By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff
FRANKLIN —
School and town officials battling for control of the School Department's $5 million maintenance account will continue to duke it out this month, according to Town Councilor Robert Vallee.
The account has traditionally been managed by schools, but Town Administrator Jeffrey D. Nutting has proposed the town's Department of Public Works take it over for to eliminate duplication of jobs and maximize cost-efficiency, Vallee said.
Nutting, Vallee, Town Councilor Shannon Zollo, Councilor Deborah Bartlett,
Chairman Chris Feeley, School Superintendent Wayne Ogden, and several other town officials debated the issue at a joint budget subcommittee meeting last week, Vallee said.
``Nothing was accomplished, but we exchanged thoughts,'' said Vallee.
School officials still need to ``clearly understand'' why Nutting is seeking the change, said Ogden. Nutting could not be reached for comment on Friday.
Read the remainder of the article at the Milford Daily News here
If Franklin is going to make any significant progress on the growth of costs, tight cooperation needs to take place amongst the Town functional organizations.
This may be "low hanging fruit" but it needs to be handled properly. The Town does not need to split over issues that could save money. It is incumbent upon the Town to clearly explain what it would look like to have the two departments combined. This future vision would help to focus the discussion properly on who would do what, how school building issues would be handled, how the school and their important daily functions would operate so that the most important function of delivering a safe, efficient and highly qualified education to our children.
The current education reform act requirement that the school principals are responsible for everyone who works in their building is a potential road block. If properly addressed, it should be a key reason for crafting an agreement that will satisfy all parties.
Communication and open discussion are critical. Let's get all the parties to the table, not just a few. Include the custodians in this discussion. Include some parents. Bring in a moderator to facilitate the discussion and agreement if necessary.
Above all avoid the negatives. Avoid name calling. This is not an 'us' vs. 'them' situation. This affects all of us.
