Level service, school job cuts in the news around the state

Level-service budgets may no longer be practical

By Aaron Wasserman/Daily News staff

MEDWAY - As they start preparing for the next fiscal year, town officials said yesterday the level-service budgets they have used the past few years are hurting municipal services.

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Welcome to Lawrence's budget woes

More than 40 city workers were laid off last month to close a budget deficit. Then the outgoing City Council failed to approve new tax rates and declined to raise the water rates before leaving office. Now the city assessor...

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Job cuts announced for Salem's schools

By Erin Ailworth, Globe Staff

The equivalent of about 80 full-time Salem Public School jobs need to be cut as a result of a $4.7 million deficit caused by underbudgeting and a former business manager's practice of paying old bills out of the current year's budget, Superintendent William J. Cameron Jr. said last night.

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Help is needed for the 4th of July

Yes, the call for help is going out. The long time volunteer effort from Deborah Pellegri and Charles Oteri has come to an end. They are both stepping aside from their leadership roles in coordinating the 4th of July celebration for Franklin.

For more than two decades, Pellegri has served as either the chairwoman or a co-chairwoman of the town's Fourth of July celebration, begun in 1982 to provide a family venue for the holiday to keep the community's children safe. Last year, the six-day event included fireworks, a parade and daily entertainment, and was touted in Family Circle magazine when Franklin was named one of the top 10 places in the country to raise children.

But during a November thank-you party for volunteers, Pellegri announced she would no longer be organizing the event, sponsored the past three years by the town's Lions Club. Oteri, a fellow Lions officer, followed suit, leaving the celebration without leadership or a sponsor.

"We're ready to retire," Pellegri said, agreeing with Oteri that it was time for new blood.

"Fresh ideas," Oteri added.

To that end, Pellegri and Oteri plan to hold an information session Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. in Town Hall for members from other clubs willing to take over their duties.

Read the full article by Michael Morton in the Milford daily News.

If you can step forward as a volunteer, consider attending the information session on January 17th.

Educational Quality Accountability results coming 1/22/08

From the Franklin School Committee blog:

In April and May 2007, the Massachusetts Office of Educational Quality and Accountability (EQA) conducted an independent examination of the Franklin Public Schools for the period of 2004–2006. The EQA analyzed Franklin students’ performance on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) tests and identified how students in general and in subgroups were performing. The EQA examined critical factors that affected student performance in six major areas: leadership, governance, and communication; curriculum and instruction; assessment and evaluation; human resource management and professional development; access, participation, and student academic support; and financial and asset management.

On Tuesday, January 22, 2008, the audit report will be presented to the School Committee.

and:

The state report finds that, on average, three-fourths of all students in Franklin attained proficiency on the 2006 MCAS tests, much more than that statewide. More than four-fifths of Franklin students attained proficiency in English language arts (ELA), more than two-thirds of Franklin students attained proficiency in math, and nearly two-thirds of Franklin students attained proficiency in science and technology/engineering (STE). Ninety-seven percent of the Class of 2006 attained a Competency Determination.

The report also pointed to shortfalls in school funding, which was “insufficient” to fully fund costs associated with increased enrollment, additional special-education teachers, contractual salary increases, and utilities. But the report praised Franklin for passing a $2.7 million property tax increase last spring, which “solidified the community’s commitment to the school district and the educational needs of the children in Franklin.”

And:

The EQA was created by the Massachusetts Legislature in July of 2000, to provide independent and objective programmatic and financial audits of the 350-plus school districts which serve the cities and towns of Massachusetts. The agency is the accountability component of the Education Reform Act of 1993, and was envisioned in that legislation. The complete standards can be read by clicking here.

The full 28 page EQA report on Franklin can be read by clicking here.

Mark your calendar for the Jan 22nd meeting!

Holliston tackles teenage substance abuse

Ellen Freedman, coordinator of Holliston's Youth Substance Abuse Prevention Initiative, says she is encouraged by parents' response to last month's presentation of a survey that showed they underestimate marijuana use and binge drinking among local teenagers.

Rather than responding with denial, she said, parents have said they want to work together to curb the behavior.

Freedman said they applied the survey results to their own situation. "I don't think there was quite as much denial as 'This information is going to help me talk to my kids.' "

The Boston Globe reports that Holliston is tackling the recent survey results on teenage substance abuse. Franklin's School Committee received a similar report recently. The School Department has not completely spread the information in this report. Please be aware that information sessions will be held via PCC and other channels in the near future. The police chief is also reported to come to the School Committee to provide the "town impact" side of the information.

Within Franklin, while "the budget, budget, budget" is very important, the reason the budget is important is that much of the money is used for educational purposes, like this!

Where in Franklin? #26 Picture 2

Where in Franklin? #26 Picture 2, originally uploaded by shersteve.

Maybe the first picture did not reveal enough detail to help you figure out where the topped spire brick was located.

