Franklin Matters

The 4th of July is rapidly approaching but the carnival rides have already appeared on the Town Common. Some old favorites will be there for your enjoyment on the holiday weekend.

The slide!

The spinning apple!

The train ride!

And if you haven't lost your lunch yet, Twister!

The rides and food booths will open at 6:00 PM on Thursday, July 1

The full schedule of events can be found here:
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/06/franklin-ma-4th-of-july-schedule.html

Enjoy!

Franklin, MA

Common Core Standards - open for review

“Our message all along has been clear and consistent: Massachusetts will only adopt the Common Core standards if they match or surpass our current expectations for students,” said Education Secretary Paul Reville. “Even if the Board votes to adopt, the Commonwealth would still maintain the opportunity to add to the standards, personalize them to Massachusetts and build them out in a way that will allow our educators to propel our students to the next level of learning.”

“Our goal is to provide every student in the Commonwealth with the best possible schools, teachers, curriculum and opportunities they need to be successful in school, college, careers and in life,” Chester said. “We will take the time to evaluate the Common Core Standards before making a decision, and if we ultimately find that the final product represents a decline in expectations from our state standards, we will not hesitate to walk away.”

The Common Core State Standards and survey can be viewed by clicking here

Read the full posting on the School Committee blog here:
http://franklinschoolcommittee.wordpress.com/2010/06/25/public-invited-to-review-and-comment-on-common-core-state-standards/

Franklin, MA

"needs in the context of a strategic plan"

The 495/MetroWest Development Compact is aimed at ranking infrastructure improvements for the region as a whole, rather than tackling projects piecemeal.

Greg Bialecki, the state secretary of housing and economic development, and Jeff Mullan, secretary of transportation, announced the compact at the 495/MetroWest Partnership's annual conference.

Bialecki said the compact will help create a common "strategic action plan" for all of the agencies involved to get behind, rather than "creating a laundry list of changes to infrastructure that need to be made."

Franklin would be one of the 36 communities covered by this compact.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here:
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x2071995398/Cooperation-sought-prioritizing-MetroWest-infrastructure-goals

Franklin, MA

Franklin's state aid

On June 24, 2010, the Legislature approved the Conference Committee’s version of the FY2011 budget. The Division of Local Services has posted updated local aid estimates based on the Conference Committee budget recommendations at the link below:

http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=dorsubtopic&L=5&L0=Home&L1=Local+Officials&L2=Municipal+Data+and+Financial+Management&L3=Cherry+Sheets&L4=FY2011+Local+Aid+Proposals&sid=Ador

Though the estimates are substantially the same as previous estimates, the Conference Committee proposal relies on reimbursements from the Federal Medical Assistance Program (FMAP) to fund part of certain appropriations.

Outside section 190 restricts the expenditure of FMAP funded appropriations until receipt of those funds is certain.

Cherry sheet estimates for the State-owned Land, Regional School Transportation and Local Share of Racing Taxes programs reflect the portion of the appropriation funded only from the general fund.