The Mattapoisett School Committee began its meeting on March 6 with a robotics presentation by Associate Principal Kevin Tavares.

Tavares, with a robot prototype resting on the table before him, explained to the committee the program begun at Old Hammondtown School for fourth, fifth, and sixth graders.

The program uses Lego Mindstorms robotics, with materials acquired through a grant, to encourage students to design and program robots that will perform a particular task.

Superintendent Doug White noted, “This project is a continuation of the STEM program.” Tavares added, “It teaches kids to work well as a team. Science sometimes takes a back seat and working with this technology can prepare kids for jobs that don’t even exist yet.”

The school has developed a set of criteria to select students who apply for the program. The selected students will work in groups online in computer simulations and with robotics materials to develop a robot designed to successfully address a particular robotics challenge. Tavares and the students will present their robotics projects at a school committee meeting in May.

In other business, the committee reviewed the school calendar prior to it going to a Joint School Committee meeting. White stated that the administration believed that it was prudent to close school for Good Friday “…considering student attendance as well as not having adequate staff that day, substitutes don’t necessarily fill all the slots….”

With the exception of a brief discussion on the December vacation start time, in which committee Chairman James Higgins suggested the school close for a full day on December 22, the committee accepted the calendar as presented.

The FY2018 K-6 budget was presented by School Business Administrator Patrick Spencer, who noted that the budget increased by $182,000.

Spencer pointed out that there was an increase in the Special Education budget because the school system needed a board-certified behavior analyst, which would be achieved by moving an existing teacher into that role.

White noted that he was carefully watching the education funding due to changes at the federal level.

“Fewer dollars were going to schools at the state level, which is trickling down to the local level and there may be changes to grant opportunities,” said White.

Additionally, Principal Rosemary Bowman discussed current and projected enrollment numbers at Center and Old Hammondtown Schools. Bowman expects to keep four kindergarten sections; three sections for first, second and third grades; and four sections for fourth, fifth and sixth grades. Higgins expressed his approval of the maximum 20-student class size, saying, “It’s good to see low class sizes, especially in the younger grades.”

Elise Frangos, assistant superintendent of curriculum, updated the committee on the standards-based report cards. The first informational meeting for parents will be at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, March 29, at Sippican Elementary School in Marion. The new report cards will be explained to parents using large format examples and group activities to help illustrate the effectiveness of the new system. Additional informational meetings will be held in Rochester on April 26 and Mattapoisett on May 24.

Principal Bowman reported that school psychologist Phil Alessi would be discussing CASEL: the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning, at a parents’ forum on Tuesday, March 28, at Old Hammondtown School.

On a lighter note, committee member Rachel Westgate said she was approached by Charles Motta, who told her that the Center School clock was two minutes slow. After a brief lighthearted discussion, Westgate assured the committee that she would bring this to the attention of Ray Andrews.

The next meeting of the Mattapoisett School Committee is scheduled for April 10 at 6:30 pm in the Center School cafeteria.

By Sarah French Storer

During the March 6 meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board, the issue of whether or not to sponsor a Town Meeting article to impose a “temporary moratorium on marijuana establishments” wasn’t at all clear, especially to new member Janice Robbins.

Planning Board Administrator Mary Crain explained that her recent attendance at an informational conference hosted by the town’s counsel Kopelman & Paige had reinforced the need for cities and towns to place a moratorium on business activities associated with the growing and selling of cannabis. She said that Town Administrator Michael Gagne had asked her to approach the Planning Board to ascertain their interest in supporting a Town Meeting article on the matter.

But Robbins was flummoxed, saying, “I don’t feel qualified to defend this at Town Meeting…. Someone could ask, ‘Where have you been since the election?’” Robbins felt that the Planning Board might not be the appropriate arm of town government to carry it to Town Meeting. She asked, “Did the Board of Selectmen have discussions?” Robbins asked that if questions were poised to the Planning Board from the Town Meeting floor, would the Planning Board be able to respond?

“I don’t feel strongly about doing this,” Robbins said. “I wouldn’t have an answer if anyone asked a question.”

Robbins asked fellow board members, “Is it the Planning Board’s job?”

According to Crain, she said that bylaws were usually crafted by the Planning Board, then cycled to the Board of Selectmen and the public review process.

Robbins held steadfast that she didn’t feel the Planning Board was adequately schooled on the subject to sponsor an article.

Planning Board member Karen Field agreed that more information was necessary before they could sponsor an article saying, “There must be pros and cons all over town.”

Crain said that there are 22 pending amendments to the state act and that the State had yet to establish what they will eventually call the Cannabis Control Commission. She said there was still time to get an article written for Town Meeting and would reach out to Gagne and possibly town counsel to set-up a meeting for the Planning Board.

Robbins shared that she was recently in Colorado, saying, “When you drive in certain areas, you can smell marijuana…. You can control that with a bylaw.”

The matter was tabled for further review.

Also coming before the board was Todd Rodrigues and partner/developer Paul Rodrigues regarding a plan modification to their proposed multi-use project Windswept Village. The modification triggered a return to the Planning Board.

The team explained that a 1,200 square-foot increase to one of the two buildings they plan to construct made the hearing necessary. The increase, they explained, had been necessitated by designing an accessible apartment on the first floor of the east building.

But board members Fields and Robbins both had questions outside the scope of what Rodrigues dubbed an “insignificant” change to the original plans.

Fields asked about the number of bedrooms and distance from handicapped parking spaces to the accessible apartment, while Robbins asked about traffic flow and landscaping plans.

Rodrigues expressed his frustration, saying that the previous meeting had addressed all these matters and that “the project will be done correctly.”

“We just want to move forward,” said Rodrigues.

As the hearing proceeded, it was determined that lot coverage was within zoning regulations, that the Massachusetts Department of Transportation was handling traffic flow, that parking and sewer was adequate for the planned structures, and that future commercially leased spaces would fall under Building Department and Board of Health oversight. The Planning Board moved to approve the plan modifications.

Earlier in the evening, Bob Field of Field Engineering received approval for his client DG Service Company, 23 County Road, with plans to build an addition to a pre-existing structure. The issue of stormwater drainage systems was reviewed and plans accepted. The project is pending ZBA and Conservation Commission approval.

The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board is scheduled for March 20 at 7:00 pm in the town hall conference room.

By Marilou Newell