School committee accepts FY27 assessments, awards custodial contract and ratifies side letters

The Whitman‑Hanson Regional School Committee on May 6 voted to accept amended FY27 assessments for both Hanson and Whitman as read in the assessment letters. The Hanson assessment was read as a total assessment of "$16,831,538.52" (operating assessment $16,551,342.52; non‑mandated busing $53,810.36, reduced by $519). The Whitman assessment was read as a total assessment of "$21,438,285.59" with the operating and busing lines read in the memo. The committee recorded both assessment votes as unanimous.

The committee then moved to award the district’s three‑year custodial and light‑maintenance services contract to SJ Services for a base three‑year bid of $4,758,890. The motion to authorize the chief procurement officer to execute the contract was put forward by a committee member and seconded; the board discussed that SJ Services was the only final bidder and that additional scope items could add to the overall cost. One committee member raised a labor‑standards concern, saying SJ Services paid nearly $1,000,000 in fines and unpaid wages in May 2025; that concern was entered into the record during the discussion. The motion carried; the minutes record the result as passed and include a counted tally that is noted in the transcript as recorded as 8–2 before some participants corrected the roll call count. The administration said the base bid came in slightly lower than budgetary projections but cautioned that add‑ons will affect final contract total.

The committee also approved multiple unit side letters (Unit A, Unit B, Unit C and two side letters described as Unit D side letters) by unanimous vote. The warrant subcommittee presented a payroll warrant in the amount of $1,633,676.81 and the committee approved it.

What changed and what’s next: the assessment approvals formalize the FY27 operating and debt assessments for each town as presented in the assessment letters; the SJ Services award is subject to final contract terms and any additional billed extras; and the administration will proceed with execution and implementation steps for the custodial contract and circulate final budget documents online as requested by members.