In the News - Brunelli, hair salon, NCLB, local aid

Meet the Franklin Candidate: Philip Brunelli, Board of Health

by Alison McCall, Daily News staff

Franklin man opens hair salons in MetroWest

by Kelleigh Welch/Daily News staff

Educators welcome No Child Left Behind reform plan

by Scott O'Connell/Daily News staff

While no one from Franklin was mentioned in the No Child Left Behind article, we do find the following in an article on the increase in local aid coming from the Commonwealth that was just announced:

Franklin Town Council Vice Chairman Stephen Whalen said snow removal could be a good use for the money. Whalen cautioned that it should not be used for operating expenses or to pay salaries. 

"I kind of cringe when we get unexpected sources of funding from the state or any other entity," Whalen said. "I think it fuels the belief among some voters that whenever there's a shortfall in the operating budget, money will be quote-unquote found. It's very difficult to predict when the Legislature may throw a bone like this to the town."

 Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/archive/x1876835125/Lawmakers-see-boost-in-local-aid#ixzz1b1wfhQbT

"A waiver for Massachusetts could lift a burden"

It is a particularly high bar for Massachusetts, whose statewide standards for student attainment are among the toughest in the country. And the consequences of falling short are serious - including the possibility of the state taking over underperforming schools. 

Mitchell Chester, the state’s commissioner of elementary and secondary education, said in an interview last week that Massachusetts is giving serious consideration to filing for a waiver from the 100 percent proficiency rule, under a new program announced this month by the Obama administration. 

“For me, the reason filing a waiver makes sense for Massachusetts is that [the rule] no longer does a good job of differentiating our strongest performers from our weakest performers,’’ Chester said. “We have many schools in the Commonwealth at this point that are failing the federal requirements but are not failing schools.’’

Read the full article in the Boston Globe here