The Newcomers & Friends April Meeting features updates from Jamie Hellen & Lucas Giguere

Come join your Franklin friends and neighbors at the Franklin Newcomers and Friends Club April Meeting.

To accommodate one of our favorite speakers, we made a date change. Join us on Wednesday, April 5th at 7:00 PM to hear updates from our Town Administrator, Jamie Hellen. We're hoping to also have our School Superintendent, Lucas Giguere, but are awaiting confirmation from him. Don’t miss this opportunity; bring your questions!

Join us at Escape Into Fiction Book Store, 12 Main Street, Franklin at 7:00. Light refreshments will be served. Come early and browse/shop the store or grab a bite beforehand nearby. No need to be a newcomer to the area, come make connections in your community.

We are a multi-generational, member-driven organization, offering a wide range of activities, and are always excited to welcome new faces and new ideas. Residents of Franklin, or any surrounding town that doesn't have a Newcomers Club, are welcome to join us.

We are so thankful for the generosity and kindness that April Rock, Owner, Escape Into Fiction, has bestowed on us this year. She’s more than humble so it might not be known to you how generous she is to our community. Teachers especially should know that she keeps a Teacher Wish List at the register. All Teachers are welcome to sign up. If you are a teacher, April is an amazing resource for you and your classroom.

Look for us on our Meetup and Facebook pages for more information. https://www.meetup.com/Franklin-Newcomers-Friends https://facebook.com/FranklinNewcomersFriendsClub

The Newcomers & Friends April Meeting features updates from Jamie Hellen & Lucas Giguere

Superintendent Giguere discusses redistricting, the budget process, school successes & more in this conversation (audio)

FM #959 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 959 in the series. 

This session of the radio show shares my recorded conversation with Franklin School Superintendent Lucas Giguere. We had our conversation in person in the Superintendent’s office in the Municipal Building on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. 

At a high level our topics were:

• Redistricting

• Budget process, Portrait of a Graduate

• School district successes

• Hiring process

The recording runs about 39 minutes. Audio file -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-959-fps-supt-lucas-giguere-03-07-23

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Superintendent’s page ->  https://www.franklinps.net/district/superintendent 

Storymap with the three options ->

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/9db1fa2830964554ba24ddb4558556fa

Handout available at the Redistricting Forum 03/07/23  -> 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1l9KQNRFUxKCutPmNMJSMWGmf0dIMKROa/view?usp=share_link

Redistricting Advisory Committee page ->

https://www.franklinps.net/school-committee/2023-redistricting-advisory-committee 

  

Dec 2022 conversation -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2023/01/my-conversation-with-superintendent.html

Nov 2022 conversation -> 

https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/11/conversation-with-franklin-ma-school.html 

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We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial.  

This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.

 

How can you help?

• If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors

• If you don't like something here, please let me know

Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/ or www.franklin.news/

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana"  c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.

I hope you enjoy!

------------------

You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

Franklin (MA) School Superintendent Lucas Giguere

Franklin School Committee reviews FHS program of studies & approved Westboro for membership to the Accept Collaborative (audio)

FM #924 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 924 in the series. 

This session shares the Franklin, MA School Committee meeting held on Tuesday, January 24, 2023. The meeting was conducted in the Council Chambers with six members present and one member (M Whitmore) remote. Hence all votes were via roll call.

School Committee Chair Denise Spencer opens the meeting at 7:00 PM. 

