FM #1605 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 1605 in the series.
This session shares the Franklin (MA) School Committee meeting held on Tuesday, December 9, 2025. All 7 members of the committee were present.
Quick recap:
FHS Volleyball team recognized for D1 State Championship for first time
Student Services presentation
Link to slides included below
Capital budget presentation
Link to slides included below
Franklin (MA) School enrollment
Yes, total of Franklin MA and shown where they end up FPS, or elsewhere
Numbers mentioned during recent Town Council meeting shown to be in error with these statistics
Link to the 2 page document included below
Citizen Comments
Steve Sherlock stepped up to talk about
“Hold harmless” is akin to OPEB, Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) was for years an unfunded mandate that drove every budget discussion until the Town realized that the funding requirement for the Norfolk County Retirement would be fulfilled shortly (now slipped to approx. 2035) but then once complete, those funds could be shifted to pay down the OPEB liability. The Town has a plan to fund OPEB. The School can not come up with a plan to fund hold harmless without Town help. There needs to be a plan as part of whatever financial plan the Town puts together.
While the Town (and correctly so) touts clean audits, that wasn’t always the case. The current revolving funds policy to maintain a year's worth arose as a result of an audit issue revealed during 2007. Part of the resolution was (1) the hiring of Miriam Goodman in March 2008 and (2) the intro of the policy to keep one year's worth of funds in the revolving accounts
Audio of student services available https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/12/insights-into-student-services-how-in.html
Community calendar reminder, this week only Weds doesn't have a booster club, youth sports or otherwise a fundraising effort by eating at one of Franklin’s restaurants. Let me know of your fundraising efforts and they can get published on the Community Calendar
Action: To submit a community or cultural event, please use this form: https://bit.ly/Submit2Calendar
entered into Executive Session not to return to open meeting
The recording runs about 3 hours and 45 minutes
Audio link -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1605-franklin-ma-school-cmte-mtg-12-09-25/--------------
Additional links to key documents for this session
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/12/school-committee-recognizes.html
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| Full School Committee & Supt Giguere with the FHS volleyball team |
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| The State D1 Champion FHS volleyball team showcases their jackets |
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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.
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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!
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