Maybe this second chance will help you!

Brick Report - scheduled for Tuesday

The Brick School Task Force will present its report to the School Committee on Tuesday, January 8, 2008. The group, which has been working diligently since July, has produced a four inch thick binder full of information and data on the school and issues presented by the charge.

Read the remainder of the post on the School Committee blog.

The task force report is available here.

Task force wants Brick to stay open

A task force mulling the fate of the Red Brick School recommended last night to keep the historic building open, with supporters gaining the majority but failing to convince other members.

Red Brick Task Force members Francis Molla, Paula Sandham, Joseph Kapples and Town Clerk Deborah Pellegri all voted in favor of the school. But Paula Scafati recommended that it be closed because of her continued concern over future funding and accessibility for the physically disabled, while Kevin Walsh, Carole Geer and Lisa Oxford abstained from voting.

"I came in here with an open mind, contrary to what people think, what I've heard around town," Scafati said.

Walsh said he abstained from the vote because the Brick School Association, a nonprofit group that has promised money for future school operations, declined to provide financial information he asked for. Geer and Oxford, meanwhile, did not offer an explanation but might do so before the task force goes before the School Committee Tuesday.

4-1 with three abstentions.

Read the full Michael Morton article in the Milford Daily News here.

Out of Africa, and on a mission

Gabriel Dut Bethou doesn't take his education for granted, nor the knowledge that he'll have enough to eat when he wakes up each morning.

Bethou, 23, is one of the "Lost Boys of Sudan," a name given to the thousands of youths who were displaced or orphaned in the Second Sudanese Civil War, which broke out in 1983 and lasted until January 2005.

Thanks to the United Nations and the International Rescue Committee, Bethou was able to come to America in June 2001. He now works in Dean College's information technology department, and is enrolled in a program that allows students to attend classes at Dean for credit toward a four-year degree at Suffolk University.

Read more of Gabriel's story here in this Boston Globe article.

If you would like to contribute to his fund raising efforts to bring his family out of Sudan, you can visit Out of Sudan.

We're not alone

Across the Commonwealth, cities and towns are considering laying off staff, cutting services, and preparing to make cuts to school sports programs as they struggle to close multimillion-dollar budget deficits in the coming fiscal year. Some municipalities are once again considering property tax overrides, even though voters in a majority of towns have rejected tax increases over the last two years.

And it could get worse, officials say, if a state budget deficit projected at more than $1 billion in fiscal 2009 gives communities even fewer dollars to pay for the services that people have come to expect.

"The writing on the wall, to me, is that we shouldn't be looking to the state for any additional aid, so it's a little sobering," said Tom Koch, who will be sworn in as Quincy's mayor next Monday. "It's a challenge to run local government without hitting the citizenry for increases in taxes, and that's always going to be a challenge, whether it's Quincy or Weymouth or Boston or wherever you go."

The remainder of the Boston Globe article continues here.

Where in Franklin? #26

Where in Franklin? #26, originally uploaded by shersteve.

Where would you see this?

Guidelines for playing "Where in Franklin?" can be found here.

Enjoy!

Where in Franklin? Answer #25

Where in Franklin? Answer #25, originally uploaded by shersteve.

Ken Norman hinted that this building would be quite busy today as the children returned to school from their winter break.

The answer to picture #25 is the Davis Thayer Elementary School. The original doorway pictured was partially re-done when the modular rooms were added on.

There are a number of these modular rooms added to existing schools. They will need to be replaced. A line item for their replacement was put on the Town Council meeting capital requirements outlook as discussed in the 12/19/07 meeting.

If you missed the meeting (and the re-broadcast via local cable) you can still listen to the meeting at this link here. The meeting is broken up into sections so you can get to listen to the part you want to.

Tough choices this year

"I think that it'd be optimistic to get a level-funded budget," Nutting said of Franklin's finances. "In other words, I anticipate the town will have to make some very difficult choices about where cuts will be made."

Read the Milford Daily News article about local town leaders and what 2008 will bring here.

Happy New Year

Thank you for coming here to read and continue the conversation.

Wishing you and yours all the best this year!

old - 'Why Franklin Matters' text - now retired

The 'old' Why Franklin Matters page text that was retired on March 29, 2015

You can find updated text here  http://www.franklinmatters.org/p/why-franklin-matters.html


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What do you do?
I attend as many Town Council, School Committee, and other Franklin meetings as I can. I usually will report on the full and complete meeting publishing my notes as the meeting progresses. Weekly, I create a summary of what happened the prior week including an outlook on the coming week. You can subscribe to the daily newsletter delivered to your email address. Spend about 10 minutes a day to keep up with what matters in Franklin.

Franklin Matters

Why do you do this?
This is my public service effort to give back to Franklin because accurate information matters. All too often a conversation or opinion includes incomplete or inaccurate information. I find that the local newspapers cover very little of what actually occurs at a meeting. That won’t change, their objective is to sell papers and advertising. I don’t have that objective so I can focus on the complete story and all the details that go with it.

