The Marion Board of Selectmen continued the discussion on June 3 over the continuing debate surrounding the Fire Department’s request for a new fire engine, which failed at the May Annual Town Meeting. Controversy has swirled around the issue, with the Finance Committee questioning the merits of the purchase.

The Board of Selectmen decided to form a committee of five to study the issue, consisting of Selectman Steve Cushing representing the selectmen, a member of the Finance Committee to be determined, two members of the Marion Fire Department, and one citizen of the Town.

Issues discussed were not only the cost of the new fire engine, but other issues the Finance Committee has brought forward regarding the finances of the Fire Department and the impact on how town tax monies are spent.

Next up, the board denied a water abatement request from Ed and Kim Lavoie of 24 Pine Hill Lane. The deadline to apply for the abatement had passed, and selectmen voted in agreement with the Department of Public Works on the decision to hold the bill, as issued.

Another issue tackled was a request from the Wareham building commissioner who asked for the assistance from Marion’s building commissioner to inspect work done by the building commissioner in Wareham, who is a contractor. The board agreed to the request.

The board discussed a water-related inter-municipal agreement between the towns of Rochester and Marion, with the original agreement, signed 50 years ago, set to expire in April of 2021 and is now being renegotiated.

“This was a historic agreement,” said Town Administrator Paul Dawson.

Selectman Jon Henry said that he had met with Fred Underhill of the Rochester Historical Commission to talk about the issue.

“We need to get the boards and town administrators together and work on this,” said Dawson. Selectman Jody Dickerson agreed to be on the committee looking into the issue.

Department of Public Works Superintendent Rob Zora attended the meeting and said that Rochester uses only 9 percent of the water available for their use. The existing agreement grants Rochester first rights to 50 percent of the available water.

Henry spoke about well testing and whether or not the Boards of Health in both towns specified testing. Comments from several people noted that the Boards of Health from both Rochester and Marion, perhaps, have not addressed this issue.

Dawson said that he and his family purchased a home in Rochester and that the well on the property had to be tested as a part of the purchase of the home. The board asked if this was a condition in Marion.

Next up was a discussion regarding the ongoing issue of how Habitat for Humanity will handle the reselling of a property when the owners sell the property. At issue is the continued affordability of the home once the owners put it up for sale at market rates.

“We’ve had an opinion from town counsel and find that only a Zoning Board of Appeals ruling could keep the property affordable,” said Dawson.

In the end, the board agreed to waive the fee for the applicant to apply for the variance, but wanted to discuss the issue with Town Counsel John Whitten before making any major decision on the issue.

Lastly, the board discussed the Enforcement Order from the Conservation Commission regarding the tree and brush cutting at Washburn Park. The Conservation Commission issued an “immediate cease and desist, and that a plan be submitted to remedy and restore the area,” according to the letter from the Commission and the Department of Environmental Protection. The reply, according to selectmen, must be received before July 1, 2014.

All three selectmen spoke on the issue saying that they were citizens of the town and could not skirt any rules that apply to any citizen.

“There was no intention to circumvent any regulations,” said Henry.

Dickerson spoke and said that the welfare of Washburn Park was “the high cost of low maintenance” and that all three selectmen grew up in the town and remembered Washburn Park as an area that was used by many.

Dickerson also noted that $16,000 is needed by this coming Friday, June 6, if there are to be fireworks in Marion this year.

“You can’t say we didn’t try … auctions, selling T-shirts, lots of fundraising … we just want to bring back the fireworks,” said Dickerson.

By Joan Hartnett-Barry

Move over MCAS, because the future of standardized testing is not with number two pencils and papers, but with computers and the Internet. On June 3, Rochester decided to move forward by adopting the online PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) exam and doing away with MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System).

Students at Rochester Memorial School recently completed taking a PARCC pilot run, and the teachers and students alike are showing a preference for the new online test.

Superintendent Doug White explained that a new law grants Massachusetts school committees the authority to decide on which test to adopt, but the decision must be made by October 1.

“[MCAS] is no longer aligned with the Common Core,” said White. “And PARCC is.”

White said the PARCC exam the RMS students took is completely different from what they are accustomed to, but after some time, the students adjusted to the format and were navigating the online exam.

According to RMS Principal Derek Medeiros, students were “flying through the questions” at first, but as they progressed, some began to comment that they had never seen some of the material in the MCAS before.

Medeiros said it took the students some time to realize that the online exam begins to adapt itself around the student’s ability and becomes more challenging if the student is excelling.

Assistant Superintendent Dr. Elise Frangos added that, unlike MCAS test results that were not available until the following school year, data on students’ achievement on the PARCC test is available sooner.

The Commonwealth has already moved to eventually eliminate MCAS and replace it with either PARCC or another online exam similar to PARCC, so a decision to go with PARCC would give an incentive by allowing students to acclimate themselves to the testing method and the types of questions asked. The State will not allow schools to use both exams.

“There’s no combination of the two,” said White. “It’s either all in or nothing.”

In the meantime, the science MCAS will remain the same, and there is no plan in place yet to change or alter the MCAS at the high school level.

White recommended the switch to PARCC, but admitted that, six months ago, he and Frangos were “pretty much on the same page.”

“MCAS or bust,” Frangos chimed in.

But now, said White, after learning more about PARCC, they prefer it to MCAS.

