vendors scheduled for Saturday, January 25
Here is the vendor list for the market this Saturday (1/25/25):Barbara Sherman will be there with Boston Sword and TunaAngel Hair Alpaca Farm(MA) will be coming with their super warm alpaca goods (and maybe alpacas!)Boundless Bakery is back with their vegan cookies and muffinsC&C Ice Cream will be offering cotton candySee you there!
Dear FHS Families, and Class of 2025 Students,
We are writing today to let you know that as of this time, there will NOT be an All Night Party (ANP) for the Senior Class after their Graduation on June 6th. Unfortunately, the long-time chairperson of this event needed to step down and there is not an existing committee or volunteer base to take over.
It is important to point out that the All Night Party is not an event affiliated with or provided by the Franklin School District or the FHS PCC - it is a community event planned and executed independently by parents, families, and community volunteers.
We are sharing this information with you today to get everyone thinking about what the future of the ANP should/could look like and how the Class of 2025 would like to move forward. With that goal in mind, we would like to begin by gauging overall interest in the ANP from both the senior students, and all FHS families. Additionally, we need to know if there is in fact a group of parents and community members that is willing to step up immediately to begin the work.
It is extremely important for everyone to understand that unless there are parents, and community members willing to not only volunteer a couple of hours of time, but to plan and execute the entire event, the All Night Party WILL NOT TAKE PLACE in June.
Please complete the applicable survey by this Sunday, January 19th. Once the Class Advisors and a PCC Liaison have reviewed the responses, we will reach out again to let you know the results and to help guide any future efforts.
All Night Party for Class of 2025 in jeopardy
SENIOR STUDENTS ONLY - Please take just a minute to complete this quick ANP Student Survey (linked below) regarding your feelings toward an All Night Party after Graduation. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdngPpus2j-Td5F_pUuP91784F2Wp7OsGZaRlf6CZkqF9ko5A/viewform
ALL FHS PARENTS/GUARDIANS and COMMUNITY MEMBERS - Please complete this short ANP Parent & Community Survey (linked below) about your wishes for the continuation of the ANP as well as your ability to volunteer. You do not have to have a senior at FHS to volunteer.https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe6WfDhykupbGrT9k5MlqaV1IFx87brCQQ04eS28yL8LJezQA/viewform
Thank you for your time and quick response.
Sincerely,
The Class of 2025 Advisors and FHS PCC
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| avian influenza update 1/23/25 |
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| FY25 Firefighter Safety Equipment |
"The Franklin Fire Department is pleased to announce that we have been awarded $24,919.10 through a Massachusetts Department of Fire Services FY25 Firefighter Safety Equipment Grant.
Thank you to the Massachusetts State Fire Marshal and the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security for your continued support."
"Attorney General Andrea Campbell is joining the growing nationwide push to crack down on students' cell phone use during school hours.Campbell spoke before the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents Thursday about her efforts to shield children from the harmful effects of social media, one week after she, along with several state lawmakers, filed legislation that aims to impose a “bell-to-bell” ban on personal cell phone use at all Massachusetts public schools during class time. Called the “STUDY Act,” it also would require social media companies to implement additional health and safety policies.
ban cell phone use in Mass. public schools “By restricting cellphones during the school day and raising the bar for social media companies, we are taking bold steps to create learning environments free from distraction and a digital landscape that prioritizes the well-being of our youth,“ Campbell said in a statement last week. ”This bill is a commitment to both education and mental health for our young people, ensuring they have the tools to succeed without unnecessary harm.”
"Big oil spent a stunning $445m throughout the last election cycle to influence Donald Trump and Congress, a new analysis has found.That figure includes funding from January 2023 and November 2024 for political donations, lobbying and advertising to support elected officials and specific policies. Because it does not include money funneled through dark-money groups – which do not have to reveal their donors – it is almost certainly a vast understatement, says the report from green advocacy group Climate Power, which is based on campaign finance disclosures and advertising industry data.Fossil fuel interests poured $96m into Donald Trump’s re-election campaign and affiliated political action committees, the report found. Much of that was covered by megadonor oil billionaires, such as the fracking magnate Harold Hamm, the pipeline mogul Kelcy Warren and the drilling tycoon Jeffery Hildebrand.Additional contributions came from lesser-known oil and gas interests, including fossil fuel-trading hedge funds, mining corporations and the producers of offshore-drilling ships and fuel tanks."
Franklin All Access TV - Our Public Access Channel (Comcast 6, Verizon 26) = FRIDAY
8:00 am Zoning Board of Appeals 01-02-25
2:00 pm Zoning Board of Appeals 01-02-25
Get this week's program guide for Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) online http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf
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| Watch Listen Read all things that matter in Franklin MA |
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| What's happening today in Franklin? |
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| survey -> https://forms.gle/tomt66xtVYyK8KyKA |
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| Town Council meeting video available for replay - Jan 22, 2025 (video) |
FM #1359 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 1359 in the series.
This session shares the Franklin (MA) School Committee Budget Workshop held on Wednesday, January 22, 2024. All 5 members participated in the 3rd floor Training Room (2 absent; O’Sullivan, Sompally).
Quick recap
Superintendent Lucas Giguere and Interim School Business Administrator Jana Melotti along with consultant Dr Bob Dutch shared in presenting the overview and answered detailed questions on the developing FY 2026 school budget
This is a ‘zero based’ budget to the extent that to develop the budget the prior year format with 9 schools can’t be used this year. The redistricting is bringing 5 elementary into 4 schools (2 buildings), and 3 middle schools into 1 middle school (1 building)
The redistricting does provide a significant savings to the community. If the redistricting was not in process for implementation in September 2025, the proposed budget would be asking for $6M more
The “Tale of Two Budgets” presents a level service budget and a level service plus budget. Terminology is key to understanding the budget. Level service means supporting the same or equivalent functionality to support the education of our students next year.
“Level service” does not bring back any major elements of the prior year budget reductions.
“Level service plus” attempts to add some of those elements back into the budget
Now with the redistricting providing additional savings than previously expressed, there are some elements that can come back within the level service budget. The fee increases (sports & bus) potentially can be reduced. The budget is evolving to reflect the changing circumstances
The Superintendent Recommended budget will be presented at the School Committee meeting on Tuesday, January 28, 2025. There is a public hearing scheduled for Tuesday, February 4. The School Committee is scheduled to vote on the recommended budget on February 11
As noted in the recording, the Joint Budget Listening Sessions are scheduled beginning January 30 at the Elks Lodge on Pond St and run through the beginning of March in multiple locations, night, day, and weekend time slots to provide opportunity for questions to be asked and answered not just on the School budget but on the overall Town budget for FY 2026. Except for the Council Chambers session, where Zoom will be enabled, the other listening session will be broadcast and recorded but will not enable an interactive remote participation. If you have a question, be there in person
The recording runs just under 2 hours, so let’s listen in.
Audio link -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-1359-school-cmte-budget-workshop-01-22-25/--------------
The agenda doc -> https://core-docs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/4780/FPSD/5190798/1-22-25_AGENDA-Budget_Workshop.pdf
My full set of notes in one PDF -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ve1DQuLctE8KMzI0qvhaZGutHNjOGcDR/view?usp=drive_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
And if you have interest in reporting on meetings or events, please reach. We’ll share and show you what and how we do what we do
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!
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You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"
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| School Committee gets a preview in workshop format (lots of discussion) of the FY 2026 School Budget (audio) |
