosen were given the opportunity to give their input to representatives from the Massachusetts Association of Regional Schools (MARS), the consulting firm that the district hired to assist with the strategic plan.

This meeting has become a source of contention for residents. Ganem said, “It was a gesture of goodwill. It wasn’t meant to be a behind-closed-doors meeting.” Board of Selectmen Clerk Terry Goodrich, who sits on the steering committee, responded, “While your intentions were really good, it set a tone of secrecy.” To be valid, Goodrich told him, there had to be transparency.

Board of Selectmen Vice-Chair Carolyn Brennan told Ganem her reading of the settlement had the two Boards of Selectmen appointing all community members. She said pulling names from a hat didn’t “sit well” with her. Ganem responded that while the boards are advisors to the strategic plan, “The process of developing a strategic plan is really in the lane of the superintendent.”

Kahn added the structure of the committee was underway before the settlement was in place.

The final committee consists of 37 people, with the board members, town-appointed community members, volunteers, as well as teachers, administrators, representatives of the teachers’ union and students.

Board of Selectmen Chair Bob Boilard expressed concern about the size of the committee and the number of “personalities” in the group, but Ganem said that while it is larger than originally expected, “I’ll take all the input I can get.”

Ganem reminded the board that the district has not had a strategic plan since 2000. “The things in education have changed a lot,” he said. Goodrich and Boilard asked why it had taken more than 20 years to bring the plan back. Ganem told them that when he took leadership of the district roughly five years ago, it was amid a lawsuit and he was advised to put the plan “on hold.” Then, COVID-19 took precedence.
Brennan addressed another controversial decision by the district and the steering committee – the meetings do not follow the Open Meeting Law structure.

Ganem told the board that MARS “has done this forever,” and had never had open meetings as part of a creating strategic plan before. He said, from his perspective, the process is not different than hiring a finance director. It is an internal process with the Boards of Selectmen in an advisory capacity. Ganem has sought an opinion from the district’s Attorney Sean Sweeney on the matter.

“Just because it’s not a public meeting, doesn’t mean it’s not open to the public,” Ganem told the board. Ganem said updates on the process were provided at each School Committee meeting.

Kahn sought to assure the board. “The steering committee is not generating the data,” she said. It comes from the listening sessions that have already happened and the survey, which will soon be sent out to all residents in the towns.
Despite concerns, the board voted to approve the volunteers for the committee.

Stormwater Regulations

The board approved new stormwater regulations written by Department of Public Works (DPW) Director Tonya Basch and Town Attorney Steven Riley. Basch explained that the rules were created specifically to work within Wilbraham’s existing bylaws and policies while also adhering to the state’s guidelines.

Basch said that the regulations are “good housekeeping practices” for minor projects. Rather than require a stormwater permit for everyday residential projects, the Building Department offers a waiver when it is in the “best interests” of the town. If a resident plans to clear cut their property or alter their land in a way that may cause erosion or flooding, Basch said the town will require “low-impact stormwater design” aspects, such as rain gardens.

Contractors will be required to submit an operations and management plan. Extensive projects that could result in stormwater damage will require builders to obtain a bond, insuring against harm to town property. Basch said the main area of concern was with projects on steep slopes or with large-scale impervious surfaces that may lead to flooding.

Massachusetts requires 80 percent of total suspended solids, a measure of pollution, be removed from wastewater before it enters the groundwater. Basch said federal regulations are moving toward 90 percent removal and therefore, that was the threshold set in the town’s regulations. In select circumstances, the requirement can be waived to 80 percent.

Boilard praised the flexibility built into the regulations, saying, “I don’t want it to be black or white.”

The regulations were reviewed by engineering firms Tighe & Bond and Sherman and Frydryk and the feedback given by those consultants was considered in the final version of the rules.

“I don’t see a huge change for residents or builders,” Basch said. She explained that many of the things codified in the regulations have been in practice for the past 15 years. As regulations, they can be adjusted and changed by the board, as needed. Had it been a bylaw, Basch said future changes would require a vote at Town Meeting. The regulations will be posted on the town’s website for a period of public comment.