Key items on the agenda

• Update from Supt Giguere on the Inclement Weather Policy, now that we have had some weather to deal with, a reminder on the process, how it is coordinated with DPW, Police and Fire. Additional details posted on FPS page (see link below)

• FHS Program of Studies - Principal Josh Hanna presented an update on the program highlighting some changes to add courses, and answered questions from the School Committee. He acknowledged as he began that this was the results of a whole team of effort, many of whom were out and about tonight with student activities. The PDF of my notes captures screen presentation pages. The presentation doc should get posted soon to the meeting folder so you can find additional details

• Accept Collaborative presentation - E Stokes recused herself from this portion of the meeting to avoid a conflict of interest. The presentation provided an overview of the services and work among the collaborative to support the needs of the students in the district. This was all in advance of a discussion and vote by the Committee to approve the application of Westborough into the Collaborative (each member needs to do so, it was mentioned this is the first of a few). The Committee voted unanimously (6-0-1; 6 for, 0 no, 1 - recuse)

• Proposed school committee meeting calendar and Accept Collaborative report were among the items for discussion only

• The Committee did enter Executive Session not to return to open meeting

The show notes contain a link to the full agenda and to my notes & photos captured via Twitter during the meeting. 

The recording runs about 1 hour and 40 minutes, so let’s listen to the Franklin School Committee on January 24, 2023. Audio file -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-924-town-of-franklin-ma-school-cmte-mtg-01-24-23

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School Committee page -> https://www.franklinps.net/district/school-committee 

Inclement weather page -> https://www.franklinps.net/sites/g/files/vyhlif4431/f/uploads/weather_2022_2.pdf 

Video link -> https://youtu.be/6f53S5iyXpU 

The agenda doc contains info on remote participation -> https://www.franklinps.net/sites/g/files/vyhlif4431/f/uploads/scagenda_1-24-23.pdf 

All the documents released for this meeting (some after the meeting) can be found in one folder -> https://www.franklinps.net/district/school-committee/pages/january-24-2023-school-committee-meeting-packet

My Twitter notes are here in one PDF file ->  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pWMoZmkmt2nkhBczlP0QYMBbBVPrew5d/view?usp=share_link 

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We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial. 

This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.

 

How can you help?

• If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors

• If you don't like something here, please let me know

Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.

 

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana"  c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.

I hope you enjoy!

------------------

You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

FHS Principal Josh Hanna

My conversation with Superintendent Giguere covers multiple topics and a "day in the life" (audio)

FM #907 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 907 in the series. 

This session of the radio show shares my recorded conversation with Franklin School Superintendent Lucas Giguere. We had our conversation in person in the Superintendent’s office in the Municipal Building on Monday, December 19, 2022. 

At a high level our topics were:

• DEI deep dive 

• Redistricting

• Finance Committee school budget discussion

• A day in the life of a Superintendent

The recording runs about 30 minutes  Audio file -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-907-fps-superintendent-lucas-giguere-12-19-22

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Superintendent’s page ->  https://www.franklinps.net/district/superintendent 

DEI page (with link to plans, etc.) -> https://www.franklinps.net/district/diversity-equity-and-inclusion 

Redistricting page -> https://www.franklinps.net/school-committee/2023-redistricting-advisory-committee

Finance Committee video replay -> https://youtu.be/o4vY1ekbk10 

Franklin Matters recap & audio -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/12/finance-committee-gets-some-financial.html   

--------------

We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial.  

This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.

 

How can you help?

• If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors

• If you don't like something here, please let me know

Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/ or www.franklin.news/

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana"  c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.

I hope you enjoy!

------------------

You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

Franklin (MA) School Superintendent Lucas Giguere

Finance Committee gets some financial good and bad news before taking a deep dive into the Schools budget (audio)

FM #895 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 895 in the series. 

This session of the radio show shares the Finance Committee meeting held on Wednesday, Dec 7, 2022. 

Seven members of the Finance Committee participated (2 absent); 6 present in the Council Chambers, 1 remote. Town Administrator Jamie Hellen, Assistant Administrator Alecia Alleyne, Comptroller Chris Sandini and Treasurer/Collector Kerri Bertone. 

