Citizen’s Comments
Review of Agenda
Minutes: I recommend approval of the minutes from the March 10, 2009 School
Committee Meeting. motion to approve 6-0, passed, 1 abstention
Payment of Bills Mr. Kelly motion to approve, approved 7-0
Payroll Ms. Armenio
FHS Student Representatives
Correspondence: Letter from Mark Tiede & Melissa McCann
Franklin's library board of directors lauded Town Administrator Jeffrey D. Nutting's proposal to share the town's library director with Medway to help both towns maintain services.
"If the right things happen, it could be good for both towns. Bottom line is, (we're concerned with) what's best for patrons," said Ken Weidemann, who resigned from his chairmanship last night because he will be moving out of town soon.
Weidemann noted that Franklin and Medway's agreement to share recreational resources seems to be working well, and the town should consider other, similar ventures to save services in a precarious economy.
Read the full article about the Franklin Library Board's view of the combination in hte Milford Daily News here
Knowing that he's going to slash the library's budget by "hundreds of thousands of dollars" to preserve essential services, Town Administrator Jeffrey D. Nutting said he is preparing to share Library Director Felicia Oti with Medway.
Nutting cannot say yet precisely how the budget reduction will impact library hours, services or employees, but it will be enough to necessitate combining resources, he said.
For now, Nutting and Medway officials are only discussing sharing Oti's services, splitting her hours between the two towns, he said.
Oti works a total of 35 hours per week in Franklin. If the sharing agreement goes forward, she will spend about 14 of those 35 hours in Medway. Oti's annual salary is about $80,000. Medway would cover about $32,000 of her salary, explained Medway Board of Library Trustees Chairwoman Wendy Rowe.
If Medway employs a part-time director (via Franklin or on their own), they would meet state certification requirements and receive their certification, Nutting said.
"Franklin's fate, with or without sharing the director's time, will be determined by our application for a waiver to the Mass. Library Commission," Nutting said. He said the only way Franklin can meet the Massachusetts Library Commission standard for certification would be to not cut library hours and increase the budget next year.
The waiver request is necessary, he said, because Franklin will not increase the library's budget, and the Franklin library will not be open the minimum 63 hours per week.
Read the full article about the proposed combination of Franklin and Medway's libraries in the Milford Daily News here
It's time to bring the PodCamp concept to Western Mass. We have a thriving community here of some truly amazing people. This is a chance for Western Mass bloggers, business people, artists, and academics, to get together, make connections, and for everyone to learn how social media can enhance their business, cause or organization. This is also a chance to celebrate the cornucopia of Western Mass. culture, a joyous blend of urban and rural; business, artistic and academic; near enough to other large metro areas, but small enough to hear yourself think.
When: Saturday, March 28, 2009
Where: Open Square in Holyoke, Second Floor
(Open Square is the mill building across the street from The Wherehouse. Entrance to parking is from either Lyman Street or Dwight Street. Open Square is located between the first and second level canals, which are bordered by Race St and Front St. The nearest entrance to the stairs and elevator is marked with a very large white "4".)
Rough Schedule:
Looking to set up 3 breakouts for each session time after the Opening Remarks
8:30 to 9:00 - Welcome desk and coffee (?)
9:00 to 9:30 - Opening Remarks: Explanation of Unconference Format.
9:30 to 10:30 - Session 1
Break (1/2 hr.)
11:00 to Noon - Session 2
Noon to 2:00 - Lunch
2:00 to 3:00 - Session 3
Break (1/2 hr)
3:30 to 4:30 Session 4
4:30 to 5:00 Closing Remarks
You can register for PodCamp Western Mass here
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I will be traveling out to Holyoke to run the Welcome Desk, if anyone would like to join drive from Franklin with me, please let me know.
Transportation to School for the General Student PopulationThe full listing is available here (DOC)
Districts are required to provide transportation to all students in grades K through 6 who live two miles or more from the school. Regional districts receive transportation reimbursement for about 85% of these costs, but municipal school district aid was eliminated during lean budget years and has not been restored.
