PRESS RELEASE DPW RESPONSE: WHY MARSHFIELD SCHOOLS CLOSED MONDAY (2/14)

The Board of Public Works wishes to inform the residents of Marshfield why their schools were closed on Monday (2/14).  The fact is that the Superintendent of Schools issued the order to close the schools.  Of the 351 communities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Marshfield was 1 of only 4 School Districts to be closed for the entire day. Unlike other local communities, which chose to delay openings and commence a day of learning for their children after the roads, parking lots and sidewalks were cleared, the Town Administrator and the Superintendent of Schools chose to close Marshfield schools for the entire day.

The forecast for the storm was 3 to 6 inches of snow across Southeastern Massachusetts.  Marshfield, however, was in the “jackpot area” and received a top accumulation of 9.5 inches of snow. 

The following is a chronological description of how the DPW addressed the storm:

• Sunday February 13, 2022
  9:00am            2 Highway sanders began treating the roadways
  3:30pm            the remaining 9 sanders and 6 contractor sanders were treating the
                          roadways
  10:00pm          29 DPW plows and 46 contractors commenced the plowing operation, for
                             a total 75 pieces of equipment dispatched throughout the Town to
                             counter the effects of the storm
• Monday February 14, 2022
  4:30am            Superintendent of Schools Jeff Granatino was informed by DPW
                             Deputy Superintendent Jimmy Kent that the roadways and parking lots of
                             the schools would be cleared by 6:00am and that the sidewalks leading
                             to the schools could not be addressed until the Town’s road plowing
                             operation was complete
  6:00am            School roadways and parking lots were completed and available for use
  7:00am            the final pass of plowing and sanding through the high school was
                             completed, however the sidewalks on school properties, which are the
                             responsibility of the schools’ custodians, had not been addressed
  12:00pm          the snow removal process related to the Town’s network of sidewalks
                             was under way and was being handled by two DPW employees who had
                             been sanding and plowing since 9:00am Sunday (2/13) morning.
                             Sidewalks are historically addressed once the sanding and plowing
                             operation is complete

The Town Administrator, in an effort to deflect resident ire away from himself and the School Superintendent, issued a previous press release stating “The DPW was not able to get enough of their staff to report for overtime last night to plow.”  Although some of this statement regarding a lack of staffing may be true, it is misrepresentative of the fact that available staff and local snow & ice contractors did in fact plow the streets and parking lots of Marshfield.

What the Town Administrator and the Superintendent of Schools failed to reveal was that the sidewalks in and around the schools were not cleared.  This was the cause of the schools being closed for the day.  In addition, the Town Administrator and the Superintendent of Schools also failed to reveal that this task is provided by the custodial staff of the various schools.  The DPW is unsure why the Superintendent and his staff did not plan accordingly to complete this task in a timely fashion and allow for a delayed opening.

The roads to all Marshfield schools were plowed an sanded and the parking lots were plowed, sanded and available for the school buses and staff by 6:00am on Monday morning.  Had the Superintendent of Schools planned accordingly to have his staff prepare the school sidewalks, then a two hour delay would have served our community well, as it did for all other local communities.

The Board of Public Works is elected by the residents of Marshfield and it is because of this independent oversight by the Board and the Superintendent of the Department of Public Works that the roadways and parking lots are pre-treated, sanded and plowed in an effective and efficient manner even though adequate funding is deficient and a viable DPW facility to protect our equipment has been constantly postponed in lieu of other Departments’ projects.

Unfortunately, these services are becoming more difficult to provide when DPW funding remains stagnant and capital equipment requests, needed to perform such duties, are denied by the Select Board and their Town Administrator who oversee how taxpayer dollars are distributed to Town Departments.

The Select Board control all the finances of the Town.  They appoint the Town Administrator who recommends the budget and capital request appropriations to Town Meeting.  In addition, the Select Board appoints the Advisory Board members who recommend the budget to the Town Administrator, as well as, appoint the Capital Budget Committee members who recommend the capital expenditure requests to the Town Administrator.

The Board of Public Works is not included in any of the Town’s budgetary processes.  The Select Board and the Town Administrator control all financial aspects of the Department of Public Works, even though neither have any operational oversight of this Department.