Retired Franklin school van driver honored
Auditor says state should pay towns for special Senate election
Franklin, MA
Providing accurate and timely information about what matters in Franklin, MA since 2007. * Working in collaboration with Franklin TV and Radio (wfpr.fm) since October 2019 *
At best, parents are lumped together among the many “stakeholders" who provide “letters of support" in the Race to the Top applications. Here at home, the 180-page Massachusetts application rarely mentions parents, even as it concedes that “strong parent and community engagement is a critical lever of school turnaround."
The near-omission is shortsighted, especially because you know who will get the blame — from teachers, principals, and politicians — if the achievement gap fails to narrow. Those ignorant, uninvolved parents! Underscoring this mindset is President Obama himself, who in February boasted that he had not missed a parent-teacher conference and says, “I don’t care how poor you are, you can turn off the television set during the week."Read the full article here
So how did the state still manage to place a discouraging 13th overall out of 16 finalists?
By coming in very last place in the application’s most important section: improving the teaching profession.
Treasurer Jim Dacey said residents will have the option to pay taxes, water and sewer bills, and permit, license, camp, recreation and school fees online in just a few weeks.Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
"This gives people another option for paying their bills," Dacey said. "We'd like to switch people from using their online banking, which for us is very inefficient."
The administration announced yesterday that Bristol, Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk and Worcester counties are eligible for both physical and economic injury disaster loans. Small businesses and most private non-profits in Franklin are only eligible for economic injury loans.
Up to $200,000 in disaster loans is available for homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, and up to $40,000 is available to qualifying homeowners and renters to repair or replace damaged personal property.
An unknown group is soliciting Franklin residents for donations. They claim to be working with the Franklin Police Department to develop a "Don't Drink and Drive" type program, geared towards younger people.
The Franklin Police Department is NOT SOLICTING FOR ANY FUNDS. We have NO affiliation with this group.
If contacted, you are urged to report this (and any phone number you may obtain) to the Office of the Attorney General.