Franklin Matters

Thursday, January 29, 2009

"better way, a less expensive way"

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

GHS

Posted Jan 28, 2009 @ 11:29 PM

FRANKLIN —

For years, Town Administrator Jeffrey D. Nutting has sung the praises of regionalizing services, updating archaic laws and making reforms on the state level to save towns like Franklin big bucks.

Now that the Massachusetts Municipal Association has elected him its new president, Nutting gets to advocate for such changes directly to the governor, six times a year.

The MMA elected Nutting on Saturday.

The MMA is an organization of town officials that advocates for municipal policies before the Legislature, the executive branch, regulatory bodies, and the courts. The association's board of directors meets with the governor six times a year to discuss issues facing cities and towns, according to the MMA Web site, www.mma.org.

Read the full article about Jeff and the MMA's efforts in the Milford Daily News here

quarterbacks and teachers

... effective mentoring of a new teacher can make an enormous difference in that person's ability to become a "star" teacher. But the problem, he argues, is that the process of mentorship is much too haphazard. As he says, "It's like training NFL quarterbacks by randomly sending them out to teams - some CFL teams, some Division III teams, some Division I College teams, some community teams, and a few to NFL teams."

...

If Matt Cassell can thrive in the NFL, after essentially zero college quarterback experience, what exactly is New England doing right? And what can the rest of the league learn from them?

I would go further and ask "What can school districts learn from this?" Teacher development will even tougher in times of lean budgets when mentoring stipends are not allocated. Teacher development is tough already with much of the community not appreciating or fully understanding "professional development days". These "professional development days" are looked for by many parents as "get-away days" for long weekends.

You should be involved in the discussion on the cost benefit analysis of each school budget dollar. With budget cuts looming, what stays in the budget will be critical to maintaining a healthy learning environment.

Read more of this article about "teachers and quarterbacks" by Malcolm Gladwell here.

Be active in the school budget process.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Franklin - Total Cuts 9C

Total 9C Reduction to Additional Assistance & Lottery = $-299,676.00

Per the listing provided by the Governor today

robbers operating in Franklin

By Staff reports

GHS

Posted Jan 28, 2009 @ 12:22 AM

FRANKLIN —

Police are warning the community and retailers to beware of robbers in the area.

Four Franklin stores were hit on four different occasions: Dec. 11, at the East Central Shell Station; Dec. 21, at Olymia Sports Store at the Franklin Village Mall; Jan. 22, at the Xxtra Mart on East Central Street; and on Jan. 24, at the Sprint phone store on West Central Street, according to a press release issued by Deputy Chief Stephan Semerjian.

Read the full story in the Milford Daily News here

School Committee Mtg 01/27/09

The collection of posts covering the School Committee meeting on 1/27/09

School Committee - Agenda - 1/27/09

"What was a 'conservative' budget then is now 'overly ambitious' "

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

GHS

Posted Jan 28, 2009 @ 12:18 AM

FRANKLIN —

Once again, the School Department is looking at serious cuts thanks to both the recession and rising costs of mandatory services.

Administrators last night told the School Committee that just to maintain the same level of school services, teachers and staff next year, the district would need about $3.5 million more than its current budget.

Superintendent Wayne Ogden was quick to state the School Department does not expect to get that much, but, he explained, he wanted to propose a level-service budget for the community.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here