Specific benefits to switching to PARCC include prompt State support in establishing infrastructure for taking the test, as well as teacher training. The year 2015 PARCC testing will also be more like a grace period, with scores not counting against the school.

The committee unanimously approved the change from MCAS to PARCC for 2015.

Also during the meeting, the committee approved another contract to continue to use Whaling City Transportation for special education transportation, a new School Improvement Plan presented by Medeiros, and a YMCA contract accepting an annual fee of $900 cash and $900 “in kind” compensation for use of the RMS facilities.

The committee also authorized White to approach the Board of Selectmen to discuss leasing space at RMS and approved a Professional Development Plan as presented by Frangos.

White told the committee during his financial report that there was still $81,000 left in the FY14 budget, and there are only two weeks left to the school year.

“So, we made it,” said White.

By Jean Perry

The decision to make Good Friday a full day of school in the 2014-2015 school year was upheld on June 2, despite the efforts of some community members to persuade the joint committees to change their minds.

Some Christian Tri-Town residents left the Joint School Committee meeting angrily, with some of them lashing out at the committee, including Maggie McGee of Rochester, who called some committee members “atheists and non-religious” on her way out, adding that they would have to “answer to God one day.”

Both joint committees made a motion to rescind the March meeting vote that eliminated Good Friday as a day off, and the regional committee approved it, but it did not fly with the superintendency union side of the table, resulting in an impasse that blocked the rescission.

Chairman of Superintendency Union #55 Sharon Hartley said this had never happened before, and there was some confusion as to how to proceed after both sides disagreed – as well as some contention.

The matter was still up for discussion, and both sides of the issue spoke out about their concerns, mainly about the “data” that was presented, along with the data that was not available for consideration, such as a claim that the district’s attempt to eliminate Good Friday back in the ‘80s was a failure.

Both principals at Old Rochester Regional stated that during informal discussions with faculty and staff regarding Good Friday, an anonymous poll showed that roughly 25 percent of employees would take the day off as a personal day.

“That’s a huge number of professionals,” said committee member Christine Marcolini of Marion.

Committee member Robin Rounseville of Rochester said, for her, religion was the issue and the committee should not factor religion into the equation of crafting the school calendar.

“Strictly from a secular position,” stated Marion School Committee member Christine Winters, she reminded the committee that no one reached out to the community for input on the likelihood that they would keep their kids home on Good Friday. “How productive is that day going to be?”

We tried doing away with Good Friday 20 years ago, said Marion School Committee member Jay Pateakos. “And it failed miserably.” Rounseville said things have changed in 20 years.

ORR School Committee Chairman Jim O’Brien said Bourne eliminated Good Friday as a day off 14 years ago.

“They don’t have a problem at all,” said O’Brien.

Mattapoisett member Jim Muse said he voted in favor of making Good Friday a regular school day, saying, “It is simply a religious day of observance … and this is a public school system.” He continued, “A public school should not have one single religion identified.”

Discussion among school committee members continued before allowing some of the dozens of residents in attendance to address their concerns.

Newly elected ORR committee member Cindy Johnson said she supported her fellow colleagues in their decision to make Good Friday a full day of school.

“There should be a separation between the sacred and the secular,” said Johnson.

Isabel Gomes McCann, a resident of Rochester, identified herself as “profoundly Christian,” and spoke in favor of the committee’s decision to make Good Friday a regular day. She said Good Friday is treated like Ash Wednesday, in that there is no “day of obligation.”

She also said she was offended by others’ claims that the Good Friday change was “an attack on religion,” when “in Libya, a woman was stoned to death because of being a Christian.”

“It’s just a subtle way of removing God from our schools,” said McGee, who gathered about 700 signatures opposing the decision to nix Good Friday. “It’s not okay.”

Marion resident Joseph Napoli said he was on the committee in the ‘80s when it made Good Friday a school day and “two-thirds” of all the teachers did not show up, depleting the substitute teacher budget.

“I see a division of people,” said Napoli. “You’re dividing people.”

As Marion resident Shaun Walsh pointed out, the district only keeps its records for seven years, so the data behind the prior move to change Good Friday is not available.

Walsh said he called the superintendent of Bourne Public Schools who, according to Walsh, told him that out of 300 staff, only one teacher and two paraprofessionals requested the day off.

“I don’t think 25 percent of our staff are going to do that to our students,” said Walsh.

David Pierce of Mattapoisett said he was disappointed by the decision and added that the possibility of 25 percent of teachers taking the day off creates “a secular purpose for taking that day off.”

Former Rochester School Committee member Michelle Cusolito, who voted for eliminating the Good Friday holiday, said this is a public school and Good Friday is a religious holiday.

“Many of you probably go to work on that day,” said Cusolito. “Why can’t teachers go to work that day?”

Superintendent Doug White admitted he could not guess what will happen next Good Friday, but his concerns were about “safety and education.”

Mattapoisett School Committee Chairman Jim Higgins, who was late for the meeting and missed the first vote to rescind the prior decision, motioned to reconsider the motion to rescind the decision, which was again voted down.

Some committee members commented that they were insulted by some of the remarks that some residents made that evening, including O’Brien who defended the board against accusations that the committee “ducked this issue.”

Also during the meeting, the joint committee voted in favor of recording and televising their meetings beginning with the next school year.

The committee also conducted its annual superintendent’s evaluation.

By Jean Perry