Good evening everyone!
I hope you and your families had a pleasant Memorial Day weekend. We certainly could not have asked for a better stretch of weather…
I wanted to pass along a couple of important scheduling notes as we all head back into our work and home routines, and the kids enter the homestretch of the 07-08 academic year.
On Tuesday (the 27th) at 6 p.m., the Town Council is schedule to finalize Franklin’s budget for fiscal 2009, which begins July 1. The school budget will be among those voted upon by the Council. Immediately following that session, the School Committee is scheduled to meet at 7:15 p.m.
Tuesday’s School Committee meeting will be an important one because it will be the first time we will be in position to analyze in more detail how the recent move to lay-off school personnel will impact academic classes, class sizes in key grades, and extracurricular offerings in the fall.
Now that the lay-offs have gone forward, in combination with retirements and terminations, Supt. Ogden and his staff will be able to present a clearer picture of the potential impact on student services. I urge you to tune in to the discussion Tuesday night if possible.
On Wednesday night, members of the Town Council, the School Committee and the Finance Committee will gather at 7 p.m. at the Mercer Auditorium at Horace Mann Middle School for a town-wide forum to answer citizen questions about the override votes scheduled for June 10.
I hope you will take the opportunity to attend Wednesday evening’s forum to learn more about the town’s fiscal condition and to speak your mind on budget matters, the town’s financial management and the value of the school services to the quality of life and property values here.
For additional information, you can view the Town budget page at: http://www.franklin.ma.us/auto/town/admin/budget2/default.htm
You can view the proposed FY09 school budget at:
http://www.franklin.ma.us/auto/schools/FPS/super1/FY06Budget/default.htm
In addition, an override page is available that offers a central repository for a great deal of school and financial information. You can view it at:
http://franklinschoolcommittee.wordpress.com/override-page/
A small group of parents has begun to organize a citizen’s group in support of the override. If you are interested in meeting with them, please let me know and I will connect you.
Thank you for your time and attention, and your continued support. Please stay tuned for additional budget information in the weeks ahead.
Ed Cafasso, Member
Franklin School Committee
Monday, May 26, 2008
In case you missed the parade
Here are some musical highlights from each of the Franklin Public Schools as the marched by this morning.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Franklin Fire Dept. new Tower Truck
The new $860,000 Tower 1 truck is at home in the new fire station in downtown Franklin, MA.
The truck will be paid for over five years, the first payment this year at $160,000, followed by four yearly payments of $175,000 each.
With a little luck it will be used for training and parades. If it does get called out to be used in a fire, the safety features it contains will hopefully enable a safe operation and rescue, if necessary.
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From the Town Council meeting authorizing payment (audio and text)
From the Finance Committee meeting authorizing payment (audio)
"The family atmosphere we have is because of them"
GHS
Thousands of Bay State residents will observe Memorial Day today with cookouts, parties, days at the beach or soaking up sun with family and friends.
While she doesn't begrudge anyone having a good time this holiday weekend, Jodi Cabino-Cipriano wants people to remember the cost every Memorial Day entails.
The Franklin resident will this year mark the third Memorial Day since her son, Shayne Cabino, was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq. She said the holiday this week should serve as a reminder of the cost her family - and thousands more like it across the country - have paid.
"It'll never be the same," she said of the holiday. "I'll never have it again. We'll never, ever, ever be complete."
Cabino joined the Marine Corps after graduating from high school and was just 19 when he was sent to Iraq. He was killed along with three others when an improvised explosive device exploded outside Fallujah.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here.
"The energy this crystal has is very loving"
GHS
FRANKLIN —
It's not a bad life, being one of Sage Marianne's "babies."
Sage gently sings to the "newborn" crystals and says she infuses them with a divine healing energy.
A few of them even rest in their own purple velvet-lined basinets.
Since Sage's first "birth" in October 2000, she has opened her Glenn Meadow Road home to hundreds, possibly thousands of quartz crystals she unearthed during her bi-annual crystal mining trips to Hot Springs, Arkansas.