How did you get started?
The Sherlock Family moved here at the end of 1995. Franklin was a good choice to return to New England. Both Dolores and I grew up in Rhode Island so this is 'close' to home. We have enjoyed our stay here and plan on staying for sometime. As my daughters grew up, graduated from Franklin High, and went off to college, I had more time at night to find out how and why we had a budget problem. I started attending Town Council and School Committee meetings.

I had already begun blogging at Steve's 2 Cents in 2004. After attending PodCamp Boston in 2006, I realized that I had the tools available and could start writing and publishing my notes during the meetings. The timely publication of information is important. Decisions could be made with incomplete or inaccurate information and we would regret it.

I attended, wrote, and shared this information with my fellow citizens and voters up through the Town election in 2007 on Steve's 2 Cents and split off this site: Franklin Matters in November, 2007. I will continue to devote time and effort here utilizing the social media tools as they become available (and where appropriate) to help fulfill the information needs of the Franklin community.

But isn’t your wife a teacher?
Yes, you should be aware that my wife is a kindergarten teacher here in Franklin. She teaches at the Oak St School. But what has that got to do with my sharing information? I realized while my two daughters were going through Franklin High School that the students coming after them were not getting the same opportunities. So I believe that there are over 6,000 reasons for me to focus on the school budget. I also believe that there are over 30,000 reasons for me to focus on the Town budget.

Are you preparing to run for office?
From time to time, a number of folks have asked me if I would consider running for a local office (either Town Council or School Committee). The answer has always been “No”.  I do not expect that the answer will change anytime soon.

Community Information Director?
Yes, this is a title I assumed to reflect the role I see myself playing. Franklin could have someone doing this work, it is required but they can’t afford it. So I’ll volunteer my time and effort to do so.

How can you afford to do this?
I do this as my hobby. I am fully employed and do my blogging/writing, etc. in my "off hours". I expect to be fully employed again. Until that time, I will be working and networking to identify that opportunity.

Updated 9/28/09 - I have accepted a contract position with Veritude to work on a project at Fidelity Investments. As this is only a short-term contract position, I will continue to identify a longer-term position.

Updated 2/1/10 - The contract position has completed its term. I am back looking for full employment where I can add value.

Updated 9/9/10 - I have taken a contract position with Modis working on a project at Citizens Bank in East Providence, RI.

Updated 2/1/11 - I have successfully converted my contract project manager position to a full time management position at RBS Citizens Bank. I remain working at the East Providence, RI location.

Updated March 2015 - I have resigned my position with Citizens Bank to assume a new role with John Hancock in Boston, MA.

What are you doing with the Food Pantry?
I have accepted a role on the Board of Directors and created the title of Community Information Director. I will look to help the Food Pantry in a couple of ways. One, they have expanded the membership of the Board and are embarking on a strategic planning initiative. I believe my project management skills and my work creating a good customer experience can help in this effort. Two, I will work to help the Food Pantry in their communication efforts. Drawing upon the experiences I have had using and implementing social media tools, I will help to spread the word about the good work of the Food Pantry.

You can read the full announcement of my role with the Food Pantry here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/08/disclosure-announcement.html

My role with the Food Pantry changed in April of 2011 when I assumed the role of Chairperson of the Board of Directors. I have been re-elected as Chair each year since (2012, 2013) and have been chosen as well for the 2014 calendar year. 

In October 2014, we selected Chris Feely as Chair of the Food Pantry effective for Nov 2014. I remain on the Board as "Secretary" and still lead the Communications Committee.

Disclosure Statement

• This blog doesn't accept ads or sponsorships.
• I don't own stock or accept royalties from any company or product mentioned on this blog.
• I don't serve on the board of any ‘for profit’ company.
• If the occasion were to come up, I would consider accepting samples of stuff with a nominal value (under $20 or so).
• I will tell you that there is no correlation between mentioning stuff and whether or not someone sent it to me.
• I write about what I find and think matters in Franklin.

My goal in maintaining this blog is to share my ideas and create a conversation that will generate something more than we each started with.


I have received compensation for my monthly articles for the Franklin Town News that is delivered to each Franklin residence. This began with the inaugural December, 2010 issue and will continue for the foreseeable future. (Why only update now? I can confirm that I have received the first check. Small but significant in its own way!)

My success will be determined by your readership and comments (or lack thereof).

I consider myself an amateur semi-professional writer and a lifelong learner. I start each day to learn something new. I look to share something with someone in a way that matters. I also look to have a laugh during the day. The more I can do all these three things (Learning, Sharing, Laughing), the better my day is.

My LinkedIn Profile can be viewed here: http://www.linkedin.com/in/stephensherlock

If anything changes with what I have said here, I will let you know.

I promise.

Note: this was revised 2/2/11 11/17/13

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Franklin, MA