Quick recap:

• Out to bid for the bond for the Schmidt’s Farm resulted in maintaining the Triple AAA rating, receiving 7 bids, and yielded a 3.44% rate (good)

• Stabilization funds review shows the market impact as many of the totals declined vs. the prior year and there were no authorized withdrawals. These are called unrealized losses (not so good)

• The electric rate contract for the Town results in an increase of $200K impact for this fiscal year. DPW snow and ice presentation scheduled for the 12/14/22 Town Council meeting. Some facility projects and repairs being held due to the increases being seen to avoid a significant financial impact. Do use a utility consultant on the electricity contract, spent about a month watching rates before settling on this deal. Storm water fee implementation in July 2023 will also have an effect on the Town budget (not so good)

• School budget “deep dive” - Superintendent Lucas Giguere, Business administrator Miriam Goodman, School Committee Chair Denise Spencer and School Committee member and Budget subcommittee Chair David McNeill presented. Asst Superintendent Paula Marano and School Committee members Elise Stokes and Dave Callaghan were also in the audience for support.

• Chair Conley opened with the major question with declining enrollment and rising budget how is that explained? The remainder of the presentation and discussion attempted to answer the question from multiple points of view. I can not do justice and simplify it. The discussion is too complex. The audio and video of the meeting is available for you to listen and follow along

• I can say that the School Committee and Central office can do better in helping to explain the cost drivers. They do cover a bunch of the details in their main meetings and subcommittee meetings but have not been successful in articulating the story, hence the questions remain 

The meeting recording runs 2 hours and 35 minutes, so let’s listen to the Finance Committee meeting Dec 7, 2022.

Audio file -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-895-franklin-ma-finance-cmte-mtg-12-07-22

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Meeting agenda document ->   https://www.franklinma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6896/f/agendas/12-07-2022_finance_committee_agenda.pdf

My notes ->   https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gVLpYnd6sOfNA7Phl0p176OhHViQsL7e/view?usp=share_link 

Link to Finance Committee => https://www.franklinma.gov/finance-committee 

YouTube recording =>   https://youtu.be/o4vY1ekbk10

Photos captured during the meeting can be found in one album -> https://photos.app.goo.gl/q6YyoS5wPbe7m86j6

--------------

We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial.  

This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.

 

How can you help?

• If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors

• If you don't like something here, please let me know

Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/ or www.franklin.news/

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana"  c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.

I hope you enjoy!

------------------

You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

L-R: Budget subcommittee Chair David McNeill, School Committee Chair Denise Spencer,  Superintendent Lucas Giguere, Business administrator Miriam Goodman

Conversation with Franklin (MA) School Superintendent Lucas Giguere - 11/17/22 (audio)

FM #886 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 886 in the series. 

This session of the radio show shares my first recorded conversation with Franklin School Superintendent Lucas Giguere. We had our conversation in person at a Central Office conference room in the Municipal Building on Thursday, November 17, 2022. 

At a high level our topics were

• 5 months in, how are you doing?

• Student behavior, reaching out to parents & community for help

• Vaping, substance use

• Social media and critical conversations

• Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) deep dive and overall program

• Redistricting approach and process has started

The recording runs about 39 minutes  Audio file -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-886-franklin-ma-school-supt-l-giguere-11-17-22

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Superintendent’s page ->  https://www.franklinps.net/district/superintendent 

Superintendent’s letter to parents & community ->  https://www.franklinps.net/sites/g/files/vyhlif4431/f/uploads/10_25_22_supt_report_to_sc.pdf 

Critical conversations videos ->

• Substance use and Mental Health Forum -  https://youtu.be/3CIOXT3BlMU 
• Social media - https://youtu.be/vhhfGFJkXPI 

DEI page (with link to plans, etc.) -> https://www.franklinps.net/district/diversity-equity-and-inclusion 

Redistricting page -> https://www.franklinps.net/school-committee/2023-redistricting-advisory-committee

--------------

We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial.  

This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.

 

How can you help?

• If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors

• If you don't like something here, please let me know

Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/ or www.franklin.news/

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana"  c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.

I hope you enjoy!

------------------

You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

Franklin (MA) School Superintendent Lucas Giguere