Recently, 63-year-old Sage "Crystal Singer" returned from Hot Springs where she unearthed a few new gems, a tradition that began when she decided to take a six-week absence from work to explore who she is, she said.
"I'm an adventurous woman. I always wanted to drive cross-country - it took me (more than a decade) to do it," Sage said.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
"50 cents a day, just seems like such a bargain"
As Franklin's second Proposition 2 1/2 override vote in as many years approaches, town officials are seeking to inform residents about the possibility of teacher layoffs, among other proposed school-related cuts, if they turn down the requested property-tax increase.
A special election has been called for June 10 to ask voters to decide on the proposed $2.8 million override. If approved, the additional funds would allow the district to save approximately 43.5 teaching positions - 16 at Franklin High, 12.5 at the middle school, and 15 at the elementary school - that would otherwise be eliminated, according to school officials. The extra tax money would also forestall a $100 increase in the pay-to-ride bus fee, and spare late bus service for students who stay after school for clubs and other extracurricular activities, they said.
Read the full article here in the Boston Globe
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Simple choice - maintain or cut
As demand for services rise our staff levels continue to fall. There are two unpleasant solutions to this problem. Continue to reduce services or increase taxes.From the FY 2005 Budget Statement (PDF) published by Jeff Nutting in April 2004. This quote can be found on the bottom of page 11. The override mentioned was held in November 2004 and it failed by a 1,148 votes.
An override will be requested for the FY 06 Budget. I estimate it will require approximately $4 million to maintain the level of services that currently exist. A successful override will allow us to balance the budget in the short term but in the long run the fundamental gap between revenues and expenses will arise creating the same problem in the future. The only long-term solution will depend upon changing the the tax laws to curtail the over reliance on the property tax as the primary source of funding local government.
The override is intended to address the current financial problems. It does not address the need to upgrade the high school, reconstruct roads and sidewalks, or fund a hugh unfunded health insurance obligation. These issues will have to be addressed over the next three years.
The future fiscal years beyond FY 07 will be difficult to deal without additional revenues. Please carefully review pages 4-6 titled FY 08 Budget Projections. You will note that with a very modest 2.5% increase in general costs along with increases in energy, health insurance, etc. the town will face a multi-million dollar shortfall. The 2.5% increase is not adequate to provide the same level of services that are currently provided and will lead to reductions in school/municipal services. realistically, the increase would need to be closer to 5% to maintain services. There is no way to avoid the eventual reality that our reserves are dwindling while our costs continue to rise faster than our revenues. I believe that FY 08 will be the year that difficult choices will have to be made in order to balance the budget.From the FISCAL 2007 Annual Report published April 20, 2006 (PDF) by Jeff Nutting. The quote can be found on the bottom of page 2. The difficult choices mentioned did occur in FY 08 and resulted in the first operational override to pass in Franklin by a margin of 1,306 votes.
Final Comment - What do you get for your property taxes?This is from the Fiscal Year 2008 Budget Statement (PDF) as published by Jeff Nutting in March 2008. This quote can be found on the top of the last page, page 11.
Franklin's property taxes are very reasonable. Unlike other taxes we pay, all of your property tax dollars remain in Franklin. The average tax bill in Franklin is $3,872. That amount provides high quality education, saves property and lives, plows your streets, provides library and recreational opportunities, and assists our senior citizens and veterans. When you need a paramedic, police officer, or other public service, they are a phone call away. Your tax dollars are used to improve your quality of life, and in the case of property owners, maintain and increase the value of your investment. In good times or bad, we strive to be prudent with your tax dollars and be responsive to your needs.
As these quotes from the budget information provided during the past several years indicate, an override this year is not a surprise. We have a systemic issue that is not being addressed. We have avoided the painful choices by drawing down the stabilization fund. It is no longer a smart fiscal choice to make. The choice remaining is to cut services (in this case educational services for our children) or raise taxes.
Put all the other arguments aside: Do you want to maintain our quality educational services or do we start cutting deeper than we have before?
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Learn all you can by visiting here frequently.
Visit the School Committee override page for the schedule of information sessions
You can find override related information here
Be informed to cast your vote on June 10th
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