Administrative Mandates with Cost Implications
In addition to the 15 systems identified above, other mandates with cost implications include:
• Criminal records checks for all staff having unsupervised contact with students and other school employees.
• Emergency evacuation plans add training time, signs, posters and other means of alerting.
• Title I Requirements for costs associated with delivery of services and the reporting and documentation requirements often exceed funding.
• Crisis Prevention Intervention (CPI) training – requires that the district provide training for instructors who then instruct a majority of staff members in techniques to de-escalate student crises. Associated costs are incurred to hire substitutes for classes whose teachers are required to participate in training.
• Pre-school requirements – Districts must ensure that they provide integrated (ratio of regular and special education) settings for all students in accordance with the regulations of Early Education and Care. The requirements for assessment, evaluation, and provision of services are costly.
New HR & Benefits Advisory Group to Help Employers Reduce Costs by Streamlining HR, Benefits and Payroll Processes
Newly-launched national organization of human resources and benefits advisors offers integrated local market expertise, technology services and outsourced solutions
Franklin, MA (PRWEB) March 23, 2009 -- The HR & Benefits Advisory Group (http://www.hrbagroup.com) (HRBA Group), a national group of affiliated independent Human Resources and Benefits Advisors, announced the successful launch of their organization dedicated to delivering integrated solutions that reduce employers’ operational costs and simplify the administration of human resources, benefits and payroll.
By joining forces, HRBA Group participants can better satisfy the complex and changing requirements of employers. Those who leverage the HRBA Group’s extensive set of integrated local market expertise, technology, services and outsourced solutions will yield higher returns on investment and solve the tough problems faced each day.
"Because of the changing environment and economy, our clients and prospects are not only asking us to provide them with competitive products, but to also help integrate and streamline their entire HR, benefits and payroll process, so it’s as efficient as possible," said Johnny Angelone, Principal of Benefit Commerce group (http://www.benefitcommerce.com), a division of Angelone & Associates in Scottsdale, Arizona. "As an HRBA Group Broker, we can deliver an expanded array of national, best-of-breed HR & benefit products, services and technologies at economies-of-scale costs, while still providing personalized service that employers and their employees need and appreciate."
With over 20 participant locations across the United States, and expansion plans to include 100 regional participant firms nationally by year-end, HRBA Group brokers and consultants have served thousands of employers across the country while delivering both simple and complex HR and benefits solutions. The strategy to share ideas, best practices, and local intelligence with peers around the country to ensure quality, implementation, and price brings measurable value to employers of all sizes.
"Employers are demanding more services due to the increasing complexity of managing HR and Benefits and a dynamically changing work environment," said Mark Van Den Branden, Principal of Advanced Insurance (http://www.advancedinsurance.net) of Warren Michigan. "The HRBA Group aligns us with firms in different geographic markets and with complimentary services. Our HRBA Group participation allows us to extend our commitment to provide superior local knowledge and customer service and gives us access to state-of the-art products, services and technologies at below market prices."
The HRBA Group also launched their website at http://www.hrbagroup.com. The site includes a list of service offerings and a simple way for employers to find HRBA Group Participants in their area.
About The HRBA Group
The HR & Benefits Advisory Group (HRBA Group) is a national group of affiliated independent Human Resources and Benefits Advisors. HRBA Group Participants are relentlessly dedicated to helping employers lower operational costs and solve the tough problems faced each day by delivering integrated solutions that simplify the administration of human resources, benefits and payroll. By joining forces, participants offer local market expertise and an extensive set of technology, services and outsourced solutions. Participants also share ideas, best practices, and local intelligence with peers around the country to ensure quality, implementation, and price. For more information, please visit www.hrbagroup.com (http://www.hrbagroup.com).
This press release was distributed through eMediawire by Human Resources Marketer (HR Marketer: www.HRmarketer.com) on behalf of the company listed above.
HR & Benefits Advisory Group is headquartered at 9 Summer St here in Franklin.
