Letter to the Editor: School District Audits Demand Attention

Members of Enough and Enough write in a letter to the editor that a recent financial audit, plus previous audits, of the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District demand attention from the School Committee.

To The Editor: Recently, the Boston Globe ran an article in the North section claiming that $1.6 million was "found" in the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District financial accounts by a newly hired accounting firm. The findings came as little or no surprise to many town officials, taxpayers, parents and especially to Enough Is Enough, the fiscal watchdog group that was formed three years ago in Hamilton and Wenham to stave off the school district's process of "budgeting by overrides" which has resulted in burdening residents with two of the highest property tax rates on the North Shore. According to the article this was the third time in the past year that the HWRSD was found to have significantly more money than had been indicated. One…

•  8 Comments
• Photos (2)

Jim Smith

11:07 am on Tuesday, February 28, 2012

It's time for Hamilton voters to vote in Austerity measures for the town of Hamilton/Wenham, the new Greece of the Northshore. Soon our elderly will be thrown out into the streets and children given condoms in lieu of nutritious food. Entitlements either need to be cut in Hamilton or allow Hamilton to default, go bankrupt and default back to Start. Hopefully we can do it right the next time …   more ›

Letter to the Editor: 'Little Has Been Accomplished' on Operational Audit of Schools

The founding members of Enough is Enough write to schools superintendent Dr. Peter Gray saying that few of the recommendations made in the operational audit of the schools have been implemented.

To the Editor: An open letter to Interim Superintendent Peter Gray  Comments about Operational Audit Presentation: Dear Mr. Gray, We were disappointed, but sadly, not surprised at the report you gave last week on the schools operational audit. It’s been almost a year since the HWRSD had early copies of the OA recommendations and your presentation leads us to believe that little has been accomplished. Further complicating the lack of progress is your desire to merge the OA recommendations into the upcoming budgeting process. If this is done, it would delay actions even further, with some items not being addressed until late 2012 and even 2013. We believe focus on OA recommendations should be to tackle the items that are more easily doable …

•  4 Comments
• Photos (1)

Jay Burnham

6:19 am on Friday, November 11, 2011

Tom, no one said anything about a "conspiracy". Everyone clearly remembers, however, that many of the members of the School Committee, and the Chairman of that committee in particular, publicly opposed, hindered and openly VOTED AGAINST the operational audit and the funding of that project. That knowledge alone is sufficient reason for strong skepticism.   more ›

Role of Major Operational Audit Recommendations to be Decided in 2013 Budget

School leaders want to change the district's culture and break with the past practice of budgets coming from the top.

Interim School Superintendent Peter Gray outlined what he called a new more transparent, justifiable budget process that will originate with the school councils rather than being controlled by the superintendent's office. Gray introduced his leadership team at a meeting of the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School Committee and town officials Thursday night at Buker Elementary School. That team included Dr. Celeste Bowler, assistant superintendent for learning; Kathy Harris, director of student services, and John Hughes, the interim principal of the high school. This team will lead the district and develop a budget for next year that is more understandable to “everyone,” he said. “We are looking to make philosophical and cultural changes in the …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (2)

Jay Burnham

7:31 am on Friday, October 28, 2011

Question...How much of the voter-approved $90k is left over, if any? I seem to recall the Evergreen Solutions bid the audit for $79k. Customarily, the auditor returns after a period of time (it's been almost a year now) to oversee and review progress on implementation of recommendations in their report. If there are still funds available, shouldn't the firm that made the recommendations be asked …   more ›

Letter to the Editor: Citizens Group Seeks New Members

The membership chairman of the local citizens group Enough is Enough outlines some of the group's work and seeks new members.

To the Editor: You're Invited! Enough is Enough (EiE) a.k.a. Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility, is a grassroots group of concerned citizens from Hamilton and Wenham that first came together four years ago to stop annual tax overrides that have pushed our property taxes into the stratosphere. We have grown from a dozen people to a broadly represented group of over 450. We have accomplished a lot over these four years but much more remains to be done. We truly need and welcome your participation.  If you are not already one of us, we would welcome your participation. Our strength is in our numbers. EiE has led the fight to end property tax overrides while working to improve quality and efficiency in town services. When we started, we were …

• Photos (1)

Patch Facts

Five Things You Need to Know Today: Sept. 30

An essential get-me-going daily morning column from Hamilton-Wenham Patch.

Today is Friday, Sept. 30. Here are five things you need to know: 1. Weather: The sun is expected to return on Friday. The forecast calls for temperatures close to 80 and gusty wind at times. 2. Operational audit: Friday is the deadline for school officials to submit the latest response to the operational audit of the schools, which was completed earlier this year as a way to find ways to save money and run the schools more efficiently. 3. Jolie Tea: Courtney Reid will be performing at Jolie Tea Co.’s salon night tonight. The Art Center teacher won a jingle contest put on by Folgers last summer and will be putting her talents on display. 4. Ships in a Bottle: Winson Morrill of Hamilton, who makes model ships in a bottle, was featured on …

• Photos (1)

Week in Review

A Look Back at 5 Top Local Stories Last Week

The "Week in Review" wraps of some of the major stories from Hamilton and Wenham.

Each Sunday, Hamilton-Wenham Patch takes a look back at the week in local news. Here’s a look at some of the top stories on the two towns in the past week. 1. New look and size selected for Wenham Town Hall sign Years of discussion and debate came to an end this week when the Historic District Commission and Town Hall and Police Station Building Committee reached agreement on the look and size of a new Wenham Town Hall sign. Right now, the large white sign with black writing simply says “Wenham Town Hall.” The new sign will be smaller and include the town seal at the top and say “erected 1855” at the bottom. It will be 18 inches narrower than the existing sign. 2. School Committee sets deadline for continued operational audit response The …

• Photos (5)

Talk of the Towns

Keyser: Payback Time at Community Gardens

Hard work by volunteers are being reaped at the Community Gardens in Wenham as vegetables are being harvested.

In case you haven’t been outside, there is what is known as a heat wave, which means it's hot out there. Regardless of the high temperatures, the results are showing up at the Community Gardens at Enon Village in Wenham. Vegetables in all shapes and sizes are ready for harvesting. It's the result of some tender and loving care from the many volunteers at this project. Back in May, Susan Carp, Council on Aging director for Hamilton and Wenham, was able to locate two plots of open land near the senior housing units, known at Enon Village. Combining donations for supplies and local volunteers with lots of hard work preparing the land - so to speak - the Community Gardens were up and ready to produce vegetables. As time went by, more time and …

• Photos (1)

Talk of the Towns

Keyser: School Committee OKs Budget Figure

The School Committee voted to recertify the school budget on Thursday so there is no need for a Special Town Meeting in Hamilton.

It's time for the rain to give up and allow summer to begin. We don’t need any more more rainy weather in this area. In events and such happenings in both towns, with the School Committee voting to change the school budget to reflect the amount of $500,000 back to the towns, the need for a Special Town Meeting in Hamilton is no longer needed. In a vote taken at the School Committee meeting on Thursday evening, a proposal was offered by the acting school head, Peter Gray, to recertify the school budget and change the giveback figure to $500,000. The board, after several comments from members of the board on why they were supporting the new motion, the entire board then voted to accept the new motion. One hopes that the school board members …

• Photos (1)