District reports hiring progress, receives Perkins grant and declares surplus materials from depot

Hingham School Committee on Aug. 18 received a staffing update showing a substantial number of hires across central office and individual schools, district leaders said, and voted to declare surplus construction materials and obsolete furniture from Building 179 (the bus depot) for disposal. Human-resources staff and school principals reported hires this summer including new central-office and program directors, preschool and K‑12 teachers and paraeducators, speech and language pathologists, behavior technicians and other short-term and permanent staff. Leaders said some vacancies remain — notably in specialized roles such as BCBA behavior technicians, speech and language pathologists and short‑term substitutes — and encouraged community outreach to fill several roles including bus drivers and coaches. The district also reported an award of $21,536 under the Perkins Career and Technical Education grant; officials said the funds will support district career-connected learning pathways (for example, technology engineering and business pathways) and they hope to hire a part‑time paraeducator to support a TRACES program where students work with power tools. Finally, the committee voted by roll call to declare a list of construction materials, pallets and damaged or obsolete furniture and equipment surplus and to authorize the executive director of business and support services to dispose of them at the least cost to the district. Facilities staff said work in Building 179 (bus depot) and ongoing project cleanup generated the surplus items, and that organized storage and logistics improvements at the depot have improved operational readiness. The committee approved the surplus declaration and disposal authorization by unanimous roll call.